Tillman Gloves

By Tex

Date 01-18-2013 19:36

I was tearing the tag off of a new pair yesterday when I saw ion the bottom corner, "Made In China". I've been using Tillmans for 20 years or better. When did they start making gloves in China? I go out of my way and oftentimes pay a little more just to support an American company that provides jobs for American workers. I absolutely refuse to buy chinese products if I can possibly find American.

Here is the email I sent them. We'll see if they respond.

To whom it may concern,I have been involved in the construction and oilfield industries as a welder for over twenty years. Not long after i got started in the trade I got turned onto your gloves and have used nothing else since. The Tillman 1350 series glove has been my go to choice for years. They are light enough to allow me the feel I need on delicate projects and heavy enough to protect my hands on the big heavy and hot jobs.

I have done my best to turn others onto your product, but that all changed yesterday. Taking the tag off a new pair yesterday I saw in small print, "Made In China". I am not sure when this change came about, nor am I sure why. The fact remains though, my favorite brand of glove is no longer made in the USA. As an American craftsman who makes his living with his hands, I know the value of hard work and the American Dream. I go out of my way to use American products that provide jobs for American craftsmen and their families. Sometimes my beliefs have ended up costing me more money, but that is of little importance when I know that I am buying a superior American Made product.

I am truly sorry that Tillman has chosen to send American jobs to China. Until Tillman starts making their gloves in the USA again, I will not be a customer. I will also point out to others what your company has done to every other American welder I know. We welders are a patriotic bunch and I know very few who would would'nt pay a little more for a product that was made in the USA.Hopefully your company will have a change of heart and decide to support the American Craftsman.

No longer a customer
Tex Adams

By 803056

Date 01-18-2013 20:08

Bravo!

I am behind you all the way.

Al

By Blaster (***)

Date 01-18-2013 20:44 Edited 01-18-2013 20:48

I stopped buying them too.

BTW the only American made welding glove I have been able to find is traditional heavy gauntlet cowhide glove marketed under the Anchor label. They offer the same glove in a USA and imported version... so you have to ask / look before buying.

By Chris2626 (***)

Date 01-21-2013 13:10

Thanks for telling about anchor I didn't know they were USA made, where I work we mostly carry the tillman and miller gloves and miller i believe is also made in China. I get a discount where I work so I still buy the tillmans but rather not though if i could help it.

By Superflux (****)

Date 01-18-2013 22:50

They've been made in China for a while now.
You know all those elk hides that Pacific buys up every fall goes over there and comes back as Wells Lamont, Tillman, etc.

By J Hall

Date 01-20-2013 20:54 Edited 01-21-2013 22:21

I was a big fan of Tillman work gloves, but now the dye turns your hands yellow.

Turns, not truns...

By Oneatatime (**)

Date 01-21-2013 04:14

What sucks is the price has done nothing except go up, Airgas wants almost 30$ for a pair of 850 L's when they are in their screw you mood.

By Rafter_G_Weldin (***)

Date 01-21-2013 19:32

I use to wear them but found Black stallions are just as good and about 5.00 cheaper. Havent used tillmans in years unless they are out of the B/S

By Tex

Date 01-22-2013 02:50

I got a response from them today. I never noticed that they were made in China until the other day.
Here is there response.

Tex,

Thanks for your email and straightforward comments. Actually the 1350 has never been made in the USA. Unfortunately we don’t have the workers or the leather availability to make them stateside, let alone the cost. Our demand for the few USA made products went to almost nothing. But, we still hand inspect our premium welding that come in from overseas. We are committed to selling a quality product. Every product sale is important to us and we hate to lose yours. I wish you would reconsider Tillman based on our overall value, quality, and consistency.

Mark Williams

John Tillman Co.

PO Box 6257

1300 W. Artesia Blvd.

Tex

Compton, CA 90224

(P) 800-255-5480, 31

By Blaster (***)

Date 02-15-2013 06:15

Tex - Found some American made welding gloves: http://store.carolinaglovecompany.com/welders.html

By cddolan74 (**)

Date 02-15-2013 14:39

Thanks for this link, I will be supporting an american company

By waccobird (****)

Date 02-15-2013 15:12

Blaster

well be sure of what you order

as this was on their site

Carolina Glove Company imports Gloves that are specially made from many countries around the world.

