Why you want a glove with a Keystone Thumb

This is an example of a Keystone Thumb Feature

For over 25 years, GO Gloves has been famously known world-wide for our high-quality gloves. This not only includes our materials of choice, and the construction and design of our gloves, but also the fine features we include in each glove model.

This includes glove features like the “ergonomic” finger lengths, our precise sizing, the finger fourchettes on some models, ornamental seams on the back of various glove models, our special Beaded Palm gloves for better grip, our unique shirred “gathered” wrists which help hold the gloves on the hand, and our Keystone Thumbs.

These glove features, just to name a few, are good to know about ……and from time to time, I like to bring them to your attention.

I have no doubt that most of you have no clue what a Keystone Thumb is, which is expected, so I will inform you on this special glove feature so you can make wise decisions on your glove purchases in the future. 

Keystone thumb feature: I am sorry to repeat myself about this glove feature since I have discussed this feature many times in the past, but it is essential. This glove feature may not seem to be particularly important or maybe taken for granted, but a Keystone Thumb feature is very important if you want the gloves to be comfortable, offer better dexterity, have a more natural fit and be more form fitting to your hand, and “ergonomically” fit the user. After all, this is what a high-quality glove is all about.

As an example, think of the comfort and dexterity required by marching band instrument members who must wear and use the gloves for exceptionally long periods of time. This includes the dexterity that is desired and required by musicians and everyone else who wears and uses gloves daily or occasionally. The same also applies to most all work gloves that must be used and worn daily.

Note: To identify a Keystone Thumb glove model, these are where the thumb piece is made separately and set into and sewn into the palm of the glove. Gloves without a Keystone Thumb are simply two pieces of fabric laid out and cut to the shape of the hand and sewn together. We often refer to these types of glove thumbs as Wing Thumbs or Straight Thumbs. Our hands are not designed this way and therefore, gloves without a keystone thumb are less comfortable, have an unnatural fit, and provide much less dexterity.

Gloves without a Keystone Thumb are also a sign of a lower quality and cheaply made glove. A Keystone Thumb is an essential feature in almost any glove except for Ambidextrous Gloves, Knit Gloves, or some rugged Heat Resistant Gloves and various industrial work gloves such as some Impact Resistant Gloves and Welding Gloves.

In conclusion, the fine glove features that we use in our gloves that I mention in my introduction, like a Keystone Thumb, certainly add to the costs in producing the gloves. However, our goal is to only provide the best quality gloves available. It is what we built our glove business upon since our beginnings and that will never change. It is what we are renowned for and why we have thousands of repeat gloves customers around the world.

“We leave the cheaply made gloves up to our competitors along with the complaints that come with them”.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or questions pertaining to any glove feature or a glove purchase that you may need assistance on. It is always nice to speak directly with our customers and I enjoy when they say, “I’m glad I called.”

Thank you for subscribing,

Joe McGarry

The Glove Guru

Best Leather Drivers Work Gloves

I have not discussed our Drivers Gloves for years now but these style of work gloves are one of our most popular work gloves next to our Coated Work Gloves.

Many people think that Drivers Gloves are associated with fancy leather gloves worn by men driving sports cars (We sell them too) but Drivers Gloves are the name adopted for leather gloves that were made popular with long-haul truck drivers, transportation and delivery people, and construction workers.

Maybe you never noticed or paid attention but you would be hard pressed not to see your local truck delivery guy not wearing a pair of Leather Drivers Gloves to grab and handle large box deliveries. Some of these workers have switched to some of the thinner coated work gloves but the Leather Drivers remain the standard for most users.

There are many types of Drivers Gloves that are popular with many users and they include types from grain cowhide, goatskin, deerskin, pigskin, and insulated models for cold weather, cut resistant models, and high visibility models for low light conditions.

Drivers gloves are also the most practical general use leather gloves used for all types of uses from construction workers to yard work and general chores.

Important features

Before I discuss our various Leather Drivers Gloves, I feel the need to point out an especially important feature in our Leather Work Gloves which is frequently overlooked when you buy gloves.

