Peccary is the rarest leather used in fine glove-making. It comes from a wild hoofed mammal of the Americas belonging to the family Tayassuidae. It is not pig, boar or hog leather, though it is very often described that way — peccaries are a distinct family of animals, and the leather behaves nothing like pigskin.
It is the leather our customers ask about more than any other, and the one we reach for when we want to make the best glove we can. Here is what it actually is, why it costs what it does, and how to recognise it.
What animal does peccary leather come from?
Peccary leather comes from the peccary, a wild hoofed mammal found across Central and South America. Peccaries belong to the family Tayassuidae. They resemble wild pigs at a glance and are routinely mislabelled as boar or hog, but they are a separate family of animals with a different skin structure — which is the part that matters to a glovemaker.
Peccaries are not farmed. Every hide comes from a wild animal, and that single fact drives most of what follows: the limited supply, the small hides, and the price.
How do you recognise real peccary leather?
Look for hair follicles arranged in groups of three. This is the signature of peccary and the most reliable way to identify it. The follicles grow in clusters of three, leaving a distinctive pitted pattern across the surface.
No other glove leather has this pattern, and embossing does not convincingly reproduce it. On a genuine hide the grouping is irregular — spacing varies, depth varies, and the pattern follows the contours of the animal. Printed imitations are too even and too shallow. If you can handle the leather, run a thumb across it: real peccary has a texture you feel as well as see.
Why is peccary leather so expensive?
Three things compound.
- The animals are wild. There is no farmed supply to expand when demand rises. Availability is what it is.
- The hides are small. A peccary hide yields far fewer pairs than a deer or lamb hide, and more of each hide is lost around natural edges and marks. More hides are needed for the same number of gloves.
- It asks for the best work. A leather this scarce is not one you cut quickly. Our finest peccary models are hand-sewn, and a single pair can take up to eight hours.
A peccary glove is therefore expensive for reasons that are structural rather than decorative. You are paying for scarcity and for hours of skilled hand-work, not for a label.
What does peccary feel like to wear?
Soft from the first wear, with no breaking-in period. This is the quality glovemakers prize most. Many fine leathers need a few weeks of wear before they stop feeling stiff across the knuckles. Peccary does not — it is supple straight out of the box, and it stays supple in cold weather when other leathers stiffen.
It is also naturally breathable, and it moulds to the hand with use. A pair worn regularly stops being a glove that fits you and becomes a glove shaped like you.
Peccary, deerskin or lambskin — which should you choose?
All three are excellent. They are good at different things.
- Peccary — the softest and the rarest, with the most distinctive grain. Choose it when you want the finest glove available and the character of the leather itself to be the point.
- Deerskin — soft, breathable and notably hard-wearing. Ours comes from Finland, where the cold climate produces a denser, finer-grained hide. The practical everyday choice, and our most popular driving leather.
- Lambskin and nappa — the smoothest and slimmest, from Italy. Choose it for a close, elegant line and for formal wear.
We go into more depth in our leather guide, which also covers carpincho and shearling.
How should peccary gloves fit?
Close. A driving glove should sit against the hand with no loose leather across the palm and no bunching at the fingertips — slack costs you feel at the wheel. Peccary relaxes slightly with wear, so a pair that feels snug but not tight on the first day is usually correct.
Measure around your knuckles, excluding the thumb, and match the centimetres to your size on our sizing chart. If you are between sizes or your hands are hard to fit, we make gloves to measure with no fixed limits on size, colour, leather, lining or stitching — see our bespoke service.
How do you care for peccary gloves?
Less than you would expect. Peccary is durable and does not need frequent treatment.
- If they get wet, let them dry at room temperature, away from radiators and direct heat. Heat is what ruins leather gloves.
- Work them back onto your hand once while they are still slightly damp so they dry to your shape.
- Never machine wash them.
- Store them flat rather than crumpled in a coat pocket.
Where our peccary comes from
Ours comes from Peru.
Our family has made gloves since 1925. The workshop is in Târgu Mureș, Transylvania — a town that was one of the centres of Romanian glove production — and there are now over thirty of us. Every pair is hand-cut and hand-finished, and the finest models are hand-sewn throughout.
That is the context for everything above: we are not describing peccary from a supplier's catalogue. We cut it, we sew it, and we see what it does over years of wear.
See our peccary gloves
Browse every pair in peccary gloves, or go straight to peccary driving gloves for feel at the wheel and peccary winter gloves for the cold.
Our men's hand-sewn peccary driving gloves and women's hand-sewn peccary driving gloves come in six colours. If you want something that is not on the list, we also make peccary gloves to your own size and colour.
Free shipping across the European Union, delivered in 3–7 days with tracking included. Questions about leather, sizing or a custom pair are welcome at info@nmgloves.com.