Building a rock retaining wall one can go thru a pair of cheap gloves a day, or expensive ones in two days. For hot things I sometimes use one of a couple of pairs of good welding gloves that I picked up at a garage sale, but otherwise use cheap leather gloves. I tyr to find ones with thicker leather as some are pretty thin. My favorites as a work glove and for riding motorcycles are the fitted Wells Lamont leather gloves, but they still don't last for abrasive work.
Spray the gloves with heavy silicone oil for marginal waterproofing.