Keystone thumb feature: I am sorry to repeat myself since I have discussed this feature many times in the past with other types of gloves, but it is essential. This feature may not seem to be particularly important, but it is if you want the gloves to be comfortable, form fitting, and ergonomically fit the user.

Note: To identify a keystone thumb glove model, these are where the thumb piece is made separately and set into and sewn into the palm of the glove. Gloves without a keystone thumb are simply two pieces of leather laid out and cut to the shape of the hand and sewn together. Our hands are not designed this way and therefore, gloves without a keystone thumb are less comfortable and provide less dexterity. Gloves without a keystone thumb are also a sign of a lower quality and cheaply made gloves. This is an essential feature in almost any glove except for some rugged heat resistant and some welding gloves.

Other notable important features

The following items may be helpful to consider when selecting a Leather Drivers Glove.

Type of Leather:

Top Grain Cowhide Leather models are always the best option since they are the highest quality of leather used in leather work gloves and have a smooth finish, are more flexible, and durable. Split Leather models, although durable, have a rough, suede type finish and are usually used in less expensive glove models.

Pigskin Leather Gloves and Deerskin Leather Gloves are also particularly good and durable like cowhide, and they are the best option if the gloves are frequently used in wet conditions since pigskin and deerskin dries soft unlike cowhide which can get stiff after they dry out. However, we do have a great WK-1304 Water-Resistant Top Grain Leather Driver Glove which is a good choice if the gloves are often used in wet conditions. 

Goat Skin Leather Drivers Gloves and Deerskin Leather Drivers Gloves are also popular and a very practical choice since they have a softer feel.

Best seller: This is a question that is frequently asked, and I always ask, “What are you using them for first?”

I will mention that it is a close race at the top since no single model substantially outsells any other Leather Drivers Gloves. However, I will say that our Kinco WK-98 Premium Grain Leather Drivers Gloves are extremely popular but that is largely the case since we have sold these the longest and many customers simply re-order models that they have bought in the past without looking at other newer models.

See below about the Caiman Water-Resistant Top Grain Leather Gloves which in my opinion are the best Leather Drivers Gloves available today.

Leather Drivers Work Glove Styles

There are a few styles of Leather Drivers Work Gloves for specific needs, requirements, and applications. I will not include links to the specific applications since it can get redundant and needless since the gloves can be found easily in the main link for Leather Work Drivers Gloves.

These are the types of styles that you can find when selecting a Leather Work Drivers Glove:

General Duty, Cut-Resistant, Winter Lined, Water-Resistant, and Hi-Vis High Visibility models.  In other words, we have you covered for whatever use you need since we carry over 28 different styles.

The Best Leather Work Drivers Glove:

After selling Leather Drivers Gloves for over 25 years, there is one model that stands out and meets every important benchmark that I consider essential and vital.

Meet the Caiman 1304 Top Grain Water-Resistant Leather Drivers Gloves.

Besides being the most comfortable and most durable almost bullet-proof driver gloves these gloves exceed everything anyone would want in a Leather Work Drivers Glove. If you knew anything about how driver’s gloves are made, I am surprised that these are not more expensive. The design and the intricate work to make these gloves is remarkable.

As far as the design, they are made to take the natural shape of the human hand and even employ a special design for the thumb and fingers and get the seams out of the way of natural wear and tear.  In fact, these drivers are even washable if you can imagine that.

It is also known that these gloves can last 3 times longer than the average drivers gloves which adds up to huge savings if you use these types of gloves on a regular basis. Therefore, based on all the gloves features and benefits, it is my opinion that these gloves are the best leather drivers work gloves available today without a doubt.

I could go through all the details here but to keep this post simple, you can read more about these gloves at the link below.   

Link: Caiman 1304 Top Grain Water-Resistant Leather Drivers Gloves

Other Helpful Links to 28 different styles:

Link: Leather Drivers Work Gloves

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you for subscribing,

Joe McGarry

The Glove Guru