The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-02-16
ABOUT BOXING GLOVES.
Where and How They Are Made and &c
Whom They Are Sold.

Where and How They Are Made and to
Whom They Are Sold.
1.-THE making of boxing gloves" said
! Hoboken manufacturer, sis limited
Industry, and there are few in the bust
ness. know OF but two makers be-
sides myself in this section OF the coun-
Itry. Most of our goods are sold di-
lrectly to the big sporting goods houses,
and by them are distributed all over
the country, the bulk OF them going
Vest The ordinary big soft gloves,
Ior pillows as they are often facetiously
called are made from imitation chamois,
lor american flesher' as it is termed.
This is the split skin from the under
side Of a sheep, and is almost univer-
sally used in making the cheap grade
of glove. the cheapest glove is the
bows glove, which is made from this
skin, stuffed with hogs hair mixed
With vegetable fiber to hold it
together, and costs about $3.50 a pair
at retail. The best gloves are made
from what is called real chamois (al-
though the leather merchants in the
swamp will tell you there is no such
thing in the markeD or kid, and are
i3lled with the best curled horse hair.
The best skins are all imported. In my
Nlace l cut them myself, and the sew
6s-d done on machines.
FIT Is a curious fact that many of the
! professional fighters are not particular
about their gloves. Take Billy Dacy,
for instance; he uses the cheapest kind
OF boys glove. which he buys at some
small shop on the Bowery. But Sulli-
van and Dempsey are very particular,
and as much care has to be taken in
fitting their gloves as fashionable
shoemaker has to exercise in fitting
the shoes Of society belle.
"As have said, in making the best
boxing gloves we use channels skin,
kid, and sometimes lambs skin, accord
ing to the fancy of those ordering. The
softer skin is used on the outer or strik-
ing portion of the glove, and the harder
on the palm. Professional boxers will
not have the usual ventilation eyelets
in the palm, but instead we cut out a
star-shaped hole in the leather, which
serves the same purpose. Any metal,
you know, is apt to work loose and cut
the skin, and professional boxers do
not care to have their faces cut or
scratched if they can avoid it. A glove
which is quite popular is an ordinary
kid glove, with a stuffed pad sewed on
to the backs of the fingers. | cannot
see that it possesses any advantages
over the ordinary glove, but some eX-
perts say that, as the fingers are sepa-
rated more, the hand can be more
lightly closed.
There are comparatively few gloves
sold in New York, the ajority of them,
as l have said, being shipped West.
vi those sold here, the best are taken
" the richer athletic and sporting
cubs, and the poorer qualities by the
west side associations, the membership
OF which is largely recruited from the
sfanks of the butchers, car drivers,
truckmen and mechanics. 1t is a queer
fact that more gloves are sold at retail
by the pawnbrokers of the city than
even by the sporting goods houses.
Every pawnbroker keeps them in stock,
aud many people buy them thinking
they are getting bargain, when they
are paying the same price as they
would ina regular store. There is one
pawnshop on the Bowery where a
dozen sets of gloves are sold every
Saturday.
what do I think about the light
weight gloves that fighters usee Well,
lean tell you that a kid glove soaked in
water is the wickedest thing to strike a
blow with there is. Such a glove does
not bruise; it cuts like a razor. and you
will find that prize fighters prefer to
battle with the bare fists every time
rather than use the apparently harm
less kid. IN. Y. Sun.