Is mink oil good for baseball gloves to make them comfy and soft on your hand? All baseballers with several years of experience must know that the gloves should fit as comfortably as if it’s their other extended hand for better performance. And for this reason, breaking in the gloves is a helpful step, which may take time.
In order to make the leather on your baseball gloves flexible, you may apply different lotions, oils referred by manufacturers, vaseline, etc. Many people use shaving cream, which should ideally include lanolin. Another popular choice for this purpose is mink oil.
Here we are going to discuss everything regarding mink oil goodness and how it helps to break in baseball gloves. So, let’s stay tuned till the end.
What Is Mink Oil?
Mink oil is a kind of conditioner for leather that is usually produced by rendering the fat from the belly of a mink. Today, this oil is most often utilized by leather craftsmen, although its origins date back to Native American cultures of material.
It was the standard leather conditioner for a time, and artisans depended on it to keep their leather items in excellent shape. People who worked in sectors such as farming, construction, and other trades saw that continuous friction dried up their leathers, and they found that mink oil seemed to restore the damage.
Is Mink Oil Good for Baseball Gloves?
Mink oil is widely used in the leather-working and leather-care industries. The baseball glove is leather-made, and it’s hard to use after purchase due to its stiffness. Using mink oil to soften up your new gloves will be helpful. It’ll make your gloves flexibly fit on the palm, allowing you to avoid injuries while playing.
Why Is Mink Oil Good for Baseball Gloves?
Mink oil can do wonders for baseball gloves, particularly when they’re made of genuine leather. Some of the significant advantages are as follows:
Excellent Choice To Make More Comfortable
Leather baseball gloves have a natural tendency to dry up and grow brittle over time. Improve the leather’s quality and make it feel more pliable by applying mink oil.
Applying mink oil to baseball gloves lets the oil seep deep into the fabric. As a result, its lifespan and flexibility both increase.
When the leather’s fibers are moisturized, the substance becomes stronger. This reduces the likelihood of getting worn out and torn in a short period.
Useful For Keeping In Shape
Maintaining the glove’s original shape is another significant advantage you may experience by using mink oil. If you don’t store your baseball gloves in an appropriate manner, they are susceptible to losing their original shape quickly. As mink oil lubricates the glove’s fiber, it can prevent the gloves from deforming.
It helps To Retain the Original Color
When you apply mink oil on any genuine leather-made product, it becomes darker and gets a more vibrant color. So, you can use Mink oil to revive the natural color of baseball gloves if they have begun to fade over time.
But you have to apply the process correctly. Otherwise, there’s no point.
Moreover, using mink oil will help protect the leather against the sun and other elements that cause fading.
Improve Water Resistance
If you wear gloves in a damp situation, it’s essential to keep them dry. In such conditions, applying mink oil can help increase the water resistance of the baseball gloves. It creates a barrier on the globe’s surface and blocks water from infiltrating the leather.
As a result, it reduces the risk of the gloves being ruined by water. As the impact of condensation on gloves might be disastrous, you should make attempts to save them from getting wet.
Prevents Cracking Due To Dryness
Mink oil works great as an excellent conditioner. This indicates that using mink oil on baseball gloves helps prevent the leather from drying out and splitting. A cracked baseball glove may cause it to lose its form, making it less effective.
In such a situation, mink oil maintains the leather’s suppleness and prevents it from drying.
Increase Durability
Maintaining baseball gloves with mink oil can help them last longer.
Mink oil will keep the gloves from fraying since it lubricates the fibers. This will help your baseball gloves last longer and be less susceptible to damage.
In addition, using mink oil as a barrier between the baseball gloves and the outdoor environment is a fantastic approach to preserve their condition. It will prevent damage to the leather from being caused by elements such as water or other environmental variables.
Concerns With Mink Oil As A Preventative Treatment For Baseball Gloves
After discussing the positive aspects of mink oil treatment for baseball gloves, it is time to explore the negative aspects in general of it.
Darken The Glove’s Color
While it can help to retain the glove’s original color, misapplying mink oil can discolor the leather. The leather on your baseball gloves will eventually get darker if you treat it with mink oil because it causes the baseball gloves to get darker, specifically when it is subjected to the effects of sunshine. So, you should follow a specific routine to apply this darkening conditioner on the baseball mitts.
Can Make Gloves Sticky
As mink oil works as a lubricant, it can emit oily residue over the glove’s surface. As a result, it can make the gloves sticky.
