Hand and Glove

The hand is a truly wonderful creation on which we rely at all times, but without being always conscious of the outstanding role it plays in our lives. The human hand has made possible the production and the usage of tools and has thereby secured the exceptional position of man in the natural order.

With 27 bones and a multitude of nerves and muscles, it is by far the most complex of the human extremities. No other body part is able to fulfill so many movements or assume so many different shapes. With almost every movement of the hand, changes occur in it's attribute values: easily observable and measurable, for example, is the change of circumference at the back of the hand when balled into a fist.

The glove, the garment of this unique body part, has the function of protecting the hand against cold and damp, with minimum limitation to its flexibility, therefore the glove should ideally fit like a second skin. At the same time, the glove has to be flexible in order to adjust to the movements and the changing shapes.

A well cut glove can be identified by the fact that it does not squeeze the balled fist of the wearer where the circumference of the hand is maximized, and that it fits closely when the hand is outstretched where the circumference is minimized.

Although the quality of a leather glove is determined primarily by the choice of the leather, the cutting process is absolutely critical, and it is here that the Kessler speciality - the original and traditional European table-cutting handcraft - is a class apart when producing the very highest quality.