Cut Resistant Glove Levels Explained
Hello, everyone. Today we will introduce cut resistant glove levels and which level is right for you.
When you’re buying gloves, it’s helpful to understand both US and European cut resistance classification systems. Many gloves sold in the US will show both.
In the US, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) provides cut resistance ratings for gloves.
In Europe, the European Commission regulates cut resistance ratings. Their standard is called EN 388.
Let’s look at them one at a time.
The American Standard: ANSI/ISEA 105
· In 2016 ANSI and ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association) released an updated scale with 9 levels of cut protection. The levels indicate how many grams of cutting load a glove can withstand from a sharp blade before being penetrated.
· A1: 200 - 499 grams
· A2: 500 - 999 grams
· A3: 1000 - 1499 grams
· A4: 1500 - 2199 grams
· A5: 2200 - 2999 grams
· A6: 3000 - 3999 grams
· A7: 4000 - 4999 grams
· A8: 5000 - 5999 grams
· A9: 6000+ grams
When you’re looking at glove specifications, the ANSI cut level will be displayed inside a badge that resembles a shield. It looks like this:
The European Standard: EN 388
The European Commission’s standard includes two different cut resistance tests: the TDM-100 Test (the same machine that ANSI uses) and the Coup Test. That means, when looking at EN 388 cut levels for any glove you’re considering purchasing, you’ll want to look at these two different ratings:
EN 388 TDM-100 Cut Resistance Levels:
A: 2 - 4.9 newtons (204 - 508 grams)
B: 5 - 9.9 newtons (509 - 1019 grams)
C: 10 - 14.9 newtons (1020 - 1529 grams)
D: 15 - 21.9 newtons (1530 - 2242 grams)
E: 22 - 29.9 newtons (2243 - 3058 grams)
F: 30+ newtons (3059+ grams)
Note: Keep in mind that, due to different testing methods, ANSI and EN 388 ratings don’t always match up the way you’d expect them to based on the cutting load.
EN 388 Coup Test Levels:
Coup Test results are more complicated. A glove is assigned a cut level of 0 to 5 (with 5 being the most cut resistant) based on the material’s “cut index.” The cut index is a ratio that compares the material’s cut resistance to the cut resistance of cotton fabric.
One of the issues with the Coup Test is that certain materials (like glass and steel) can cause the Coup Test blade to dull during the test, which results in less accurate ratings. That’s why you may not see a Coup Test number when looking at certain gloves. In that case, just look at the TDM rating instead.
Here’s more information on how to read EN 388 markings and where to look for the cut level ratings.
And here’s an example:
Look at the numbers and letters along the bottom. The X signifies that there is no Coup Test result. You can also see that this glove received a D rating on its TDM-100 Test.
In case you’re interested, the other numbers and letters represent ratings for other protective factors. Here’s what each one means (left to right):
3: Abrasion rating
X: Cut (Coup Test) rating
4: Tear rating
4: Puncture rating
D: Cut (TDM-100) rating
P: Impact protection rating (P means it passed the impact protection test, which is a pass/fail test)
Who needs the highest level of cut protection? Look for a cut resistance level of A5 or higher (ANSI) and/or E to F (EN 388) if you need gloves for jobs like:
· Heavy construction
· Rigging
· Rescue
· Mining
· Ironworking
· Anything that puts you at high risk for cuts and lacerations
What about mid-level cut resistance? Look for a cut level of between A3 and A5 (ANSI) and/or C to E (EN 388) if you need gloves for jobs that require good cut resistance but also a high level of dexterity, such as:
· Recycling plants
· Salvage yards
· Electrical work
· Home maintenance work
· Others
When is it safe to choose gloves with less cut protection? Consider gloves with less protection when your risk of cuts and punctures is very low, and when the injury would be very minor if a cut did occur. This kind of glove is a great option when you need something agile and comfortable with minimal protection, potentially for jobs like:
· Glass artistry
· Catering and food industry jobs
· Some types of electrical work
· Some types of sheet metal work
· More
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjlItX9HvfY
The coop test assesses how well gloves protect against sharp object by counting the number of times a rotating blade moves back and forth over the fabric before it cuts through the glove sample.
A control sample material is tested both before and after testing the glove sample.
In each case, the sample is clamped in a holder, the aluminum foil enables the coop test machine to detect the moments of cook through by the blade gloves with higher levels of cook protection can blunt the blade during testing.
By comparing the results on a control sample material before and after testing the extent the blade is blunted can be estimated.
When the standard was updated in 2016 a maximum limit of 60 blade rotations was also introduced.
When the blade deteriorates only slightly a calculation correct for dulling of the blade during the test and the coop cut test performance level is rated 0 to 5. If the blade sharpness reduce by more than a factor of 3. It is mandatory to also assess gloves cut resistance using the ISO 13997 method. Most gloves achieving level 3 and above will need to be tested against the ISO test. The ISO 13997 cut resistance test more effectively assesses the level of cut resistance high cut protection gloves offer. The test sample is mounted on a mandrel like for the coupe test the aluminum foil enables the machine to detect the moment of cut through by the blade, the plastic film prevents false positive results when the glove material includes metallic yarns.
Once raised into place the cut resistance evaluator drives a straight edged blade across the glove sample until it cuts through and the distance moved by the blade until it is cut for twenty point two millimeters.
The test is run at least a further 19 times with different loads, each time cutting a new section of glove. Unlike the coupe cut test, the ISO 13997test does not suffer from blunting as each blade only passes once over the surface of the sample and is then replaced. The result are the plotted graphically and the graph is used to determine the force. That would be needed to cut the glove with a blade cutting distance of exactly 20 millimeters, it is this figure that determines the gloves cut performance level of A to F with F rated gloves providing the highest level of protection.
We recommend that this EN\ISO 13997 result is always selecting gloves medium or high cut risk environments.
I am talking with some quick tips for purchasing cut resistant gloves with different test standard.
So choosing the right glove for your application can be a challenge and existing gloves are subject to two different safety standard based on two different testing methods.
ANSI 105 is the most accepted standard in North American. This rating is indicated by capital A followed by a number between 1 and 9 and is reflective of the amount of weight applied to a blade in order to cut through the material.
The average of all the test scores in converted into the 9 level classification, scales reported as A1 to A9. This scale ranges from 200 gram of cut resistance to 6000 gram of cut resistance. This rating system replaces the previous 1 to 5 rating scales the new segmented rating system has removed previous gaps and helps reduce the usage of insufficient PPE by making it easier to clearly identify the level of protection your PPE provides for you.
So for example the A4 we see on the glove tell us it has a cut resistance rating of 4 on the 1 to 9 scale.
The other standard is European standard EN388 which utilized a CE score, the measure the glove resistance in 4 different areas Abrasion, Cut, Tear, Puncture. The current EN388 cut standards requires all hand protection to be tested on the coop cut test machine.
The coop cut test used a circular blade that moves back and forth across the sample fabric under a fixed weight of 500 grams to the number of rotations needed to cut through the fabric are counted in a ratio is reported comparing the PPE fabric sample to a control sample the ratio is given an index and that index is applied to a 1 through 5 rating scale.
Here, I won’t comment which is better testing method used by these two governing bodies, but I will note that the method used to generate the CE blade cut score is generally not considered to be as accurate as the anti cut score especially with higher strength materials.
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