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Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves, air mesh pair

Clanky Dog Air Mesh Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves
Featherweight Bottle Cap washboard gloves deliver dampened moderate tone & they're gentle on your washboard rub surface. Airmesh keeps hands cool.


 
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World's First Commercially Manufactured Washboard Gloves
Just slip them on and scratch your ax!

Special Features for Washboard Players—
  • Bottle caps deliver dampened moderate tone.
  • Round pan-bottom shape gentle on your washboard rub surface.
  • Positioned at finger pad for comfort and solid control.
  • Securely Mounted - Bottle caps won't fall off.
  • Innovative compression-mounted precision natural acetal (similar to nylon) seating disks provide comfort and dependable resonance.
  • Breathable air mesh keeps your hands cool.
  • Durable leather cuff adds stability and helps gloves last longer.
  • Elasticized cuff gives comfortable fit.
  • Hook & loop wrist pull tab provides firm secure fit.
  • Professional look and feel makes you sound good and play better.
  • 3 Sizes: small, medium, large. Pictured gloves are medium.
Check out all 3 washboard glove styles—
  1. Air Mesh Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves
  2. Deluxe Leather Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves
  3. Thimble Washboard Gloves (Still in development)

Why Choose these Gloves?
If you want excellent-quality lightweight washboard gloves that keep your hands cool; Generates a dampened moderate tone; Gentle on a vintage washboard's tin rubbing surface...and you want these rare gloves at a budget price, then these gloves are for you.

Here's What You Get:
One pair of gloves.

Loose Bottle Cap Alert
A few years ago we received a report that some bottle caps came off a pair of air mesh gloves. We think we removed all the gloves that caused the problem (knock on wood). So be sure to let us know if you experience any issues with the bottle caps.

Air Mesh Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves
Featherweight fabric mesh keeps hands cool...strong steel bottle caps gentle on washboard—generates dampened moderate tone.
Finally, professionally designed ready-to-wear washboard gloves. Just slip them on and scratch your ax!.

Here's what Makes Clanky Dog Washboard Gloves so Special:
  • Keeps your hands cool
  • Makes washboard easy to play
  • Firm comfortable fit
  • Quick & easy to slip on, take off
Should I get the Air Mesh or Deluxe Leather Gloves?
Get Air Mesh if you want gloves that feel lighter-than-air and keep your hands extra-cool at a budget price. Air Mesh gloves keep your hands the coolest. But note that drumsticks and other hand-held objects might slip from the slick net-like air mesh material. Get Deluxe Leather if you want tough durable gloves that give you extra support plus a firm secure grip—and feel like a million bucks.


8 Good Reasons to Get these Air Mesh Bottle Cap Gloves
  1. Delivers dampened moderate tone
  2. Steel bottle caps are strong and durable
  3. Pan-bottom cap shape gentle on your washboard rub surface
  4. Featherweight air mesh fabric won't wear you out or slow you down
  5. Air mesh feels lighter-than-air and keeps your hands extra-cool
  6. Recycled bottle caps environmentally green
  7. Extremely rare excellent quality specialty product at a budget price that saves you money—and made no place else
  8. Professional design makes you sound good, look good, and play better
Demo of Air Mesh Bottle Cap and Thimble style prototype washboard gloves.


Should I get Thimble Gloves (in development) or Bottle Cap Gloves?
The choice depends on how you play the washboard. Thimble gloves enable you to play the washboard effectively using your fingertips. Bottle Cap gloves enable you to play the washboard effectively using your fingerpads.

As a rule, fingertips generate a more powerful tone than fingerpads. So if you want the loudest most clamorous sound, then get Thimble gloves. Your fingerpads, however, generate relatively mellower tones than fingertips. So if you want to tone it down, then consider Bottle Cap gloves.

Traditionally, the vast majority of players prefer Thimble gloves over Bottle Cap gloves. Of course, the only practical way to know for sure which you like best is to try them both. But if money is a factor, then Bottle Cap gloves are more economical than Thimble gloves. So Bottle Cap gloves are the better choice if you are watching your pennies—especially if you also want a more subdued sound.


Washboard Gloves are Essential for Jug Bands and Skiffle Bands
The gloves are also great for Jam Bands, Garage Bands, Folk Artists, Street Musicians, Drum Circles, Family Gatherings and Traditional Old-time Music.

