a specific model, you'll find these details at the
ANSI website.
What rating is right for you? Much is based on
personal preference—how much protection you want
and how the glove feels while you're working. But at a
minimum, a good carving glove should have a rating
of no less than 2 (or A2); those rated at 5 (or A6 or
higher), while super-protective, may feel heavy and
stiff. In our shop, we like Cordova Power-Cor gloves,
which have an ANSI 3 rating for cut resistance.
Pre-2016 level
Post-2016 level
Weight in grams
1
A1
200-499
2
A2
500-999
3
A3
1000-1499
A4
1500-2199
4
1500-3499
A5
2200-2999
A6
3000-3999
5
3500+
A7
4000-4999
A8
5000-5999
A9
6000+
ANSI Ratings
A5
ASTM ANSI
CUT LEVEL
MINIMUM
PROTECTION
11
What to Look For
Since most cut-resistant gloves are made for working with sharp
metal or glass in industrial settings, and puncture-resistant
gloves are made for handling thorny brush or medical waste, it’s
hard to find gloves that are excellent at both—but you should try.
What do the CEN numbers mean?
Right now, the CEN standards for European-
sold gloves, including some that are also sold
here, use a four-digit code (often preceded
by EN388) to rate abrasion, cut, tear, and
puncture resistance. For cut resistance, the
ratings run from 1 (lowest resistance) to 5
(highest resistance); for the others, they run
from 1 to 4.
For carvers, the second (cut) and fourth
(puncture) numbers are the most important.
The cut numbers are based on how many
passes with a rotary blade are required
to pierce the material (see photo, above);
puncture resistance is measured by the
weight required to push a stylus through the
material. The Cordova Power-Cor gloves
we use in our shop, for example, are rated
3444. So, these gloves have a good rating for
abrasion resistance and high ratings for cut,
tear, and puncture resistance.
WCI
contributor Tom Borecki, who
helped explain these complicated rating
systems to us, uses Pakel High Performance
gloves with a CEN rating of 4543. Personally,
we would avoid using gloves with cut and
puncture resistance ratings of less than 3.
Steel-Thread Gloves
These gloves, made from Kevlar yarn that includes
strands of steel wire, have an ANSI A6 rating, so they
are more resistant to cutting than any other ones
we've seen. Unfortunately, most are not tested for
puncture resistance, and the woven design can
let small gouges slip through.
Budget Carving Gloves
These gloves usually have an ANSI rating of 2
(or A2). They will stop a minor slip but not a major
slash, and are not generally puncture-resistant.
Use with caution.
Leather-Palmed Gloves
These have an ANSI cut rating ranging from 2 to
4 (A2 to A5), so check to make sure you're using a
higher-rated one. They were some of the only
carving gloves we found that were also tested
for puncture resistance, most coming in at
level