Marshall

By Jacob Reverb Date 02-20-2013 14:55

I'm not too worried about a few sweatshop glove-making jobs going to China if it means we can buy a pair of gloves here for $12 instead of $120 if they were made here, once the unions and political hacks and crooked politicians got their piece of the pie.

I'm more interested in highly skilled and tech jobs staying in the U.S., than worried about jobs for glove makers, basket weavers or tomato pickers. Americans don't want those jobs anyway.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 02-20-2013 15:02

Partially true, but if those jobs weren't already filled by cheap labor there are many in this current economy who would choose to fill them rather than be on Unemployment or have nothing because it ran out. We need to start with every little thing we can bring home to the USA and supply work and pay to honest hard working American Citizens.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By Superflux (****)

Date 02-20-2013 16:57

Jacob Reverb,

The problem with your statement is that These Cheap Scape money grubbing PUKES factor the price of manufacturing as if their product was made domestically, then out source it to Viet Nam or wherever and pocket the difference.
I try to keep tabs on prices of things that I buy. I have only seen ONE company in 20 years that actually dropped their prices when they out sourced to China and stopped making them in Red Lodge, Montana. Crazy Creek is their name and I still buy their camp chairs because of this.
Now as far as the gloves go, the Elk hides come from the USA, or at least a lot of the leather does for gloves made in China. So some of that money does get into the US economy.

By Blaster (***)

Date 02-20-2013 20:29

2012 US trade deficit with china was $315 billion: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html

That is $1,000 per year from every man, woman,and child in the our country.

Or about $6,300,000,000 per state annually. Or about $17,260,274 per state per day.

Can you imagine the impact on our state economies if an additional $17,260,274 per day was spend on goods manufactuered in each one?

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 12-11-2015 16:35

Well said Superflux and Brent.

Here is a true story. Walking thru Lowe's where finding something American made is like trying to find dark matter. We were going to do cedar plank salmon on the grill one day. So the kids and I are there, find the cedar planks and figuring that surely these must be from the good ole US of A. Upon looking at the label, "Made In China" or "PRC". WTF??? I spout out.

My kids curious I point to the tag, "Really???". Further reading of the tag and this is what I see.

Cedar product of Canada
Made In China
Packaged in the USA.

So, they cut down a tree in Canada. Stick them on a ship, pollute the hell out of the atmosphere using fuel to get to China. Offload all of this wood(because there are no skilled people in the US that can cut out cedar planks) for some schlupp in China to "fabricate" into planks. Meanwhile unregulated money grubbing businesses pollute the heck out of the Chinese atmosphere(seen in the news, on documentaries about different colored rivers). Then once we have the planks, reload, use more fuel to reload on another ship, float back across the pond, more fuel, then put on a train or truck to get to the cedar plank wrapping factory for labels and plastic. Ship off on truck or train to Lowe's around the country.

What the heck are they paying the Chinese over their? .32 cents a day?

I dislike this whole Chinese manufacturing thing. All of the pollution standards I have to meet, an $800 service on your truck every 60,000 miles? To clean pollution equipment the government says I have to have in order to cut down on my "foot print"? I'd say the Chinese and India are more than making up for anything I can do and they do it recklessly without regard. I say, f.....the manufacturing in China and if I could cut myself off entirely from anything from there I would.

Hacking news, Chinese and Russia? And we still do billions of dollars of business with the Chinese?? Uh, why??? Sure, lets pay them so they can have the best technology, send their kids to our schools or abroad so they can go back home and hack out systems, steal identities. Brilliant logic.....

Ok, rant over.

By NWPAwelder (**)

Date 02-21-2013 00:03

Check out Yellowstone Gloves. custom fit and made here in the U.S.A. http://www.yellowstonegloves.com/aboutus.html

By Stringer (***)

Date 01-23-2013 01:03

I've got some more straight forward comments for him! I'll pay extra for American. Do it all the time. I write these outsourcers with pen and paper and a big autograph. My last letters went to Rubbermaid and those idiots at Vice Grip. I boycott Chinese goods every chance I get. I am not at all anti-Chinese. I don't mind them competing in the world marketplace. But I prefer American products staying American and I am aggravated when they fool you.

By Blaster (***)

Date 01-23-2013 01:28

Personally I now buy LOTS of older used stuff just to keep from rewarding the guys who went overseas. They seem to think they have you since in some cases everbody has gone overseas. When that is the case I look to EBAY... lots of old American well built stuff still available. The last Thermos I bought was American made, over 20 years old, and still looked like new. Even came in the original box.