Try Washboard Gloves with Almost any Kind of Toe-Tapping Dance Music—
  • Ragtime
  • Cajun
  • Gospel
  • Dixieland
  • Blues
  • Bluegrass
  • Reggae
  • Pop, Rock & Rap too!
The Story Behind the World's First Commercially Manufactured Washboard Gloves Clanky Dog
A lot of thought and energy went into the making of these washboard gloves. They were designed and developed by Scott Miller (that's me), an award-winning traditional old-time percussionist who holds a master's degree in product design. I've been talking about the idea of producing ready-to-wear washboard gloves with musician friends for years. But it wasn't until 2009 that I began collecting glove samples and research data to develop some working prototypes. My good friend Steve Litsios of Rattlebrained Designs tested the first rough prototypes in 2010 with his blues band, Swamp Train. He also designed the Clanky Dog logo. If you subscribe to the monthly BULLETIN, then you know it took more than one full year to engineer and manufacture the glove blanks—and then another few months to specify, test, and assemble the custom hardware. The Air Mesh gloves entered the inventory in May 2012. The Deluxe Leather version about a year-and-a-half later in September, 2013. So I hope you like the finished products.

Of course, the market for washboard gloves is teeny-tiny. That's why no other company has bothered to design and produce such a product. So it's no wonder these are the world's first (and only) commercially manufactured washboard gloves.

But with a little luck and a brace of blessings from the stars above, maybe enough players will help this line of products rise and flourish. And as these first washboard gloves evolve, we can look forward to more improvements in the future. So with your help and support, Clanky Dog Washboard Gloves will become even better in the years ahead. Okay, that's enough talk about the gloves. Let's get jamming!


What is Your Glove Size?
What is Your Glove Size?



Tip
"Get the smallest size glove you are comfortable with," says blues percussionist Steve Litsios. That's because gloves stretch over time. You will get better results if thimbles or bottle caps "are tight on your fingers, especially during energetic playing," Steve adds.



Item# Item Name Only Qty Add
135-01-BC-05-01-5-S Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves, air mesh, small
$29.99
(Out of Stock)
135-01-BC-05-01-5-M Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves, air mesh, medium
$29.99
(Out of Stock)
135-01-BC-05-01-5-L Bottle Cap Washboard Gloves, air mesh, large
$29.99
(Out of Stock)
Check the items you wish to purchase, then click


Features:
  1. Real Bottle Caps: Delivers dampened moderate tone, gentle on your washboard rub surface.
  2. Bottle Caps on all 5 Fingers: Provides maximum tone control.
  3. Recycled Caps: Helps save the environment.
  4. Securely Mounted: Bottle caps won't fall off.
  5. Positioned on Your Finger Pad: Provides comfort and solid control.
  6. Innovative Compression-mounted Seating Process: Provides comfort and dependable resonance.
  7. Precision Natural Acetal (similar to nylon) Seating Disks: Non-toxic, won't irritate your skin.
  8. Air Mesh Fabric: Keeps hands cool.
  9. Expandable Finger Fabric: Provides strength and firm fit.
  10. Natural Leather Fingertips: Lets fingers breathe.
  11. Durable Leather Cuff: Adds stability, makes glove last longer.
  12. Elasticized Cuff: Gives comfortable fit.
  13. Hook & Loop Wrist Pull Tabs: Provides firm secure fit.
  14. Professional Look and Feel: Makes you sound good and play better.
  15. Three Sizes: Fits most hands.




Specs:
Figures are approximate (but pretty darn close)
  • Sizes: Small, medium, large
  • Hardware: Recycled bottle caps
  • Fittings: Precision natural acetal (similar to nylon) compression mounts
  • Composition: Air mesh, expandable fabric, leather
  • Leather: Natural top grain cabretta sheepskin
  • Color: Black
  • Glove blanks made in Pakistan, bottle cap hardware assembled in U.S.A.

Price per pair...


Average Customer Review: Average Customer Review: 4.5 of 5 4.5 of 5 Total Reviews: 4 Write a review.

  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
4 of 5 Washboard gloves July 24, 2016
Reviewer: Julie king  
The small is still too large. Wish x small was available. I use a large safety pin to cinch them up. Because it isn't a perfect fit, it's a bit of a sloppy "play", especially when ripping on a fast bluegrass song. I also play accordion on a few songs and they're easy to get on and off. Much better than putting guitar metal picks on and off.

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  1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 
4 of 5 Washboard gloves with bottle caps June 6, 2012
Reviewer: Steve Litsios from Switzerland  
The Good:
- The gloves are comfortable and lightweight.
- They seem well built and strong.
- The airmesh material seems well suited to keep your hands from sweating.
- The bottle caps are well attached and fit snugly on my finger tips.
- The bottle caps are more interesting then expected. They offer a surprising number of sounds depending on how you angle them while playing.
- They are not too loud - good for situations where a washboard could easily be overbearing.
- The bottle caps are easy to remove if you don't want to have them on all your fingers.

