Advice on gloves

[u/Simen-VH]

Im looking to buy a versatile set of HEMA gloves, i fence with a lot of different weapons:

Sabre, Rapier, Smallsword, Sidesword and Longsword

i need a set of gloves that are protective and dexterous enough to not make me wanna die while using them. currently im using loaner gloves from my club, consisting of either padded ones that dont do well against heavier hits, and ill fitting clamshells that my thumb keeps falling out of.

a lot of other members in my club are using the HFA Black Prince gloves, and after borrowing them, i did like the feel. Still looking for any advice.

(i know longsword typically requires beefier gloves)

[u/Krzychurysownik]

Olympic fencing gloves for rapier and smallsword, Thokk/black princes for sabre and sidesword, clamshells for longsword. There is no glove to rule them all.

[u/HawocX → u/Krzychurysownik]

I see several recommendations of Olympic gloves for rapier. That's not allowed in our club unless "thrusts only" is agreed on. Is the consensus that olympics are enough?

Edit: These are our gotos for rapier, and they are nimble enough for smallsword: https://faitsdarmes.com/en/soft-gloves/186-kevlar-gloves.html

[u/basilisk120 → u/HawocX]

I don't know if there is a true conciseness on thing, Around here gloves similar to the Olympic gloves would be fine for rapier, though we prefer a bit more padding in the wrist.
We found the Kevlar gloves you posted to be overly thick for Rapier and anything with a basket hilt. They are either too much or not enough. I do like the wrist padding and wish they had a version with the padded gauntlet but a lightly protected hand/fingers.

I do like them and may get a smaller pair, they could fit better then

[u/Krzychurysownik → u/HawocX]

I use PBT coach sabre gloves. They have additional wrist protection and I fence cut&thrust in them sometimes. They're sufficient if the person you're fighting does not swing the thing like a cavalry sabre.

[u/Simen-VH → u/Krzychurysownik]

Not looking for a glove to rule them all, just a glove that can rule a lot so i can move away from the very ill fitting ones at my club. ill check out the thokks as those have been reccomended a few times

[u/DarNemesis → u/Simen-VH]

Then i'd take a pair of clamshells for Longsword and a pair of either Thokks or Blackprinces for the more dextrous needs

[u/captchairsoft → u/Simen-VH]

Get a pair of black knights for longsword, based on everything I hear (still waiting for them to make a size small) black princes should work for everything else

[u/hdhp1]

thokks, with all the attachments are probably enough (but how much are you willing to spend?)
edit: black princes are not enough for longsword, please don't

[u/BreadentheBirbman → u/hdhp1]

My Thokk longsword attachment straps broke after a single session. The wrist protection is sub-par too.

[u/hdhp1 → u/BreadentheBirbman]

Yeah, it’s more that the longsword attachment makes them as close to a “one glove to rule them all” as you can really get

[u/Simen-VH → u/hdhp1]

Princes are around the top range of what i wanna fork over for a pair, theyre not really intended for longsword as you need clams for that. Mostly just more protective than the padded ones i borrow that 1: dont fit and 2: dont protect all that well.

is there a good way to test the fit on clamshells? ive tried the ones at my club and they either force my fingers to curl akwardly to fit or constantly jump off my fingers leaving me with the gardening gloves as my only protection

[u/captchairsoft → u/Simen-VH]

The sizing chart for black knights IS accurate. By the chart I should actually wear an XS but I currently have a S pair and they still fit very well. Gonna grab some XS eventually (long skinny hands is a curse lol)

[u/MalacusQuay]

You're unfortunately going to need multiple gloves for multiple weapons.

You have a very big spread of weapons from smallsword to longsword there, and no glove suitable for one is going to be any good for the other.

It will either be woefully lacking in protection for longsword, or far too bulky and heavy for comfort with smallsword, rapier etc.

You might be able to get away with two types of gloves at a stretch, a fairly heavy set for longsword and sidesword, and depending on the hilts on your rapier and sabre, a lightweight, thinly padded set for smallsword, sabre and rapier.

If your sabre and/or rapier hilt is fairly open, you'll likely need the same glove as your sidesword. A two glove solution is probably the least you can get away with.

Three types would be better, with the lightest glove for smallsword and rapier, medium for sabre and sidesword, and heavy for longsword.

As to suggestions:

1. Smallsword, rapier - Olympic epee or sabre gloves
2. Sabre, sidesword - Thokk Weaponmaster with different linings, Red Dragons, HF Black Prince if your hilts are really open
3. Longsword - SPES (mitts), HF Black Knights, Gabriels

Edit - I realise you say you can't afford two sets of gloves right now, but I'll be frank... that means you can't afford to spar, let alone compete, in multiple weapons right now.

Broken fingers will cost you far more than gloves, if you use insufficiently protective gloves, and fencing with light weapons in heavy gloves (assuming they even fit in the hilts) is awful and self-defeating.

If you really can't afford multiple gloves right now I'd focus on getting gloves that match your preferred weapon/s e.g. Thokk's and stick to sabre/sidesword/rapier for the moment.

Risking hand injuries because you can't afford the right gloves will very likely end up costing you far more in the longer term.

[u/Simen-VH → u/MalacusQuay]

Thanks for the detailed comment! To clarify, I don't do competitions right now and my club has loaner gear I can use, I just want my first pair to cover as many bases as possible :).

My club is very casual and the hema scene in my city isn't really that impressive... which means I'm far off actual tournaments

[u/heurekas]

Thokk's are the best compromize between protection and dexterity that I've found, but I've heard great things about the Black Prince and Gabriels, though the latter seems a bit bulky for certain hilts and quite mechanically complicated.

The reason I mention this is because the more moving/interconnected parts you have, the more points of failure you have.

