Are you undecided whether to buy sap gloves for self-defense purposes or make one on your own? Did you know that making this defensive equipment is a straightforward process if you know how to make sap gloves?
Sap gloves are excellent self-defense tools that can serve other purposes. The best part is you don’t need to buy a new pair if you already have spare gloves at home. I’ll describe the four easy steps to make the best sap gloves you can ever wear and defend yourself from attackers.
Things You’ll Need to Make Sap Gloves.
Making sap gloves requires several items, and you might already have most of them at home. If not, these materials are readily available at your favorite sewing supplies store.
- Gloves
There’s no need to buy a brand new pair of gloves. If you already have one at home, you can use it for this project. You can even use fingerless gloves because you’ll only weigh down the knuckles.
Although most sap gloves are leather, you don’t have to use leather pairs only. I know some people who use breathable fabric for sap gloves because they have sweaty palms. Fabric gloves are also better at dissipating heat, making them more comfortable to wear.
- Lead or Iron Powder
It’s easy to find 8oz sap gloves from retailers and manufacturers. Most people find the weight the sweet spot for delivering a serious blow to an attacker. The eight ounces only reflect the heaviness of the steel, iron, or metal powder in the knuckle pouches. It excludes the glove’s weight.
You can always use less or more powder, depending on your needs. In general, people with large hands often require more than eight ounces of metal or steel powder. If you’re on the smaller side, you can use less.
- Leather
It doesn’t matter if you’re going to recycle or repurpose an old leather object. It makes more sense than buying a whole leather panel. After all, you’ll only need several square inches of this material to create knuckle pouches.
Your principal concern is the leather’s color. Ideally, it should match your gloves’ hue. You’ll want the pouches to blend naturally with the glove. Otherwise, you’ll attract attention by telling others you have a defensive weapon in your hands.
That’s why most people buy brand-new leather to guarantee a color match.
Moreover, pick thin leather instead of thick to make your sap gloves less bulky.
- Sewing Kit and Machine
You can’t use ordinary sewing needles because they’re challenging to insert and pass through the leather. Hence, you might want to buy a special tool for sewing leather materials. The thread’s color should also match the knuckle pouch and glove.
Most folks use a sewing machine for this project because doing it by hand can be challenging. You don’t need commercial-grade equipment because a pocket-sized device can do the trick.
- Fabric Scissors and Cloth Tape Measure
You’ll need a pair of scissors specially designed for cutting fabric because of the cleaner cuts it makes. A cloth tape measure will also come in handy in determining the correct knuckle pouch size.
Steps for Making Sap Gloves
Step 1. Measure the glove’s distance from the knuckle to the middle joint.
You’ll want full control of finger movements when wearing these self-defense gloves. For example, making a fist for punching requires you to fold your fingers into your palms, exposing the knuckles and middle joint to deal a blow to your attacker. The metal-weighted strips should support this movement.
Place one end of a cloth tape measure about an inch above the glove’s knuckle section, and extend the tape towards the middle joint. Note the distance and measure the length of the other glove fingers, excluding the thumb. Next, measure the width of each glove finger, save the thumb.
Pro Tip: You might want to check a picture of Hatch sap gloves or any other brand to know what you want to create.
Step 2. Get ready with the leather strips.
Take your measurements from Step 1 and place the leather on a table. Cut the material into strips, following the precise glove finger measurements. I recommend labeling the leather strip’s inner side according to their glove finger placement.
Cut eight leather strips for the index to ring fingers on both hands (four strips for each hand). I recommend using sharp fabric scissors for this step to ensure a cleaner cut.
Step 3. Sew the leather strips onto the gloves.
Position one glove on a flat surface, spreading the fingers out. Place each leather strip onto their respective glove finger, slightly off-center to ensure the metal or steel powder will be in the correct place when you throw a punch.
I recommend temporarily securing the leather strips with double-sided adhesive to check their placement before sewing them permanently. You can start sewing one strip if you’re okay with the positioning.
Sew only the leather strip’s bottom, right, and left sides. Leave the top section open because you’ll need this to fill the strips with metal or steel powder. Remember to remove the double-sided adhesive before you sew the last of the three sides.
Step 4. Fill the tiny leather pockets with steel or metal powder and sew them shut.
Get your iron or lead powder and divide it into eight equal parts to fill your steel shot sap gloves. Make a tiny improvised funnel to help you fill the leather pockets with your chosen material.
I recommend sewing one leather strip immediately after filling it with metal or steel powder to prevent spilling. You can then sew the next glove finger until you’ve completed the weighted glove. Perform the same procedure on the other glove.
Audiopedia has an exciting video about weighted-knuckle or sap gloves. It’s worth watching because you’ll appreciate better how to make one.
Conclusion
You now know how to make sap gloves. The process isn’t as complicated as some folks believe. You can make different sap glove styles for your needs or give them to your friends. Creating your sap gloves is a breeze if you have the correct mindset and materials.
I hope you’re happy and delighted with this guide because I’m excited to have shared this with you. I’m sure your social contacts would love this tutorial, too. So, kindly spread it around. And if you’ve got concerns, issues, or questions about this article, shoot me a message, and I’ll get back to you promptly.
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