By Tex

Date 01-23-2013 02:33

I too go out of my way to support the American worker and craftsman. If I have to pay a little more in order to be true to my beliefs, so be it. We went furniture shopping a couple months back for some bookshelves and a new TV stand. I found some American made bookshelves, but the TV stand the Hostile Native liked came from China. The salesman thought he was fixing to get a nice commission check until I put the whoa on the chinese crap. It really gripes me that it is actualy harder to find American made than the junk made in Asia.

If we dont support American Made in the other crafts and trades, how can we expect people to support the American Welder? The global economy is doing no favors for the American worker and craftsman.

I am still on the hunt for some good American Made welding gloves that are built along the same lines as the Tillman 1350's, but now that I have learned where they are made, I will never buy another pair from them. I have came across some nice elk hide driving style gloves made in Idaho and I have been thinking about contacting them and seeing if they would be interested in making some with a gauntlet. Wont hurt to ask. Does anyhone have any other ideas where to get some decent American Made gloves that are good quality?

Tex

By Blaster (***)

Date 01-23-2013 03:12

Aerostich is an American company that builds some American products. Their brand of motorcycle gloves, at least many of them, are American made. And some look an awful lot like welding gloves.... even elkskin. Here is a link to one page, I think they have several more pages of gloves: http://www.aerostich.com/clothing/gloves?p=2

I have read that Aerostich has their gloves built by an American work glove company (probably the only one left). You may be able to call Aerostich, explain your predicament, and ask them who to contact for American made work / welding gloves.

By Tex

Date 01-23-2013 03:37

Thanks Blaster. They had a couple of different gloves that looked like they may work. Gonna have to give them a call.

Tex

By Pickupman (***)

Date 01-27-2013 03:27

I wrote to Tillman as well and they sent me the same form letter Tex got. My first stop for tools these days is the pawn shop. They usually have some older made here tools that still have plenty of life left in them. I'm still looking for gloves. No one here sells Black Stallion. Are they made here in the USA?

By chickweldor (*)

Date 01-27-2013 16:42 Edited 01-27-2013 21:52

Try north star or knox, they both sell very nice looking made in the usa gloves. Type in ironworker gloves, you should be able to find them.

By Pickupman (***)

Date 01-29-2013 04:42

Thanks Chickweldor :grin:

By pipetommy (*)

Date 01-30-2013 18:45

Black Stallion's are china ****

By SMTatham (**)

Date 02-20-2013 18:44

I dislike china with a passion; my problem is I can't find Elkskin welder's gloves made HERE!! It's hard to top a Tillman 850, every domestic glove I have found is cowhide or pigskin.

By Superflux (****)

Date 02-20-2013 20:15

Guess you're only option then is to shoot one of them pesky elk that hang out on the highway between Craig and Baggs, Wyoming. Then give the hide to one them hippies smoking weed on the courthouse lawn in Boulder and in a year or two they'll have ya some made for you.
The elk will be locally home grown just like the grass that fuels their creative flow.... just don't be in no hurry!

By johnlynch Date 11-14-2015 16:07

Hi, I have Recently Bought Welding Gloves From SafetyDirect.ie, My Hands are Literally Solid Even though they are well suite for me, they are smoother and more comfortable at work....!!!

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 11-20-2015 23:45

http://www.jrcglove.com/work.html Holy smokes $$$

There was a custom glove company in Arkansas for a while but I lost track of them....

This site at least has decent prices on quality gloves like Caymen and Black Stallion with a good selection. http://workingperson.com/workwear-1/work-gloves/welding-gloves.html

Tillman 850 XL was my go to general purpose glove......and I used their tig gloves as well.....whaddya do...make your own?>

BTW Tex how the heck ya been man?

By Josephp (**)

Date 11-21-2015 15:54

Made in the USA ELKSKIN Welder Gloves

By JRC Glove Company

$78.00 a pair

http://jrcglove.com/product/445GTSP.html

Regards

Joseph

By Trackergd (**)

Date 11-23-2015 21:00

Thanks Josephp! I "was" using Tillman gloves and saw this thread...checked the tag and sure enough..China.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 12-11-2015 16:39

If I may quote Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino, "Christ on Friday", $80.00 for a single pair of gloves??? Might as well pop the deer in my back yard and go to work on making my own. For that price they'd have to last for 6 months or more.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 12-11-2015 22:22

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