I think armor in gloves is a good thing. I don't know about other brands, but Held layers leather underneath theirs so I think shreds of it going through to your skin would be highly unlikely. I remember Held saying something specific about their design with regards to the armor, but I forget the specifics. I also seem to recall hearing that deerskin is the least abrasion resistant of all leathers. If it's so much better than cowhide at being abrasion resistant, how come you don't see any suits made out of it? Cost? What kind of deer are we talking about here? White tail? They're in abundance, so what would make it more costly? I see his point about the kevlar stitching and can agree with that. From what I understand, the most abrasion resistant leather is kangaroo, like Held uses, because the pore structure is tighter.
P.S. Two models of Held use armor that I know of: The Galaxy and the Akira.