Reference

The A-code stamped on a cut glove tells you exactly how much blade force it survived, but only if you know how to read it. This guide decodes the ANSI/ISEA 105 A1 through A9 scale and its gram ranges, explains the TDM-100 test behind the numbers, contrasts it with the European EN 388 cut ratings, and maps each level to real tasks.

Hand injuries are among the most common and preventable workplace incidents, yet most happen because the glove never matched the hazard. This guide walks through a hazard-based process for cut, impact, chemical, heat, and abrasion risks, decodes the rating systems, and covers coatings, dexterity, and sizing so gloves get worn.

A glove that handles a hot pan can fail in seconds against furnace radiant heat, because heat protection is not one rating. This guide explains the three heat types - contact, convective, and radiant - decodes the EN 407 scale, compares leather, aramid, terrycloth, and aluminized materials, and covers temperature ranges and cuff length.

The mil number on a box of nitrile gloves quietly decides how long they last, how much chemical they hold off, and how much you can feel through them. This guide explains nitrile glove thickness, what a mil measures, how 2-mil exam gloves differ from 8-mil industrial gloves, and which thickness to choose by task.

Until recently no U.S. standard rated the back-of-hand armor on impact gloves. This guide explains ANSI/ISEA 138, how impact-resistant gloves are tested, what Levels 1, 2, and 3 mean in transmitted force, why impact is separate from cut resistance, and how to choose the right level by job, from light assembly to oil and gas.

The EN 388 shield-and-numbers mark on a work glove encodes its mechanical protection, but only if you can read it. This guide decodes every position of the EN 388:2016 rating, abrasion, cut, tear, puncture, the ISO 13997 cut letter, and impact, explains why the cut number changed, and maps EN 388 to the ANSI/ISEA 105 scale.

Nitrile, latex, and vinyl disposable gloves look similar but protect very differently. This guide compares all three on puncture resistance, chemical resistance, latex-allergy risk, dexterity, durability, and cost, with a decode table and a worked example for choosing the right disposable glove by task, from the lab to the shop floor.

No single glove material resists every chemical, and the wrong choice fails silently as the chemical permeates to the skin. This guide maps nitrile, neoprene, butyl, PVC, and Viton to the chemicals they resist, decodes ANSI/ISEA 105 permeation and breakthrough-time levels, and works a selection example from a Safety Data Sheet.

A work glove that is too loose snags in machinery and a glove that is too tight causes hand fatigue and tear-through. This guide gives the full glove size chart, shows how to measure your hand circumference and length, converts numeric sizes 6-11 to XS-XXL, and works a real sizing example across nitrile, cut-resistant, and chemical gloves.