At Wells Lamont, we choose our leather carefully. All work glove leather isn’t the same, and neither are all jobs. We’ve put together a quick primer illustrating the characteristics that define leather types and how they’re best used. We want to make sure your hands are always covered with the right materials for the job.
Cowhide
Grain cowhide
- Abrasion-resistant.
- Very good wear performance.
- Excellent choice for heavy duty use.
Grain cowhide, along with split cowhide, is the most commonly used of all grain leathers due to its broad availability from all over the world. Grain cowhide leather gloves are typically thicker than other leathers – this contributes to their exceptional wear performance.
Split cowhide
- Abrasion-resistant.
- Puncture-resistant.
- Excellent choice for economical heavy-duty use.
The pearl or grey split cowhide leather is the most commonly-used of all glove leathers. A wide variety of leather grades and qualities are commonly used offering very economical glove selections for a variety of uses. Split cowhide leather is typically the leather of choice for the traditional leather palm work glove.
Deerskin
Grain deerskin
- Soft and supple.
- Flexible.
- Insulates well against cold.
- Moisture-resistant.
- Not recommended for heavy-duty use.
Because deer are not raised for commercial use, there can be large quality and consistency variations. However, deerskin is considered the most premium of traditional work glove leathers. The majority of deerskin comes from North America.
Split deerskin
- Soft and supple.
- Super-flexible.
- Insulates well against the cold.
- Excellent choice for insulated full-leather gloves.
- Limited availability.
- Not recommended for heavy-duty use.
Split deerskin is not as common as grain deerskin and is limited in supply. Not all deer produce hides thick enough to produce a split deerskin leather. Usually, only deer from colder weather climates produce a thicker hide that yields deer split leather.
Pigskin
- Abrasion-resistant.
- Breathable.
- Very flexible.
- Moisture-resistant.
- Puncture-resistant.
Pigskin is unmatched for its abrasion resistance and breath-ability. Tanned correctly this leather is very flexible, and is moisture and puncture resistant.
Goatskin
- Very flexible.
- Good moisture resistance.
- Not as heavy duty as cowhide.
Grain goatskin is a favourite for glove leather where good dexterity and wear performance is required. Often the leather of choice for mechanics and high dexterity gloves due to the thinner leather thickness.
Leather wear and performance
Abrasion resistance is most critical to the longevity of a work glove, since constant rubbing caused by repetitive motion is by far the most common force encountered. That’s why we test our leathers for performance characteristics as illustrated in the chart below. For true abrasion comparisons, equivalent weights or thickness of leather need to be tested.
Many leather gloves, in order to achieve greater tactile sensitivity or flexibility, are made from a thinner or ‘shaved’ leather, thereby reducing their abrasion performance. There can be many misconceptions regarding leather performance when leather thickness is not considered. Gloves are routinely made from different thickness leather in order to satisfy specific glove performance requirements at the expense of abrasion ability.
Note that occasional scratches or scars are your assurance that the leather is a natural product. These slight variations in no way affect the wearability of the gloves.