Can You Use Boot Oil on a Baseball Glove?
With the start of a new season coming up, it’s time to bring out your old baseball gloves and see if it is fit for play. Chances are, even if you don’t have to buy a new set of gloves for the new season, your old baseball glove still needs a bit of maintenance before you can use it in your games.
Baseball gloves, when left to their own devices for a long time, can start to stiffen up. Of course, there are ways to reduce the effect, but in most cases, you need to bring your baseball glove back to its peak condition before you can use it. The best product for this job is, of course, a glove conditioner.
However, if you run out of glove conditioners or simply don’t want to pay for one, you can use other products to achieve the same effect – to some extent. Personally, I like to keep things simple and prefer using a glove conditioner, but if you want a cheaper alternative, like boot oil, I’ll try my best to keep you well-informed.
While boot oil can be used on a baseball glove, there are certain variants that can spell disaster for your gloves. So, before you go with that, take a peek through my article for everything you need to know about using boot oil on a baseball glove.
Is Boot Oil Good for Leather Baseball Gloves
The thing is, boot oil is not one specific type of oil. For leather boots, people use all sorts of oil such as mink oil, Neatsfoot oil, or even propolis oils. And while Neatsfoot oil is perfectly good for applying on leather baseball gloves, mink or propolis oils are not good candidates here.
So, before you even think of using boot oil on your baseball glove, you need to take a look at the ingredients of the oil. Mink oil, for instance, is great for leather boots. It is used to restore the moisture of leather boots, and it is pretty effective at that.
In fact, if you use it on your leather gloves, you will see a similar effect. Your glove will retain moisture better which can prevent cracking in the leather. However, using it regularly on your baseball glove can cause it to wear out or crack faster.
If the boot oil is made from Neatsfoot, on the other hand, it should be fine for your leather baseball gloves. Neatsfoot oil, similar to mink oil, is made from animal fat. While it works pretty well to help break in a new glove, it also makes the glove heavier and its color darker.
So, the short and sweet is that, yes, you can use boot oil on your leather baseball glove since boots are also made of leather. But it is only suitable if you run out of glove oil and want a quick alternative. Prolonged use of boot oil on baseball gloves can crack the leather and ruin it entirely.
The Bottom Line
If you ask me, it is always worth stocking up on glove oil so that you don’t have to resort to alternative ways to treat your baseball glove. Let’s face it – a high-end baseball glove isn’t exactly cheap. And the last thing you would want is to use a product that can lead to your glove getting damaged.
That being said, if you need something immediate, boot oil can be a decent option to go with. But I would strongly advise against using it frequently on your baseball glove. Good luck!
