Materials Used In Cut-Resistant Gloves

When looking for cut-resistant gloves, you need to consider the material used to manufacture these gloves as well as their benefits and limitations. This helps determine which materials are best suited to protect hands in your work environment.

Below are common primary materials used to manufacture cut-resistant gloves.

Additional materials are added to the primary materials to enhance cut protection, dexterity, comfort, and durability. These added materials can include one or more of those listed in the following chart.

Metal can also be used as the only material in a glove. Gloves made with metal are called chainmail gloves and are made of metal rings linked together in a pattern to form mesh. This glove style is primarily used in food processing for deboning meat.

The key to manufacturing highly cut-resistant gloves that are comfortable is engineered yarn. Engineered yarns incorporate the benefits of two or more fibers, instead of solely relying on one strong fiber. High-strength fibers like HPPE and para-aramid are enhanced with steel, fiberglass, or a combination of materials listed above to make them even stronger. Combining materials within the yarn also allows gloves to maintain more comfort and dexterity without sacrificing cut protection.

To help understand this better, let’s imagine we were making a sandwich instead of a glove. If you take two buns and add meat, you have a basic sandwich—maybe not the most delicious one. This is equivalent to a glove with a shell made only of HPPE or para-aramid. On their own, these fibers offer a low level of cut protection; they are functional but not ideal for tasks that require cut protection beyond ANSI Cut Level A3. Now let’s add some cheese and greens to complement the existing flavors of the sandwich. These are your added materials like fiberglass, steel or metal wire, or a combination of other materials, which will further enhance the cut protection, comfort, and durability of the material. This is what makes engineered yarn ideal for cut-resistant gloves.

However, just like your sandwich can fall apart if you overload it, similarly, the right balance needs to be maintained when blending materials. Read on to learn about factors we consider when creating the ideal balance of protection and other features.