If your projects involve working with sheet metal, glass,ย knives, or anything sharp, you need to start using cut-resistant gloves. Gloves from Global Gloves are made with Taeki 5 yarn, and what makes them unique is the level of protection they offer with all the dexterity andย tactile sensitivity you need.
Global Gloves offers a very extensive and completeย line of gloves to handle nearly any situation you can imagine. They offerย everything from plain leather work gloves all the way to job-specificย gloves. For this review, we are taking a snapshot look at the Global Gloves Samurai series of cut-resistant gloves, which all feature the Taeki 5. Taeki 5ย is a proprietary blend of both materials and yarn spinning techniques. Theย spinning process is known as Duracore spinning, which means that the differentย outer fibers are spun around a center fiber core. The cut resistance comes fromย the silicon reinforced fibers.
To test ourย sample cut-resistant gloves, we did the first thing that came to mind โ andย that was to try to cut them. First off, we took a brand new Stanleyย Heavy-Duty Razor Blade and put it into our utility knife. With the gloves resting onย a flat, hard surface, we simply tried to cut the palm area of the glove. We applied various amounts of pressure, and in most cases, we were not able to cut through. It was not until we did a stabbing motion and applied extreme force that we finally got the gloves to fail. With normal force, they held their own and showed almost noย indication that we had been trying to cut them.
Our nextย test was to take one of the fingers of the glove and put tension on it whileย holding it up in the air and try to slice through. (Of course, ourย fingers were not in the glove for this.) We had similar results as when theย gloves were on a solid surface. It was not until after repeatedly increasingย the force of the cuts that we finally cut our way into one of the fingers. From what we can tell, most cuts with sharp objects happen from quick action that is the result of either something slipping or glancing off something sharp.
We received four different types of sample gloves in our group. The first we tested was the Samurai PUG555. This particular type offers an ASTM F-1790 Level 4ย cut resistance. These gloves have the palm and fingertips dipped inย polyurethane, which helps to add grip and additional abrasion resistance. Sinceย these gloves are black on black, they are designed to help hide oil and greaseย when working in dirty environments and are well suited for working with sheetย metal and other metal work.
The nextย type of gloves we looked at was theย Samurai CR300. These gloves are made of the same Taeki 5 material and feature palms dipped in an etched rubber coating. This coating adds puncture resistance and an excellent, sensitive grip. These gloves offer an ASTM F-1790 Level 5 cut resistance and are well-suited for working sheet metal, glass, andย other extremely sharp materials.
The TAK333 type is a lightweight glove withย Nitrile dots and finger tips to give better grip. What makes this gloveย different from the other gloves we sampled is that it is ambidextrous theoretically doubling the useful life of the glove. Since itย is made of a slightly lighter weight knit, it offers an ASTM F-1790 Level 4 cutย resistance and are also good for metal and glass working applications.
The heaviest duty gloves we looked at were the TAK555LF. They offer an ASTM F-1790ย Level 5 cut resistance. These gloves feature Taeki 5 material along with leatherย palms that are sewn on with Kevlar thread. These are not your regular workย gloves. They are much better, with the elastic-like knit material on the backย and the leather on the fingers and palm; they stay on well and offer the mostย abrasion, puncture, and cut resistance of almost any glove made by Globalย Gloves. These are the ideal gloves for almost any heavy-duty cutting project, like using a chainsaw or cutting metal.
Conclusion
If you workย with sharp objects, it is just a matter of time before you will get cut; thatย is, unless you already use gloves or other protective safety measures whenย working.ย After our simple experimentsย with the cut-resistant gloves made with Taeki 5 yarn from Global Gloves, weย think they provide a great way to stay safe while still being able to maintainย the dexterity and tactile sensitivity you need. For our Performance rating, weย gave these gloves a 9/10 since they really do what they are supposed to do. Forย Value, we gave them a 9/10 since they have a relatively low price range of aboutย $8 up to $17 for the protection they offer.
