What are cut-resistant gloves?

Cut-resistant fabrics can survive slashing or cutting action. These textile items shield the wearer against accidents and workplace risks. Cut-resistant textiles are made from metallic materials, para-aramid, high-modulus polyethylene materials, and high-density structure materials. Cut-resistant fabrics serve a variety of purposes as mechanical protection for the wearer. They are utilized for protective wear in chef aprons and gloves, military use, the construction sector, forest use in tree trimming, and so on.

Resistance to cutting

Cut resistance has numerous characteristics, including force, direction, blade sharpness, cut length, and object flexibility. Different products should be considered based on the sort of cut risk and environment they will be exposed to.

Cut-resistant gloves

An oyster glove shields the wearer's hands from both the shell of the oyster and inadvertent wounds from the oyster knife.

Cut-resistant gloves are personal protective equipment (PPE) designed to protect the wearer's hands against cuts when working with sharp tools. Metal mesh gloves, cut-and-sewn gloves, and seamless knitted gloves are the three types.

Metal mesh gloves are a type of chainmail constructed of stainless steel rings. They are commonly found in food applications.

Cut-and-sewn gloves can be manufactured from a cut-resistant material or standard materials with a cut-resistant palm liner. The materials are cut to size and sewn together to form a glove.

A flat knitting machine is used to knit seamless knitted gloves in one piece. High-performance materials such as para-aramid (Twaron, Kevlar), high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) (Dyneema, Spectra), specific polyvinyl acetate (PVA) yarns (SupraBlock), steel wire, and fiberglass yarns give cut protection. Knitting machines are generally categorized according to gauge, which can range from 7 gauge to 18 and 21 gauge. Gloves are frequently coated with either solid or foamed latex, nitrile, or polyurethane.

Standards

The EN 388:2016 standard, sometimes known as the "coup" test, is one technique for measuring cut resistance. EN388 employs a circular rotating blade of 40mm diameter that rotates counter-clockwise. With a weight of 5 N, the blade moves back and forth over a tiny distance of around 50mm.

The number of cut cycles is recorded and compared to a control cloth made of cotton. The average number of cycles before break-through failure is used to produce a cut resistance index ranging from "0" to "5": "0" indicates 0 to 1.2 cycles; "1" indicates >1.2 to 2.5 cycles; "2" indicates >2.5 to 5.0 cycles; "3" indicates >5.0 to 10.0 cycles; "4" indicates >10.0 to 20.0 cycles; and "5" indicates >20.0 cycles.

In 2016, EN 388 was amended, and one important modification was the addition of ISO 13997:1999. EN 388:2016 uses the letters A-F to denote the cut resistance of A2N, B5N, C10N, D15N, E22N, and F30N. This is more in line with the current ANSI/ISEA 105-2016 North American standard, which has an A1-A9 cut-level scheme.

The ASTM F2992-15 test is comparable to ISO 13997:1999 in that it is performed on a tomodynamometer (or TDM). A cutting edge (often a razor blade) is moved across a sample material while under a defined load. The cut-through distance is computed when the blade cuts through the material. To get the calculated cutting load for the sample material, this test is repeated with varying loads. The result is compared to the values specified in ANSI/ISEA 105-2016 to determine the ANSI cut level.