Gloves are the most important part of every boxing gear, and rightly so, as they offer a major chunk of protection needed to indulge in combat sports. Boxing gloves are crucial for your hands’ protection, and they also protect your opponent while you throw power punches.
That is why gloves’ production process is extensive, making sure that even the smallest details are precise; offering you boxing equipment that guarantees your relative safety and puts your mind at ease.
Infinitude Fight has put together an insider’s guide for you to get an idea of the production process of gloves.
Boxing Gloves
When we talk about the breakdown of the production process, this is a thing that is not discussed often. Different manufacturers produce these tools, and they can differ, which is why most brands have acquired their unique shape and build style.
We have taken into account various other methods with which various brands produce their gloves and have put together a quick breakdown for you to explain the basics of production.
This guide will come in handy for you when you decide to buy boxing gloves next time, so sit back, relax and enjoy!
Read More: Ask Me Anything: How to Choose the Right Boxing Glove
Boxing Equipment
The production process for each boxing-related product is different; however, none are more extensive than the boxing gloves. The production of the gloves goes through various and several independent steps, let’ look into them one by one:
Marking and Cutting of Boxing Gloves
The production begins by cutting out the outer materials of the gloves. The materials used for making boxing gloves in the USA or anywhere else are often indicators of their overall quality.
The gloves are always made from thin cowhide leather, including our premium gloves, which are made from 100% natural cow leather. However, some brands also use synthetic leather. Be advised that synthetic leather is not durable when compared to genuine leather.
Why is synthetic leather used? –Simply to cut costs! The synthetic leather variants can range in quality from cheap vinyl to some types almost indistinguishable from genuine leather.
Still, nothing matches the finesse of genuine leather as the variants made from 100% natural leather are incredibly durable and are of higher quality.
Cutting
Often the thumb part is cut from the same piece of leather, but sometimes it is cut as a separate piece and then stitched with the rest of the glove. That is mostly because of the type of padding used and the glove’s build.
The rest of the parts, for instance, the Velcro cuff and other pieces, are also assembled at this stage; however, they are kept separate from the body of the gloves, for now at least.
Read More: BEST BOXING GLOVES 2021 – FOR FITNESS, SPARRING, AND TRAINING
Printing and Design
After the cutting process, the printing and design process starts. That is where the graphics or any other designs are printed onto the gloves. To avoid any printing issues, it is crucial to get most of the printing done at this stage; while the leather parts are still flat.
If the printing is done after the gloves are assembled, it will get quite hard to achieve the desired results, and also, an assembled one has a limited printable area.
Stitching
After printing and design come to the stitching phase of the production, the stitching at this point only gives the glove shape before the padding is stuffed into it.
The base of the variants is stitched inside out, in the beginning, meaning the glove is inverted; this way, most of the stitches and seams are on the inner side.
These steps also involve the placement, securing, and stitching grip bars and breathable meshes onto the gloves.
Horse Hair Padding
Conventionally horsehair was used to pad boxing gloves, which is still the case with some premium brands. However, these days the gloves are padded with a mixture of layered foam or IMF (Injection Molded Foam).
The layering of the foam padding allows the incorporation of different densities in various parts of the gloves. Usually, different brands have their unique combination of padding. Mostly, the gloves and padding hold shape partly due to the leather and partly how the layering is done.
However, the IMF is molded and set into the shape of gloves, so such gloves hold the shape on their own.
Padding
The layered padding is now inserted in the sections of the variants which were stitched earlier, normally along the inner lining of the gloves. This step is where the gloves start to take shape and take up their signature look.
The cuff part with its lining is stitched together and then attached and stitched afterward on the bottom of the variants.
Punching
For the lace-up type, a template is laid over the opening of the palm, and lace holes are punched into the gloves. On the other hand, for the Velcro-style, a strap will be sewed onto its place. Normally both sides of the Velcro are already assembled.
At last, a thin strip of leather is drawn together on the edges of the palm and cuff areas and then stitched into place to complete the glove.
Buy Boxing Gloves
Next time you are in the market to purchase your new set of gloves, please pay attention to your gloves’ make as a lot of dedicated hard work is put into them to ensure a perfect tool for you and your specific needs.
Gloves are meticulously designed to offer you comfort and features that are specific to each combat sport, so it is advised that you purchase sport-specific gear. All-rounder gloves do work to an extent, but nothing beats the resourcefulness of a specifically designed pair of gloves.
Conclusion
As we discussed at the start of this article, most brands have their unique processes, which might vary slightly from each other. However, the article above was presented to give you a holistic idea of the production process of boxing gloves.