Answers to common questions on choosing, sizing and looking after general handling and cutting gloves, and where they stop being suitable.
How do I choose the right size of handling glove?
Glove sizes are based on two hand measurements: the circumference around the palm and the length of the hand. Measure your working hand with a soft tape, compare the figures with the maker's size chart, and remember that numbering is not identical between makers.
A glove that is too big wrinkles, slips and reduces feel, which can be a hazard around moving or hot parts. One that is too small tires the hand and wears out at the seams. If you are between sizes, try both with a typical task, such as picking up small parts, before committing to a batch.
What do the numbers and letters under the hammer pictogram on a glove mean?
That marking relates to the standard for protection against mechanical risks. The digits are results of separate laboratory tests on the palm: abrasion, blade cut, tear and puncture. A higher level means more resistance in that one test, and a glove can score well in one and poorly in another.
Some gloves also carry a letter for a separate cut test, and an X usually means a test was not carried out or does not apply. Read each result against the hazard on your job rather than looking for the highest overall number, and check the maker's leaflet for what the figures mean for that glove.
Can I use handling gloves for welding?
Not unless the glove is also marked and sold as a welding glove. Ordinary handling, driver and coated gloves are tested for mechanical risks and, at most, general heat. Welding gloves are covered by their own standard, which is a combination of mechanical and heat testing, and each glove must be marked as type A or type B depending on whether it favours heat protection or mobility.
Sparks, spatter and radiant heat can melt or burn coated and fabric gloves, and the coating can stick to skin. Use a proper welding glove for the process you are doing, and keep handling gloves for jobs such as moving and sorting parts.
Is it safe to wear gloves near rotating machinery?
Generally not. Gloves can be caught by rotating parts and drag the hand in. The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland has stated that wearing gloves near the rotating parts of machinery, such as manual metalworking lathes, is never acceptable because it increases the risk of entanglement. It has investigated accidents where a worker's hand was caught while wearing gloves or using abrasive cloth.
Do not wear gloves when working close to drills, lathes or other spinning tools or workpieces. If a task seems to need hand protection, look at changing the method or at guarding first, and ask your safety adviser.
What do cut levels mean, and does a cut-resistant glove make my hands safe from blades?
Cut resistance is rated on a lettered scale, A to F, with a higher letter meaning the material needs more force to cut under test conditions. It is a measure of the fabric in a laboratory test, not a guarantee against every sharp edge.
No glove gives complete protection. A glove can fail against a heavy, pointed or powered tool, and coatings can change the cut performance of the fibre underneath. Choose the level by the edges you actually handle, such as sheet metal edges or cut burrs, make sure it fits well, and keep sharp work away from your hands whenever you can.
What does the heat resistance rating on a handling glove tell me?
A thermal rating on a handling glove is made up of several separate results, covering things such as flame spread, contact heat, convective heat, radiant heat and small molten metal splashes, each given a level from 1 to 4. An X means that test was not carried out or no claim is made.
Contact heat is tested at a stated temperature for a short time, so it describes brief handling, not holding a hot part for a long period. These ratings do not make a handling glove a welding glove. Look at which individual results are relevant to your job and follow the maker's guidance.