Level 5 cut gloves

[Packard]

I received a free sample of a Level 5 cut gloves.  This is the highest rating for an ASTM or ISO cut-resistant glove.  You are supposed to be able to press down on a razor blade with 7.7 pounds of force without cutting through the fabric.

It is surprisingly flexible and light.  About as thick as cotton gardening gloves, but with a much tighter fit. 

I have not worn them long enough to determine how warm they are going to feel using them indoors in the shop. 

But for short periods of time, it certainly will be wearable.

Where would you use these?  It will not protect against a table saw blade or a router bit spinning at 20,000 rpms. 

When I was a picture framer, this would have been handy when cutting glass.  I always deburred the edges with a glass deburring tool (sort of like a knife sharpener with the carbide set at 45 degrees instead of at a knife edge.  So handling the glass after cutting was not an issue.  It was only during the cutting and deburring operation was it required.

The gloves seem to be useful, but where?  And how? 

 

[Bob D.]

"Where would you use these?"

Probably not that often in a wood shop, but I can think of a few instances.

Working with sheet metal
Opening your machines/removing covers for maintenance since they often have sharp edges
Changing bandsaw blades, especially folding/unfolding them
Working with glass or acrylics

Outside the wood shop there will be many instances where their use would be appropriate.

 

[Packard]

The last time I tried on cut-resistant gloves they were bulky and didn't conform to my hands well.  You really could not do much with them. 

These gloves are much improved. 

I do recall having an appointment at a poultry processing plant.  All the workers wore cut-resistant gloves and threw them away at the end of each shift (they could not be made sterile once used).

An amusing side-bar to that visit was that I could not find the facility on a map, so I asked a state trooper for directions. 

He said, "Follow me.  I'm going there to investigate a cutting."

I said, "A cutting?"

The trooper said, "Two guys got in an argument and one of them ended up getting cut open from his shoulder to his hip.  Took 173 stitches."

I asked, "Is he going to make it?"

The trooper said, "Oh, he wasn't seriously injured.  Those guys are so good with knives that he was cut just through the skin.  A lot of blood, but not much damage.  He wasn't trying to kill him or anything.  It was just an argument."

I don't know about you, but 173 stitches sounds like a lot of damage.  It sounds like more than an argument to me.

 

[semenza]

An amusing side-bar to that visit was that I could not find the facility on a map, so I asked a state trooper for directions. 

He said, "Follow me.  I'm going there to investigate a cutting."

I said, "A cutting?"

The trooper said, "Two guys got in an argument and one of them ended up getting cut open from his shoulder to his hip.  Took 173 stitches."

I asked, "Is he going to make it?"

The trooper said, "Oh, he wasn't seriously injured.  Those guys are so good with knives that he was cut just through the skin.  A lot of blood, but not much damage.  He wasn't trying to kill him or anything.  It was just an argument."

I don't know about you, but 173 stitches sounds like a lot of damage.  It sounds like more than an argument to me.

Not on a map ? Was the plant called Los Pollos Hermanos? Did it have a hidden lab?  [blink]  [big grin]

Seth

 

[Packard]

The street address was an invention of the company as it was a "street" on private property.  So in the modern GPS world it would be called an "unnamed road". 

The most horrific thing that I took away from that trip was that they had a "beheading" line on the conveyor. 

The turkeys were suspended by their legs on a conveyor.  As they continued on the line they came to a pair of stainless steel rods that were about 2-1/2" apart at one end and grew progressively closer and progressively downward.  As the bird continued it literally pulled the head off of the dead bird.

The head would then fall on a large stainless steel pan with a loud "thud". 

I looked at the process briefly, and then looked away.  For the rest of the show and tell all I remember is the constant "thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...".  In fact, I can still hear it in my head and that is some 30+ years ago. 

Do yourself a favor--never visit a poultry processing plant.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I know a few carvers who wear this kind of glove.

 

[Packard]

It showed up from an Amazon reseller when I ordered a new spacer, nut and wrench for my Dewalt 4-1/2” angle grinder.  I thought there must be some tie-in there, but I don’t see it.  They are $7.00 per pair when you buy two pair.

I will hold on to them. I probably will find a use somewhere.

 

[Rob Z]

We used those while handling and installing expanded metal lath for tile and stone installations.  I didn't know about the level 5 rating at the time, just that they made that metal lath easier to handle.

 

[Eorlingur]

I like those gloves a lot and use them as often as I can in the shop. If I am using a chisel I try to keep a glove on at least my left hand and I definitely use them when sharpening tools.  They are very snug and comfortable and second nature to me now.

It has reduced the number of splinters and small cuts I get on my hands significantly as well as the number of blood stains I leave on my work. I always keep one or two pairs available on the workbench so that I can put them on whenever I need to. It is always when I do ”just one quick thing” that I end up cutting myself and I try to avoid that now.  My hands haven’t been in this good shape since I started woodworking so it seems to be working.

My pillar drill is the only rotating tool in my shop and I make sure not to wear gloves around that one.

 

[rst]

As a result of working in the glass and storefront industry for 41 years, I'm very familiar with these type gloves.  The only drawback is that the rubber gripping surfaces wear fairly rapidly with constant use and are expensive.  Currently those Milwaukees are around $15.00 a pair in singles.  The level Is are around $7-8.  I use my worn ones for yard work and they last forever as such.

 

[Packard]

My pillar drill is the only rotating tool in my shop and I make sure not to wear gloves around that one.

