A defending team in any baseball match can’t think about stopping runs without wearing the right gloves or mitts.
We all know that leather is the only suitable material for making baseball gloves.
Only the strength and durability of leather are capable of withstanding the strong hits of the batters and throws of the fellow teammates.
Therefore, a good quality pure leather glove can last for years, no matter how extensive your use is.
But here’s the problem.
Apparel, including sportswear that is made of pure leather, needs to be maintained to keep it in good condition and ready for convenient use. The same goes for baseball gloves.
You can’t keep your leather baseball gloves in perfect condition without oiling them regularly. Good leather oil doesn’t just help you in breaking in the brand new gloves, but it also prevents cracks in old ones.
A top-quality oil product also cleans the leather gloves but without grubbing their surface. In short, the regular use of oil can extend the life of your baseball glove.
You can find many off-the-shelf products that claim to “condition” leather baseball gloves. They are cheap and often bear vague labels that don’t mention the ingredients of the product.
It is better to refrain from using those dodgy oils and conditioners. The continuous use of low-quality oils and conditioner on leather can damage its natural finishing.
So, saving a couple of bucks on those products and, in turn, spoiling your expensive leather gloves is not worth it.
If you are not sure where to find high-quality oils for the conditioning and maintenance of your baseball gloves, then read on. We are going to discuss five of the best oils for baseball gloves that are available in the market right now.
IN A HURRY? OUR TOP PICK
Why it’s Our Top Pick
Don’t want to get confused with the list of options and just want to know the single best oil for a baseball glove?
If that’s the case, then we would recommend you to buy Bickmore 100% Pure Neatsfoot Oil. The best thing about this baseball oil is its 100% purity.
You can find plenty of Neatsfoot oil products in your nearby department store. However, few can claim to be 100% pure.
Neatsfoot oil has always been considered the best leather conditioner. No matter if you are conditioning a new, freshly out-of-the-box glove or the one that your dad used, this Bickmore Neatsfoot Oil will condition all sorts of baseball gloves equally well.
Neatsfoot oil penetrates to the deepest micro layers of the leather, which results in the effective breaking in of the given glove.
You can also use this Bickmore product to prevent your gloves from cracking. Neatsfoot oil is capable of maintaining the natural moisture levels of the leather that is necessary for the required flexibility of a baseball glove.
The price of this Bickmore Neatsfoot Oil is also quite reasonable, given that it is 100% pure.
Top 5 Best Oil for a Baseball Gloves
OUR TOP PICK
Neatsfoot oil, the organic extracts of the cattle bone, has always been considered good for leather conditioning and polishing. Bickmore has continued that long tradition and manufactured Neatsfoot oil that is 100% pure.
You can find many low-priced off-the-shelf “Neatsfoot oils,” but they are usually mixed with petroleum distillates.
Those additives reduce the potency of the original content of Neatsfoot oil. As a result, you get underwhelming leather conditioning. However, this is not the case with Bickmore’s pure Neatsfoot oil. It softens and breaks in a new baseball glove, giving its leather material the desired feel and texture.
The continuous use of Bickmore Neatsfoot Oil on your leather baseball glove allows it to maintain its degree of suppleness. The oil makes it possible by repelling all the environmental moisture and preventing the brittleness and cracks that leather gloves develop over time.
It is important to mention here that this Bickmore’s oil is good for both breaking-in the new leather baseball gloves and maintaining old ones. If you want to oil and condition a new glove to make it a perfect fit, it would be better to practice catching with the glove as well.
Also, keep in mind that Neatsfoot oil can darken some leather items with frequent applications. The same goes for this Bickmore product. If you notice the pocket or exterior of the glove has darkened a bit after the application of the oil, it is not a sign of worry. The change in color doesn’t change the feel and grain of the glove’s leather by any means.
Pros
- Comes in a handy 8-oz bottle— also available in a 32-oz bottle
- Equally good for shoes, boots and equestrian items made of leather
- An Amazon’s Choice product
Cons
- Not suitable for nubuck and suede leather finishes
EDITORS CHOICE
The apparel and footwear made of mink leather are always considered premium and lie at the higher end of the price range. But do you know that mink’s fat is also rendered for making an oil product that is used to condition, soften, and waterproof leather items?
Like its leather, mink’s oil is also of top-quality, and Griffin is distilling and offering it to customers at a reasonable price.
Griffin Mink Oil is a perfect choice to break in new leather baseball gloves. Just apply a thin layer of this oil across the glove and leave it to dry for the night.
The next day, you will find the gloves soft and flexible in your hands. The conditioning of Griffin Mink Oil is so good that you may not need to condition your baseball gloves for the rest of the season.
We also like this baseball gloves conditioning oil because it is not just designed to break in new leather products.
If you have a pure leather glove that is not in use for many years and ridden with mildew and mold, treat it with this Griffin product.
The mink oil is naturally good with its water-resistant attributes.
Therefore, its application doesn’t just clean the residual mildew from the glove’s surface but also protects it from any further microorganism shenanigans by adding a hydrophobic layer to the microstructure of the leather.
Pros
- Comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee
- From watch straps to wingtips, suitable for all leather products
- A great conditioner for old baseball gloves
- Great value for the money
Cons
- May mute the color of some leather finishes
BEST VALUE
Fiebing’s Premium Baseball Glove Oil is one of the best leather conditioning formulas available in the market right now. Fiebing’s has made sure that you can break and condition your leather glove with the mixture of best oils, including the Neatsfoot.
Therefore, a leather baseball glove that has been conditioned by Fiebing’s premium oil doesn’t just get soft but also develop water-resistant characteristic.
The other impressive bit about this glove oil is its packaging. Unlike other oil products that come in traditional bottles, this Fiebing’s products come in a handy spray applicator of four ounces.
