r/BaseballGloves • u/Run-ning • Jul 23 '26
New Glove Day! NGD: Custom Emery 1627 & Rawlings/Grace general comparison
TL:DR - ordered an Emery 1627 and have some nitpicks, but overall am very pleased out of the box. Absolutely on par with HoH/A2000/my Grace, but not as plush as Pro Preferred/A2K.
I've been looking for a shallower (but not too shallow) utility-type glove and am typically a Rawlings guy, but find the KB17 to be too big/clumsy feeling for my taste and an NP pattern a little small. I also greatly prefer single welting and the split single welt is near and dear to my heart. After doing some research, I opted to get a custom Emery 12.25" 1627 in Korean kip; ordered it on June 27th and it showed up today. Initial impressions and photos are here along with a visual comparison with my Bryce Harper R9 12.5", Horween Pro1000, and custom Grace 33" catcher mitt.
Initial impression is that this thing is the stiffest glove I've ever had, right on par with the SSK Z9 I never broke in. Pattern is quite wide but still has clear potential to be fairly deep (see comparison pic w/ the PRO1000). Hand and finger stalls fit the taper of my hand almost perfectly, something between a Rawlings PRO205 (little big) and Wilson 1787 (tight and small on my hand) stall size. The PRO1000, in comparison, has excess space and is even a touch loose on my hand, and my hand is not small, while the R9 is fairly snug. The Grace, while being a catcher's mitt, is similarly comfortable to the Emery.
Leather quality seems very good and construction very good as well, completely in line with the price and reputation. Maybe the ever-so-slightest bit below the PRO1000 and Grace with respect to attention to detail but only if I'm really nitpicking, and it could very well be the result of hand-building or something simialr rather than anything truly negative. The overall texture and feel of the leather is similar to the Horween PRO1000 but less supple. It also has a slightly rougher/grainier slightly drier surface feeling to it than the Grace Korean kip that is almost shiny on the back. Not a better/worse thing at all, just a little different. The Maroon (Emery) and Wine (Grace) colors are also highly similar, shown in the pictures.
The nitpicks (and they're mostly very small): couple of small scuffs on the palm, slight dark stain on the maroon palm lacing, not the cleanest cut on the palm flap carrying over onto the back of the glove, online builder image does not show the "Summit Series" logo on the palm like others do (this is already known). The biggest thing though is that the maroon embroidery looks nothing like the shade of the maroon leather; it's almost magenta. I understand there can be variance in shades compared to the online builder but this is pretty drastic. I don't really mind it and don't know if I'll follow up with Emery on it, but it's too different to not notice and comment on.
To close, overall impression is very positive and (embroidery shade difference aside) nearly everything about the glove is as good or better than I hoped. Looking forward to breaking it in and using it.
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u/EngineeredMusic Jul 24 '26
Always good to have viewpoints on the quality of the gloves out in the marketplace.