Best Gloves for Handling Firewood?

[RedNeckGeek]

Years ago I got a free pair of gloves at Harbor Freight with a coupon, and I used them for many years loading firewood into the wood stove. They were what we used to call Casey Jones gloves, with cloth backs and leather sewn over the palms and fingers. This particular pair had orange cloth and black leather. When they finally wore out earlier this year, I swung by HF and picked up what looked like another pair.

Used 'em three hours splitting firewood, and the base of one of the fingers blew out, tearing most of the way through the palm.

I was a little upset until I looked at the receipt and found they were only two bux a pair. I guess you do get what you pay for. But then I compared the new gloves against the old pair, and the old pair had two layers of leather on the palms, and the rest of the leather was much thicker. The old pair was a much better pair of gloves, but I guess they don't make 'em like they used to. I was in HF yesterday and saw they were selling another style of Casey Jones glove, this time with green leather. The leather looked thicker, and they sure fit better than the new gloves, so I'll be giving 'em a try next time I'm running the splitter.

I've tried cow, goat, deer, and elk skin gloves as well, and none of them seem to hold up as well as those old freebe HF gloves, which apparently aren't available anymore. So I thought I'd check here on TBN for advise, but my searches weren't specific to use of the gloves when handling firewood. My question for the experts then, is what glove holds up best when working with firewood?

 

[oosik]

RNG - it's like a lot of other stuff in our life. The greedy profit motif has developed into a practice used in manufacture of many products. It's called - Engineered Obsolescence.

About 40 years ago we moved down from Alaska to the property here. I fell and burned our Ponderosa pine. I wore full cow skin gloves during the process. If I was careful and handled them properly - one pair would normally last a year.

Right now I use heavy leather gloves from a company - Aerostich. I use their "Competition" glove. Not at all cheap. The pair I use around the property has lasted me five + years now. Perhaps they last so long because I don't burn wood any more - ??

 

[TheMan419]

Costco sells the obligatory ranch hand yellow leather gloves. Three pair for $20. They seem to do ok for the price.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Right now I use heavy leather gloves from a company - Aerostich. I use their "Competition" glove. Not at all cheap. The pair I use around the property has lasted me five + years now. Perhaps they last so long because I don't burn wood any more - ??

Small world, oosik! I rotate my elk skin ropers to firewood duty when they get to raggety for riding. I have something like four Aerostich suits going back to the early '80s. Some of them, unfortunately, have been crash tested, fortunately with excellent results. But like you, I'd like to find a reasonably priced glove and just keep them on hand for firewood processing without having to replace them a couple times a year.

 

[Diggin It]

and I used them for many years loading firewood into the wood stove.

Umm, why?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Umm, why?

Because those gloves lasted so long there was no need to replace them?

Seriously, some of the oak is really rough after it's split, like handling rose stems. I got tired of getting splinters.

 

[joeyd]

I use the HF rubber coated gloves for handling firewood. The palms grip damp wood well and they last for a cord or two. For the price around a buck and a half now, their worth it. I still use leather gloves for cutting wood, chainsaws don't mess around.

 

[Hay Dude]

For handling firewood? Get youself a pair of Stihl Timbersports gloves.

 

[Wagtail]

I use regular leather 'rigger' gloves for practically everything around the property... one dedicated 'general use' pair and one pair for wood handling. They last about a year each for the tasks.

As for loading the wood-heater, I employ a pair of welding gauntlets.

 

[oosik]

Right on - RedNeckGeek. Riding season is getting real close here. I use the Roadcrafter Classic jacket and a double layer set of jeans. Several sets of boots - Combat Lite if I'm going on a long trip. I always take two pair of Aerostich gloves with me. Elk skin ropers and a pair of their lined gauntlets. I HATE riding in the rain but spring riding - some times it's unavoidable.

I rode Harley's for 25 years. Now I'm a real softie. BMW R1200 GSA with HEATED grips. I'm completely surprised how much WARM hands help keep the whole body comfortable.

BTW - I ALWAYS wore gloves handling fire wood. From felling my ancient Ponderosa pines - all the way to loading the wood stove. Some enjoy showing their scars - I enjoy protecting my hands.

 

[FTG-05]

I just buy the Large three sets of gloves at HD for about $10. Work about as well as any other pair. An good example of robust gloves are the White Ox type that Essential Craftsman likes.

 

[Wagtail]

Right on - RedNeckGeek. Riding season is getting real close here. I use the Roadcrafter Classic jacket and a double layer set of jeans. Several sets of boots - Combat Lite if I'm going on a long trip. I always take two pair of Aerostich gloves with me. Elk skin ropers and a pair of their lined gauntlets. I HATE riding in the rain but spring riding - some times it's unavoidable.