The Less Good:
- One bottle cap was attached in a way that prevented putting the glove on that finger.
- With an old washboard with dry wood, the airmesh material catches all the small splinters from the wood's surface if you rub against it. I sometimes use my palm against the wood, but with no finger contact to keep my hand motion going...a bad idea with these gloves on some of my older boards.
- Strangely enough (when taking into account the above comment), the airmesh can be very slippery and make it hard to simultaneously hold a nicely polished drumstick (for instance) to use on the washboard or a cymbal. (Probably not much of an issue for most people.)
- The bottle caps aren't very loud.
- The bottle caps are a bit clanky when it comes to hitting bells and stuff.
- The edges of the bottle caps can catch each other when you play. It doesn't really get in the way or prevent good playing, but it does take some getting use to.

All in all, these are good washboard gloves and will certainly be useful to many players. I will be happy to use them when I play "just" a washboard. But I am very disappointed that they don't suit my own playing style for when I mix washboard and drum playing. For that I would need the leather to cover the inner (palm) side of the glove of my index finger; likewise my thumb and between; and would also probably want the leather to cover the rest of the thumb as well.

I looking forward to the thimble version!

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  0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 
5 of 5 Professional Washboard Gloves June 3, 2012
Reviewer: Kingpckl from Michigan  
As a member of a jugband I have been watching the posts on the development of these gloves for the last year hear at Bone Dry.  They were worth the wait!  Great tone, mellow, musical.  Easy to take on and off, look great, fit well.  As my band mate said "Makes the washboard easy and comfortable to play."  Overall a great product, Highly Recommended!

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  1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 
4 of 5 My Review May 15, 2012
Reviewer: Jim Robertson from Sweet Briar Virginia  
I'm the proud new owner of a pair of Clanky Dog Bottlecap Washboard gloves, and I'd like to say a few things about them. But first, I'd like to thank Scott Miller for his hard work and dedication to the world of “folk” percussion. Ever since I stumbled on his shop a year and a half ago he has always come through in a professional and efficient manner. For example, I ordered my washboard gloves late in the evening of May 9th. When I went to the PO on May 12th, there they were—all the way from St. Louis to Virginia, and in time for a jug band gig I had that night. This is unsolicited praise. I just think Scott is doing a great job of bringing hard to find items into one place, and getting them out to folks in a timely manner.

Now on to the gloves. The packaging was sufficiently slick and professional looking. The sizing chart on the front is a good feature, and the playing instructions are probably useful to novice washboard players. The gloves appear to be well made and fit like...well—you get the idea! I did have a problem with the tip of one finger. The bottle caps are firmly, and I'm told permanently, affixed to the finger tips of the gloves. One tip was sealed shut by whatever fastening process is used in the manufacture. I tinkered around a bit, turned the finger mostly inside out, and was able to open the tip up with no harm to the glove or me.

As I mentioned, I had a gig the night I got the gloves. I am of the multi-instrument persuasion, and the ease of pulling these puppies on is a dream come true. Typically, when I switch from a stringed instrument to washboard it takes too long putting on my thimbles. Taking the glove off can be another matter entirely, however. They have a velcro closure for the back of the wrist which does a nice job of holding them on securely. But when I finished the song and went to take the gloves off I ran into a problem: the velcro flap was down flat against my wrist, and all of my finger tips had bottle caps attached so I couldn't get a grip on the flap! I was able to use my teeth, and the show went on. Subsequently, I left the edge of the flap up and that worked fine.

As far as playing goes, the gloves are very secure and comfortable. There's never any concern that a cap will peel off and fly into the audience. The flat surface of the bottle caps takes some getting used to. I typically use wooden thimbles for the mellow quality they give, and I find their convex shape gives a more defined clatter when used to rub the corrugations. Additionally, the thimbles make more of a defined ding on a cowbell and clank on a tin cup. The flat caps create a slightly higher pitched tone on the board. Both thimbles and bottle caps sound similar when tapping on the zinc. Plus, I have found that using the edge of the caps on my thumbs, with practice will give me the tin cup and cowbell sounds I like.

I like these gloves, and find them to be a welcome addition to my percussion tool box. Keep in mind, however, that I am a string player with 45+ years of playing experience first, and a bones player next before calling myself a washboard player. Having said that, however, I have played with one stellar washboard player way back in the 70s, and like him I strive to provide texture, color, and drive to the music and not drown it out with rattles, clanks, and honks. From a musical point of view, the Clanky Dog Bottlecap Washboard gloves are a great buy, and I'm looking forward to the thimble addition which Scott says might ship this Summer. Cheers, and have some fun.

Jumpin' Jimmy Robertson
Garden of Joy (not the Maria Muldaur one, the Bloomington IN one from the early 90s)
The Beat Roots Jug Band

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