How to Make Sap Gloves Out of an Ordinary Pair?

My old Hatch sap gloves got ruined, so I was looking for a way to make one without buying a new pair due to economic reasons. As you know, sap gloves are great for protecting the hands and for self-defense. So, I’ve asked around how to make sap gloves out of an ordinary pair, and finally, I have found the correct process.

Simply attach some leather strips on top of the ordinary glove and install steel or metal powder into the pockets to make weighted knuckles. Learn the complete steps and items you’ll need below.

What You’ll Need

Gloves

You’ll need a pair of gloves, whether fingerless or full-finger, to upgrade into sap gloves. I like to use my old leather gloves because they’re durable enough to become a sap glove. Ultimately, a sap glove is just an ordinary leather glove with weighted knuckles.

As much as you want maximum protection, comfort shouldn’t be compromised. Use a glove that has vents or a breathable fabric to dissipate heat faster and prevent sweaty palms. The fitting should also be snug but not too tight.

Leather Strips

The leather strips will be used to contain the metal powder in your knuckles. Find a leather sheet that has a similar color as your glove for a uniform look.

Synthetic leather is easy to find because it’s common and affordable. Most sap gloves are also made of synthetic leather to balance functionality with the price. To buy a good quality faux leather, look at the texture and make sure that it’s not overly smooth.

Genuine leather, like goatskin, is also perfect for sap gloves because they’re extremely durable yet soft.

Metal Powder

The metal powder will be used to put weight on the knuckles of your gloves. You can choose steel, iron, or lead powder. They’re typically available at any lab or science store.

If you can’t find it at the stores, you can get powdered lead from ankle weights.

A more lethal alternative is a selection of rivets. Place the flat side of the rivets inside the glove and the studded one outside. The rivets will deliver a violent cut while providing a large striking surface to protect your own knuckles.

Scissors

A good pair of scissors come in handy when you cut the leather into strips. Ordinary scissors might not be enough because leather is a more heavy-duty or thicker material than fabric. What you need is a nice pair of leather scissors.

Unlike standard scissors, leather scissors are more durable and stronger. They also don’t require much force as you would with a standard pair because they’re designed to cut through leather easily. You can also use a Cricut machine in place of leather scissors.

Sewing Kit

The basic needle and thread are useful in sewing the leather strips into the glove and sealing the open ends. Although you can use a sewing machine, I find it easier making it with a needle. The needle should be sharp, like a surgical needle with a triangular cross-section to prevent it from bending.

There are also special needles intended to pierce leather easily. Just look at the packaging and find something that’s labeled “leather.” You might want to keep some extras because it’s not impossible to break a needle while sewing.

An ordinary thread might not be enough to hold a metal powder over the knuckles, so I think something strong, like a spool of Kevlar, might suffice. Dental floss also works great for sewing leather.

Ruler

The ruler will be used to measure the glove to make the leather strips. You can use any measuring ruler you have at home, whether it’s a desk ruler or drafting triangles. Other alternatives to a simple ruler include:

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Measure The Size Of Each Glove Finger

Get your old pair of gloves and a ruler. Get the length for each finger glove starting from one inch above the knuckles up to the mid joint using a ruler. Next, determine the width of every glove finger.

Remember the measurements because you’ll use those to make the leather strips.

Step 2: Cut The Leather Strips

Use your fabric scissors to cut the leather according to the measurements you get from Step 1. There should be eight strips in total, and the shape should be more like rectangular strips. As possible, use the same color as your glove to make the strips blend into the glove like its own.

Step 3: Attach The Leather Strips

Now, place the strips over the glove carefully. Put a thread to your needle and start stitching the strips at each finger. Stitch three sides, except the top side part, because you need that to create a pocket for the easy installation of metal powder.

To add durability, you can double stitch the leather strips onto the gloves.

Step 4: Fill And Seal

Once all the leather strips are set, you can start filling in each pocket with the metal powder of your choice. Make sure that you put equal amounts of powder at each pocket to provide balance. To make a pair of 8oz sap gloves, place 2 oz of powder in each pocket.

After you’re done with all the pockets, sew the open ends to seal the powder and prevent it from spilling out.

Conclusion

Did you enjoy the tutorial on how to make sap gloves out of an ordinary pair? It’s important to improvise so that you can get your hands protected at all times, whether you’re hunting or driving a motorcycle, in a more economical way. Besides, you also can refer to ways to fold pants in the military by checking it here!

Let us know what you think about this article and share it if you like it.

Everett Bledsoe

I am Everett Bledsoe, taking on the responsibility of content producer for The Soldiers Project. My purpose in this project is to give honest reviews on the gear utilized and tested over time. Of course, you cannot go wrong when checking out our package of information and guide, too, as they come from reliable sources and years of experience.