I rode Harley's for 25 years. Now I'm a real softie. BMW R1200 GSA with HEATED grips. I'm completely surprised how much WARM hands help keep the whole body comfortable.

BTW - I ALWAYS wore gloves handling fire wood. From felling my ancient Ponderosa pines - all the way to loading the wood stove. Some enjoy showing their scars - I enjoy protecting my hands.

^^^ And it took me until your second paragraph to figure out that you were talking about motorcycle riding gloves.

(horse riding gloves are a bit different)

 

[shooterdon]

I end up using duct tape to patch the holes I get in the fingers of gloves used to handling firewood. I have never worn out the palms of a glove first.

 

[ericm979]

I use double leather work gloves for piling and chipping brush and when splitting/stacking fire wood. I was getting them from Baileys but it turns out that HF has them for less:

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

For putting wood in the stove I use a set of welding gloves which I keep next to the stove. A few times after everything's burning a split has fallen against the doors. With the welding gloves I can reach in and move it without getting burned.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Right on - RedNeckGeek. Riding season is getting real close here. I use the Roadcrafter Classic jacket and a double layer set of jeans. Several sets of boots - Combat Lite if I'm going on a long trip. I always take two pair of Aerostich gloves with me. Elk skin ropers and a pair of their lined gauntlets. I HATE riding in the rain but spring riding - some times it's unavoidable.

I rode Harley's for 25 years. Now I'm a real softie. BMW R1200 GSA with HEATED grips. I'm completely surprised how much WARM hands help keep the whole body comfortable.

BTW - I ALWAYS wore gloves handling fire wood. From felling my ancient Ponderosa pines - all the way to loading the wood stove. Some enjoy showing their scars - I enjoy protecting my hands.

When it comes to foul weather on a motorcycle and hands, there's nothing better than a pair of heated grips. I've been using them now for maybe 20 years, and a set gets added to almost every bike I ride sooner than later.

I had an R1200GS that had a heated seat, but it was a rare day when it got cold enough out here in California that it felt good when it was on. Still, I do remember a time or two in the winter in the mountains, with snow in the air, when that seat was something of a life saver.

These days, though, if it's winter, I'll be on an older and far more reliable R100RT, and the fairing is such that elkskin ropers are usually all I need on my hands to stay warm. But I have had to slip on some insulated gloves when the temps drop down into the twenties. That's when those air cooled cylinders hovering over my toes really pay off!

But coming back on topic, a pair of elk skin ropers doesn't hold up very well when handling firewood, and they'll get holes worn in the fingertips long before I'm really ready to switch the current pair of moto gloves to firewood/tractor duties. And that means putting the new pair through the soak-em-in-water-and-ride-em-'till-they're-dry routine to break 'em in, something best done on a hot summer day, not in the middle of winter...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I use double leather work gloves for piling and chipping brush and when splitting/stacking fire wood. I was getting them from Baileys but it turns out that HF has them for less:

Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

I just brought home a pair of those gloves for firewood chores, Eric. How long will a pair of them last you?

 

[AWSubie]

I like the Lincoln Electric welding gloves ($11 at places like Home Depot) for working around camp fire or wood stove. Harbor Freight sells some cheap welding gloves but they seem to be very thin leather so I stay with the Lincolns.

 

[ericm979]

I just brought home a pair of those gloves for firewood chores, Eric. How long will a pair of them last you?

The pair that I have been using for piling brush and splitting firewood is about 9 months old. They last a lot longer than single thickness work gloves.

 

[ericm979]

I like the Lincoln Electric welding gloves ($11 at places like Home Depot) for working around camp fire or wood stove. Harbor Freight sells some cheap welding gloves but they seem to be very thin leather so I stay with the Lincolns.

HF has a number of different welding gloves. The ones I use for the stove are "MIG gloves" and are pretty thick... But I think they cost $18.

 

[deezler]

I used to buy the basic firm-grip 3-pack of gloves from Home Depot for $10 also. But I get holes in the finger tips within a couple hours of hard use, just not worth it. So I graduated to the $13/pair version with reinforced everything. These last for a good loooong time of general use. I only tend to scrap them once I accidentally soak them in coolant, diesel or motor oil and they get gross.

I generally like the slimmer fitting, more dextrous gloves. The old-school big baggy grey leather gloves only come out for landscaping and masonry work.

FIRM GRIP Trade Master X-Large Tan Duck Canvas Glove 55278-12 - The Home Depot

Give a modern finishing touch to your closet by selecting this FIRM GRIP Trade Master XLarge Tan Duck Canvas Glove. Impact protection, reinforced durability.

www.homedepot.com