My machine shop teacher in high school was in the navy in WWII.  He told the story about a fellow machinist who was about 6'5" and enormously strong.  That guy made a bet that he could grab the chuck of the drill press and stop the rotation.  But he did not want to cut up his hands so he put on a pair of heavy leather gloves.  He got a good two-hand grip on the chuck and said, "OK".  And one of the other machinists turned on the drill press. 

He did not cut his hands, but he did break both his arms.  This was probably a bad bet. [eek]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The street address was an invention of the company as it was a "street" on private property.  So in the modern GPS world it would be called an "unnamed road". 

The most horrific thing that I took away from that trip was that they had a "beheading" line on the conveyor. 

The turkeys were suspended by their legs on a conveyor.  As they continued on the line they came to a pair of stainless steel rods that were about 2-1/2" apart at one end and grew progressively closer and progressively downward.  As the bird continued it literally pulled the head off of the dead bird.

The head would then fall on a large stainless steel pan with a loud "thud". 

I looked at the process briefly, and then looked away.  For the rest of the show and tell all I remember is the constant "thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...".  In fact, I can still hear it in my head and that is some 30+ years ago. 

Do yourself a favor--never visit a poultry processing plant.

Agreed. Way back in the day, my dad worked for a food machinery manufacturing company. He sold  really odd harvesting machines, not the typical corn or soybean combine type stuff, and conveyor systems for other types of processing plants. That allowed me to go with him into a KalKan dogfood plant one time, when they were looking to modify some part of the line. So, whenever you see the words "by-products" included as part of the ingredients....that's what it means. They use all of the animal, every bit of it. Gross, especially for a kid that was about 10 at the time.

 

[Ron B]

When I was a kid in the early 1960's my dad took me to a poultry processing plant.  We had laying hens, and when they reach a certain age, they go to the processing plant and probably end up in soup.  Anyway, I remember the hens hanging from a conveyor, and a guy pulling the head down so the neck would go through a V shaped blade.  If anyone has killed chickens on the farm, you know what that conveyor scene looked liked.

Later, I took an accounting job at a hog processing plant.  (Kahn's in Cincinnati, OH-now closed).  I bailed as quick as I could but not quick enough.  If I remember right, they would slaughter 5000 hogs on one day, send them to the cooler, then cut them the next day.  I remember the guy cutting throats spent all day standing in ankle deep blood. A guy could gut a carcass with about two cuts.  Very repetitive motions, lots of carpal tunnel.  And yes, those guys were good with knives.  I always thought Kahn's were harder on their employees than the hogs and went to a manufacturing plant to build trucks.  Kahn's would hire ten people and by the end of the week have two left.  When I got aggravated at the truck plant, I would just remember Kahn's and decided my present problem was not so bad.  Anyway, people handling aluminum sheets to make the fuel tanks had special gloves.  I found a pair and they are RIVAL cut level 3 with part # 3712GM.  They also used gloves one day then threw them away, where I retrieved mine.  Again, only level 3 but they are very flexible.  I can put a 10mm nut on a bolt with these gloves. 

The guys at the hog slaughter plant had special gloves that were metal-like a Knight's glove.  And yes, I do not eat much processed meat.  Don't ask me about turkey hotdogs. 

 

[Charles959]

HexArmor has an extensive line of safety gloves. After having surgery (using a biopsy punch) to remove the tip of a rose thorn that had broken off inside my finger, I bought a pair of HexArmor Hercules NSR 3041 gloves.

The unusual thing about the tip of a rose thorn and dried blood inside the finger tip is that they are the same color and difficult to distinguish, even under an extremely bright light. The dermatologist and I were guessing that the tip of the rose thorn was inside my finger, and we were right.

 

[mino]

IMO for general work it is better to learn handling/safety techniques to not need them than learn to be careless and then get cut every time one does not have them .. cuts due to a lack of safety gloves are not like a chip in your eye - they heal comparaticely easily.

Kinda like with knifes. Better learn handling them, than rely on the knife being dull. I remember my mum always handing me the sharpest knife when I was a kid. Saying "when you learn with this one, you can handle any other".

YMMV, looking from a hobby perspective.

 

[Oldwood]

I use gloves when cutting melamine sheets, and these would be a good option for that. The fresh cut edges of melamine are sharp and cut your hands up pretty quickly.

I prefer gloves that have a non-slip surface for melamine.

 

[rst]

As a 40 year glazier, plastic and aluminum fabricator, I’m very familiar with cut resistant, slip resistant gloves.  We use cut levels up to 10.  At present I’m using level 7 Milwaukee,

 

[Packard]

As a 40 year glazier, plastic and aluminum fabricator, I’m very familiar with cut resistant, slip resistant gloves.  We use cut levels up to 10.  At present I’m using level 7 Milwaukee,

Level 5 is the highest rating that ASTM and ISO show.  What governing organization is showing Level 7 and Level 10?

 

[rmwarren]

I've been using a pair of these for metal work. They have a better tactile feel than leather gloves and I've yet to pierce them.

Mostly where they protect me is getting fingers slightly too close to a spinning abrasive and "nicking" them. A couple times I ran my hands into a grinding disk or belt with no effect. They work well as a replacement for the common black mechanics gloves you can buy at HD.

RMW

 

[rvieceli]

[member=74278]Packard[/member] probably ANSI American National Standards Institute
https://www.mcrsafety.com/blog/all-about-cut-resistant-glove-levels

Ron