This small single spray bottle is enough for conditioning your glove for the rest of the season.
The other benefit of this spray bottle is it makes the application of the oil on the glove quite a breeze.
You don’t need to work in the oil on the glove. Just spray the oil on the impact points of the glove and leave it to dry. The oil particles will penetrate the glove to soften the leather and to make it waterproof.
The other good thing about this glove oil is it doesn’t just help in breaking in the leather and protecting it from moisture. You can also use it to give the leather a natural shine— thanks to the Neatsfoot oil content of the spray bottle.
This Fiebing’s baseball glove oil is also good for all other leather products. You can use it to condition your leather boots, belts, and equestrian equipment such as saddle pads and reins.
Pros
- A unique mixture of different leather care items
- Comes in an easy-to-use bottle
- Gives better result even with the lesser application
Cons
- May darken the light-color leather items
RUNNER UP
Have you struggled with the breaking in of a new baseball glove? If that’s the case, and you are skeptical about the majority of oil and conditioning products that claim to ensure complete break-in of new leather gloves, then consider buying Easton Professional Baseball/Softball Glove Oil.
It offers proven breaking-in of baseball gloves no matter what type of leather they are made from.
Moreover, the application of oil is also effortless. Just apply the oil on the glove, rub it with hand or a piece of cloth all through it and leave it for 24 hours.
The oil essentials will seep into the microstructure of the new leather to make it soft. The breaking in results of Easton Professional Glove Oil is so good that you don’t have to practice catching or wear the glove after oiling it.
As soon as the oil dries, your glove will be all soft and broken in for the match.
We also like this glove oil because of its clear, odorless nature. Unlike other conditioning products, this one doesn’t affect the color of a leather product that much.
No matter what color your glove has, it is not going to get tarnished by the application of the oil.
The odorless nature of the oil goes well for all those people who don’t want their gloves to smell at all. If you are generally allergic to artificial fragrances, then rest assured, the use of this glove oil won’t result in any allergy.
We also like the transparent display box packing of this Easton Glove Oil.
Pros
- Offers the most hassle-free breaking in of leather
- Doesn’t stain any leather finish
- Perfect for those with olfactory allergies
- Comes in a handy 4-ounce bottle
Cons
- A bit expensive
RUNNER UP
Whether you are looking to break in new baseball gloves or want a product that can serve as an all-around leather care product, Obenauf’s Leather Oil is an item you should consider. Unlike many leather conditioners and oils, this one doesn’t just consist of a single ingredient.
Obenauf has packed all the naturally good leather conditioning elements in a single product. It has various essential oils, beeswax, and propolis that collectively give any piece of leather a new life.
It doesn’t just help the leather to break easily in but also protects it from cracking. Moreover, this oil also rejuvenates the gloves’ original sheen and shine of gloves.
It is important to mention here that Obenauf’s Leather Oil is not manufactured for newer gloves and leather items only. You can also use it to restore your old glove.
Old baseball gloves often develop cracks over time. This oil can’t get rid of them completely, but it certainly reduces them.
We also like the size of this leather oil bottle. It is neither big nor small. The 16-ounce bottle with the dauber applicator makes sure you can take care of your baseball glove and leather products in the most hassle-free manner.
Its single layer is enough to condition any leather surface. So, its 16-ounce bottle will be more than enough for the conditioning and restoration of leather items besides your baseball gloves.
Pros
- Contains all the organic leather conditioners
- Comes in a well-thought-out packaging
- An Amazon’s Choice product
- Offers result within 24 hours
Cons
- Not suitable for suede
Best Oil for a Baseball Gloves Buying Guide
The above list has enough options for you to pick from. However, you can find the best oil for baseball gloves outside of this list as well. Whenever searching the aisle of any online or brick-and-mortar store for leather baseball oil, consider the following factors.
Ingredients
Good baseball glove oil is the one that only features natural ingredients. The synthetics primarily petroleum distillates are often added to the oils manufactured for baseball gloves. The addition of these artificial ingredients keeps the price point of the product low but takes a toll on its quality and effectiveness.
Always read the label of the product you are interested in and make sure it contains Neatsfoot, mink oil or beeswax, or a combination of all of these natural leather conditioners. Pine tar is another organic item that makes a good leather conditioner. All these natural ingredients don’t just make baseball glove oil effective, but also free of toxins. This means you can use them without worrying about skin allergies and rashes.
Application
Also, make sure the baseball glove oil you are buying is easy to apply. Bottles with spill-free edges or the ones that come with applicators are better options. You can also go for spray bottles where you don’t even have to use a piece of cloth to work in the oil.
Water-Resistant Quality
Whenever buying baseball glove oil, don’t just look for a product that can help with the breaking in of leather. A good oil product doesn’t just break in gloves but also adds a water-resistant layer to them. The waterproofing done by the oil prevents the cracks that baseball gloves usually develop over time. Oils with beeswax and mink oils are really good in providing this water-resistant quality to a baseball glove.
Continuous Effectiveness
The oil you decide to use won’t show noticeable effects on your leather glove immediately. The cheap glove oils with lots of synthetics often do that. They help you to break-in the new glove but fail to keep up with the regular conditioning of its leather.
Therefore, we are continuously stressing over picking glove oil made of natural ingredients. Neatsfoot oils are proven for offering continuously good conditioning results. This is also the reason why we have picked 100% Neatsfoot oil as our top pick among all the best oils for baseball gloves.
A soft leather baseball glove that has been broken-in finely provides you a good grip of the ball. Whether it a powerful shot of the batter or a quick throw by your fellow defender, a well-conditioned glove reduces the chances of missing the ball.
We hope that you can find the best oil for baseball gloves from the above reviews and buying guide.
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