Glove Relacing: What It Costs and When It's Time
Laces are the skeleton of your glove. The leather shell can last decades, but laces stretch, dry out, and snap — usually at the worst possible moment. Here's how to tell when your glove needs new laces, what relacing costs, and how to decide between doing it yourself and sending it to a shop.
Signs your glove needs relacing
- Stretched, thin laces — laces that have visibly narrowed or gone flat have lost most of their strength.
- Dry, cracked lace surface — brittle laces snap without warning; if a lace crackles when you bend it, it's done.
- A floppy web or loose pocket — when the web wobbles or the pocket won't hold its shape, the laces have stretched past the point of re-tightening.
- Any snapped lace — one break means its neighbors are the same age and the same condition. Replacing one lace on a 10-year-old glove is a temporary patch.
Check the web top and finger tops monthly — they take the most stress. Our glove care guide covers the full maintenance routine.
How much does glove relacing cost?
Typical price ranges you'll see across the industry:
- Single lace repair: roughly $10–$25 per section (web, heel, fingers).
- Full relace: roughly $50–$100 depending on glove size and web complexity. Catcher's mitts and first-base mitts run higher because they use more lace and denser patterns.
- Full relace + conditioning/restoration: $75–$150, and usually the best value — the glove comes back tight, clean, and rehydrated in one pass.
Compare that to $150–$400+ for a comparable new glove (plus weeks of break-in), and relacing a quality glove is almost always the better deal. See exact pricing on our services page.
DIY vs. professional relacing
Doing it yourself
Relacing is learnable. You'll need lace (about 4 feet for a web, 15–20+ feet for a full glove), lacing needles, and patience. Photograph every section before you cut anything — lace patterns are easy to get subtly wrong, and a mis-routed web changes how the glove closes. We sell the same laces and relacing tools we use in the shop if you want to try it.
Sending it to a pro
A professional relace gets you consistent tension across every section — the thing that's hardest to do on your first few gloves and the difference between a glove that closes crisply and one that feels vaguely "off." A shop will also spot problems you can't see, like worn eyelets or padding that has shifted. If the glove has sentimental or dollar value, or it's mid-season, skip the experiment and request a quote.
Pick your lace color while you're at it
A relace is the natural moment to customize. We stock a full range of lace colors, so your glove can come back tighter than new and looking like yours.
Rather have a pro handle it?
We relace, restore, condition, and break in gloves every day — mail-in service available nationwide.