As a result, the ball may not release from your glove effortlessly, leading to some annoyance during gameplay. It may be disruptive to the game flow if you stop what you are doing and change your gloves continually.
Sometimes, sticky baseball gloves pose a safety risk and are consequently undesirable. You run the risk of dropping the ball or, even worse, injuring yourself if the gloves are overly slippery.
If you want your baseball gloves to serve you longer and perform better, then consider using mink oil. However, you need to be sure that you use the mink oil in the correct manner.
Evenly Applying Mink Oil Is Difficult
It may not be easy to create an even coating of mink oil over baseball gloves. Due to its thick consistency, mink oil might be challenging to coat your baseball gloves properly. Also, if you don’t melt the oil down just right, it might leave an oily layer on the baseball mitts.
However, protecting your baseball gloves with mink oil is a wonderful idea. The reason is mink oil will work as a protective layer on the gloves’ outside, keeping moisture out and other elements at a distance.
What To Consider While Using Mink Oil
You should be aware of a few things about this situation. The consistency of mink oil is comparable to that of other oils that are derived from animal fats; it is dense. And using it consistently on baseball gloves may cause it to get heavier.
And will also deepen the color to some degree. The glove will indeed get more flexible with time, but if it becomes unreasonably heavy, the player won’t be able to use it.
The most prevalent use for mink oil is in footwear, namely boots. As it produces a darker texture, it has the potential to give leather boots a more fashionable appearance. On the other hand, having the same consequence happen to your gloves might not be attractive to the majority of people.
However, if there are no manufacturer-approved conditioners for your gloves right now, using mink oil is an excellent method to soften them. The only thing you need to watch out for is going too far with its application.
While applying, make sure that you just put a small quantity of it on the glove’s surface and spread it thoroughly. You should avoid having your glove’s leather absorb more mink oil than it really needs to.
How To Apply Mink Oil on Baseball Gloves
A well-made pair of baseball gloves is expensive, and applying mink oil properly can extend its longevity. Oil on the glove will help you break it in and make the leather softer. Here is a step-by-step process for using mink oil on your gloves:
- Take a clean, soft cloth to apply the oil.
- At first, put a small quantity of oil over the areas between your forefinger and thumb and in the pocket- the places used to catch balls and rub the oil applied place to get a light layering. Ensure no liquids or oil globs are left there.
- Wait for it to dry for 12 hours, or let it sit overnight so that the oil gets completely soaked in the gloves’ leather. When the gloves are dried, wipe them with a dry cloth to be sure of no remaining oil.
- The last step to break in the gloves is to play catch for several minutes daily. Continue this process for two to three weeks. This method will help to adjust the glove in your hand and assure you comfort during your match.
- Also, you can place a softball or baseball in the pocket and tighten the glove. After playing catch every night, repeat this process.
- If you’re going to oil a glove, it’s important not to overdo it. Avoid putting this on the glove straight.
- The most effective method for applying it to the glove is to do it using a soft unbleached cloth.
Every day, either playing catch or in a match, wipe down your gloves with a damp clean cloth after use. Make sure there is no debris or dirt on them, and keep them in a dry, cool place.
How Often Should You Apply Mink Oil on Baseball Gloves?
You can use mink oil based on the kind of climate you experience in your region. If the weather is significantly dry, it is recommended to oil the baseball gloves once a week.
If the environment is more humid, you should lubricate the gloves on a monthly basis to keep them in their most optimal state. But, when you are still determining the weather patterns in your region, it is best to apply mink oil once every two weeks rather than once a month.
Maintenance is consistently required for the leather. Otherwise, its quality might deteriorate in as little as a few months.
How Long Does Mink Oil Remain Good?
For the duration, you keep mink oil out of the heat and keep it in a cool location; it should survive for many years. This is due to the very stable fatty acids utilized in the production of mink oil.
Even though it contains a significant amount of unsaturated fats, it does not react as strongly with oxygen as other types of animal-based fats or vegetable oil. Because of having higher oxidative stability, this oil has a lower risk of becoming rotten if you store it properly.
Final Thoughts
Is mink oil good for baseball gloves? The answer is yes; it works as an excellent conditioner and lubricant to make the gloves more flexible and softer.
If you want to maintain your standing in the field of competition, you have to ensure that your baseball gloves fit you well. The probability of becoming a significant player in baseball is nil if the gloves hinder you from achieving your fullest potential.
As you now understand from our discussion, mink oil softens leather gloves successfully. On the other hand, we have talked about certain concerns that you can ignore without any harm. If you are searching for an alternative option to leather conditioners, mink oil is superior.
