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What gloves are best for working w/ bamboo?  (Bill Armon)

I use Ansell Hyflex gloves.

HyFlex® 11-800 Assembly Gloves HyFlex® 11-800 Assembly Gloves

Got them where I worked.

I use size 9. (Olaf Borge)

I'm with you there Olaf.  Dexterity with these gloves is better than anything I've tried.  I use them for everything except taking blanks out of the the oven.  Tried that once and found out they'll melt!  (Todd Talsma)

The best gloves are probably no gloves so that you have a good feel of the bamboo.  I wear handball gloves when doing tasks for which gloves are essential.  I am still on my first pair.  Although I don’t know if they have touched every rod I’ve built, I’m sure they are well past 100.  (Bill Lamberson)

Gloves? Don't need no stinking gloves<g>. I work with my hands anyway, so I have the calluses to withstand most of what bamboo can do anyway, what they can deflect is usually no worse than what I do to myself at work. I like being able to feel what's going on with the material, even rough bamboo work is finer than what I care to do with gloves on. For those who make their living outside the building trades, try the gloves with rubber fingers and palms, they will protect and still let you work.  (John Channer)

I have a pair of all leather suede  work gloves from the local hardware.  I only wear them for rough beveling under power & don't like them then.  I've never been comfortable wearing gloves around power tools.  (Neil Savage)

I recently found gloves at my local hardware store that have proven to be very bamboo-proof yet allow a great deal of fingertip feel.  You might want to try them.  Here is the info on the label:

"Atlas Glove - Nitrile Tough; Fits Like a Second Skin - Wears Like Iron!; The Ultimate Work Glove; Outperforms leather!"

In large size, the item number is NT370BBK.  (Tim Anderson)

Gloves have been a problem for me.  I bought a nicely fitted pair of thin leather "Mechanics" gloves.  Wore holes through the fingers in the making of ONE rod.   Get out the duct tape and tape the finger tips. and kept replacing the tape as IT wore out.

Then I found a pair of ill fitting yellow gloves with black rubber dots all over. Still wore out but not as fast and the grip was a lot better with the rubber dots. (Larry Swearingen)

The only time I wear gloves in making rods is during the flaming process.  Good leather gloves protect my hand from the heat.  When planing, I wear three of the rubber finger cots on my off hand.  They're similar to those Garrison used.  I get them at the office supply stores.  I think they are designed to help you sort through stacks of paper.  More than for protection of the fingers, the rubber finger cots give you a little firmer grip.  (Harry Boyd)

I have been using rubber finger tips from the local Office Max store.  I use them on the index, middle and ring fingers. They are essentially flexible rubber thimbles, with non slip fingertips. Good protection from sharp edges and from sliver and not as cumbersome as a full glove.  (Ken Rongey)

I'm not a historian, just old-fashioned and read stuff, but a well known rodmaker and writer recommended finger cots many years ago.  (Steve Weiss)

I tried finger cots from Office Depot.  They weren't large enough and cut off circulation to my finger tips.  Otherwise they were fine.  (Larry Swearingen)

I hate gloves!!!.  I have no feeling for the material when I wear them.  I have learned that there are some things you do not do with bamboo.  You never slide it across your hands.  It CUTS.  Don't try to hold down a strip when you are planning.  It is a sure way to get sliced to the finger bone.  I do sometimes w ear latex surgical gloves . but only for certain things.  I do wear a finger cot on my right hand ring finger.  But that is because the way I hold the plane causes some pain in that finger.  Yes    I have had hundred of bamboo cuts but I have survived.  It is kind of like the glass business.  You can handle glass safely or you can make mistakes that can even kill you.  You just have to learn the limitations.  DOWN WITH GLOVES.   (Ralph Moon)

They come in all different sizes and I even get sizes to fit my thumb and little finger.  (Jack Follweiler)

I tried the finger cots from Staples and they work just like the ones Larry got from Office Depot. The biggest size they have is medium, which is too small.  (Joe Hudock)

I got mine from a local business equipment store called Phillips Business Equipment which I'm sure you don't have. Try a business equipment supply store in your local.  (Jack Follweiler)

When I started working with my first culm of bamboo I went out and got a good pair of leather gloves and finger cots.

The first day the bamboo cut through the gloves and my finger.  I now use knit gloves with latex covered palms and fingers.  They grip so well I don't use the finger cots any more and the bamboo hasn't cut through them.  They can be found in the tool section at Home Depot for less than $3.  (Dave Cooper)

I’ve tried leather gloves and the cane cuts them. Then I tried this type of glove. They don't - cheap too - washable as well.  

Dexterity decent as well. I can pick up a dime off a flat surface while wearing them. (Don Anderson (7/2/2016))

I buy Watson gloves and was looking for something similar and used the Amazon search engine which may have lead me astray.

These are the gloves I use.  (Don Anderson)

I have used very similar gloves for a number of years.  The brand name has changed, but here is an example with the new name. I can confirm what Don says about this type of glove! (Tim Anderson)

I suppose I have a little of Garrison in me after all.  I have used these for several hundred rods.  A 12-pack of several different sizes should last you a lifetime.  Knock on wood, but I haven't sliced my fingers in years...  (Harry Boyd)

I'm with Harry.  I wear leather gloves for splitting, but just wear the finger cots for planing. They give you an excellent grip on the bamboo, last forever, and protect very effectively from those nasty slices in your fingertips.

I have also used Peter's method, using a big plastic-coated spring clamp, on occasion.  That works well, but really gives your left forearm a workout (if you plane with your right).  You have to move the clamp twice for each pass of the plane: move the clamp forward to start a pass, then pause and move the clamp behind the plane to continue.  But there are times when it's very nice to be able to devote all of your attention to the plane without using one hand to hold down the strip. (Robert Kope)

I, too, use leather gloves for splitting and handling cane. I also use the finger cots, but I glue them onto a batter’s glove, so I can put them on or remove them more easily. They are good for about 20 rods and then you will have to make a new glove. (Larry Myhre)

I use finger cots for final planing work and nitrile gloves for roughing/sorting etc.

With the inclusion of blood thinners into my life, I take more care now.

Mind you, I've used finger cots for <>35 years. They work! (Don Anderson)

Never wore gloves as they detract from the feel of the cane, work.  Rarely get cuts, splinters, etc. now, but then if you've invested sweat and tears need a little blood too.

Many have mentioned the use of clamps in holding strips in the form.  Still, when we get down close to the numbers the strip comes loose quite often.  Another good tip from Tony Spezio is to use a wad of draftsman's kneadable eraser between the clamp and strip to provide extra hold (that is if you can find kneadable eraser these days).  Works very well.  Thanks for another one Tony. (Darrol Groth)

You are quite right about the strips slipping when you get down close to the point at which the strip sits level with the surface of the forms. About 10 or 15 years ago I glued a fine strip of bamboo, like a match but a bit thinner, to one of the swivelling jaws of the clamp. It pushes the strip down into the groove and solves the problem. I thought I would be re-gluing it every little while, but in fact it has held perfectly and never needed replacement. 

I know all this sounds a bit Heath-Robinsonian, but in my situation, and with my physical encumbrances, it works well and makes handling the cane more enjoyable. 

I must, however, agree with what you say about not cutting your fingers - there certainly comes a point where your "feel" for the cane improves to the point where you no longer go at things like a bull at a gate, and you never, or at least VERY rarely, allow the cane to slide and slice. (Peter McKean)