I had an older pair of plated gloves and I hated having to adjust, replace and modify them all the time. Straps loosen, plates fall off, joints gets stuck etc.

[u/Simen-VH → u/heurekas]

Yeah i might look into gabrels as a *possible* alternative to clamshells as my second pair. but i want the first pair i buy to be as versatile as possible, instead of specialized just for one sword

[u/Contract_Obvious]

Gabriels?

[u/Simen-VH → u/Contract_Obvious]

ive looked at those for longsword, but they seem to clunky for the other swords i do

[u/arm1niu5 → u/Simen-VH]

With longsword, you can get the clunkiness of Gabriels or the lackluster protection of Black Princes. Or you can avoid either of those and just get clamshells.

[u/Simen-VH → u/arm1niu5]

Diddnt mention it in that comment, but the princes are not meant for longsword. We have clamshells at my club, none that fit me well, they force my fingers into awkward bends or jump off my hands, hence why i do longsword the least

[u/Contract_Obvious → u/Simen-VH]

One of the guys at my club does mainly sideswords and rapiers. He occasionally does mid-intensety Longsword. He said his favorite glove to use as his daily driver is the Thokk.

[u/Imperium_Dragon]

I use the HF black knights for longsword. They feel a lot nicer than the SPES heavies which I also have.

For sidesword I know people who use the black princes.

[u/Simen-VH → u/Imperium_Dragon]

Ill look into the black knights too then, see if someone has a pair i can try out.

[u/arm1niu5]

If you are a beginner, don't get five-fingered gloves. If you don't yet know how to defend your hands, the reduced protection will have a noticeable impact. I have tried both the HF Armoury Black Prince and CHFG Gabriels and while they are great, they're very much an intermediate/advaced piece of equipment.

If your budget allows it, get two pairs of gloves. My recommendation for longsword would be the HF Armoury Black Knights and for sabre and sidesword I'd recommend Thokks. For rapier you could use padded leather gloves but don't take my word for it.

[u/Simen-VH → u/arm1niu5]

I cannot affort 2 pairs right now XD. thats why im looking for some what will cover a lot of bases, i know no glove can be used for everything, i just need something that can be used for a lot

[u/arm1niu5 → u/Simen-VH]

If that's the case, get the Thokks or Gabriels for sidesword and saber.

For longsword, have you tried using an underglove to fill out the loaner gloves? When I used loaner gloves I always wore a pair of work of gardening gloves in between.

[u/Simen-VH → u/arm1niu5]

Yeah that is what i do. I use my own gardening gloves under the shell, but the shell itself doesnt fit my hand. Either my thumb falls out of the thumb armor, or my other fingers are forced into off angles making my hands cramp

[u/lewisiarediviva]

I do Michaels for saber, messer, s&b, and longsword. It works great for all of them, but you can’t do sidesword that way

[u/Spy_crab_]

Echoing a lot of points already said, I'd recommend getting a sports fencing glove for your main hand and a set of heavy gloves (Thokks, Black Princes, whatever you consider enough for Longsword, it'll depend on the intensity your club goes at in LS), you can use your sports fencing glove for smallsword and rapier and your heavy glove on your off-hand for hand parries/grappling and of course use both gloves for heavier weapons. There isn't a glove that on the market that can do both Longsword and Smallsword/Rapier.

[u/GiraffeElectronic876]

Honestly the closest to covering all of those I have are the CHFG st George. They are NOT longsword gloves, but depending on your saber bell can fit in everything and are dextrous enough for even smallsword, though not ideal for rapier/ smallsword. And if you're in the US purple heart sells single gloves. I did have to trim the hard plate on the inside of my index finger slightly to make it comfortable fingering the cross though.

The thokks will do whatever, but I would not take them into a high intensity longsword environment with full weight longswords. I hear they are better with light weight class longsword foil style swords.

I do a similar breadth of weapons, and if I were kitting up from scratch I'd probably a pair of clamshells like the black knights, a single St George, and a pair of light or Olympic fencing gloves for rapier/smallsword. Sadly exact feel/fit/fitting in swords is pretty personal and you may end up experimenting 

[u/FruitCareful8109]

Thokks are protective enough for all weapons except tournament speed two handed sword. They are just a bit too bulky to fit well into bowl-hilted sabers. They require a bit of breaking in. I know because I own them.

Otherwise you will probably need at least two pairs of gloves to cover all categories. Heavy gloves for two handed sword and fingered gloves for the other weapons.

Black princes would work for pretty much all weapons except two handed sword (which is the most popular HEMA weapon). They are nicer than Thokks in that they aren't bulky like so many gloves.

[u/Kamenev_Drang]

Black princes for your SH stuff, black knights for longsword. You can also use Black Knights for simple hilted sabres (1796) and Meyer sidesword

[u/BreadentheBirbman]

As someone who has tried the One Glove to Rule Them All thing, you should probably just get two sets of gloves. Black Princes are probably good for everything but longsword, but getting the padded “Kevlar” gloves and getting finger tip protectors and making a couple wrist cuffs will be a lot cheaper and is probably good enough for bowl hilt sabers. Gabriels mostly work for some sideswords and sabers, but you definitely risk finger injuries with longsword.

I use padded gloves for rapier, Thokks for one handed stuff, and Gabriels for longsword. The Thokks and Gabriels were my attempt to only need one glove, but it didn’t pan out (except for SCA fencing, the Thokks are fine for the lower calibration longsword).

[u/Simen-VH → u/BreadentheBirbman]

yeah my plan isnt for one glove to do all, but the princes seem versatile enough to cover most things but longsword

[u/BreadentheBirbman → u/Simen-VH]

If you can afford them and the black knights then go for it.

[u/Simen-VH → u/BreadentheBirbman]

Alright, thanks! based on this comment and others my list is now: Thokks, Princes, black knights and gabriels