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Back to Safety Help
Glove Safety
Airgas offers leather palm work gloves constructed from various grades of leather from economy split to premium side split. Our representatives can assist you in selecting the glove that balances your needs for protection, quality and price to determine your best value. Grain leather is rated by the quality of
the hide, cosmetic appearance, and leather thickness.
String knit gloves are manufactured on knitting machines in various gauges for seamless construction. 7, 10 and 13 gauge or “cut” refer to the number of rows of stitches per inch. A higher cut means a less bulky glove and greater dexterity. Fabric weights range from light to heavy. Weights of cotton gloves are designated by ounces. The most common weights are 8, 10 and 12 and represent a uniform industry standard of weighing fabrics by the yard. This means there are 8, 10 and 12 ounces per square yard.
This is referred to as the true weight of cotton.
Performance Gloves
Gloves offer superior fit, comfort, and durability for workers who require greater dexterity and improved handling.
The degree of heat resistance a glove may offer is directly related to the duration of exposure and weight of the object being handled.
Cut Resistance Defined
Cut resistance is a function of a glove's
material composition and thickness.
Increased cut protection can be
achieved with:
• Increased material weight; i.e., ounces
per square yard.
• Use of high performance materials
such as Spectra®, KEVLAR®, Vectran
Dyneema®etc.
• Use of composite yarns made with
varying combinations of stainless steel,
fiberglass, synthetic yarns and high
performance yarns.
Gloves are extremely cut-resistant, but
not cut-proof. Do not subject these gloves
to high-speed or highly serrated blades.
Always disconnect power before
cleaning or removing slicer blades.
Always remember: There is no such
thing as a cut-proof glove.
A new guide from the National
Industrial Glove Distributors
Association (NIGDA), called "The
Complete Guide to Understanding
and Selecting Coated Work Gloves
for Hand Protection" offers a
five-step process for selecting
hand protection.
The Five-Step Process
• Evaluate the physical conditions gloves will be exposed to and determine how much protection is needed against abrasion, cut, puncture, tear and snap.
• Compare glove features such as length, type of cuff and insulation to specific job tasks.
• Choose the gloves that offer appropriate protection and performance. This includes liquidtight integrity and resistance to chemicals present.
• Select gloves based on employee evaluations of protection, comfort and functionality.
• Periodically reevaluate glove choices to ensure that they are performing up to expectations
and that workplace hazards have not changed.
Natural Rubber Latex gloves resist bases, acids, alcohols and diluted aqueous solutions of most types of chemicals. They also offer fair protection against undiluted ketones and aldehydes. In addition, natural rubber latex provides some resistance to cuts. There have been some reports of allergic reactions to the proteins in natural rubber. In cases of latex sensitivity, nitrile, neoprene and
PVC are good alternatives.
The synthetic rubber compound, Nitrile, offers good protection against bases,
oils, many solvents and esters, grease and animal fats. Nitrile gloves are not recommended for ketones and some organic solvents. They do provide, however, excellent resistance to snags, punctures, abrasions and cuts.
Neoprene (polychloroprene) is another synthetic rubber compound. Neoprene gloves protect against a very broad range of oils, acids, caustics and solvents. Neoprene offers less resistance to snags, punctures, abrasions and cuts than nitrile or natural rubber.
Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) is highly resistant to aliphatics, aromatics, chlorinated solvents, esters and most ketones. PVA gloves also resist snags, punctures, abrasions and cuts, but quickly break down when exposed to water and light alcohols.
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