If your projects involve working with sheet metal, glass, 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 and tactile sensitivity you need.
Global Gloves offers a very extensive and complete line of gloves to handle nearly any situation you can imagine. They offer everything from plain leather work gloves all the way to job-specific 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 5 is a proprietary blend of both materials and yarn spinning techniques. The spinning process is known as Duracore spinning, which means that the different outer fibers are spun around a center fiber core. The cut resistance comes from the silicon reinforced fibers.
To test our sample cut-resistant gloves, we did the first thing that came to mind – and that was to try to cut them. First off, we took a brand new Stanley Heavy-Duty Razor Blade and put it into our utility knife. With the gloves resting on 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 no indication that we had been trying to cut them.
Our next test was to take one of the fingers of the glove and put tension on it while holding it up in the air and try to slice through. (Of course, our fingers were not in the glove for this.) We had similar results as when the gloves were on a solid surface. It was not until after repeatedly increasing 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 4 cut resistance. These gloves have the palm and fingertips dipped in polyurethane, which helps to add grip and additional abrasion resistance. Since these gloves are black on black, they are designed to help hide oil and grease when working in dirty environments and are well suited for working with sheet metal and other metal work.
The next type of gloves we looked at was the 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, and other extremely sharp materials.
The TAK333 type is a lightweight glove with Nitrile dots and finger tips to give better grip. What makes this glove different from the other gloves we sampled is that it is ambidextrous theoretically doubling the useful life of the glove. Since it is made of a slightly lighter weight knit, it offers an ASTM F-1790 Level 4 cut 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-1790 Level 5 cut resistance. These gloves feature Taeki 5 material along with leather palms that are sewn on with Kevlar thread. These are not your regular work gloves. They are much better, with the elastic-like knit material on the back and the leather on the fingers and palm; they stay on well and offer the most abrasion, puncture, and cut resistance of almost any glove made by Global Gloves. These are the ideal gloves for almost any heavy-duty cutting project, like using a chainsaw or cutting metal.
Conclusion
If you work with sharp objects, it is just a matter of time before you will get cut; that is, unless you already use gloves or other protective safety measures when working. After our simple experiments with the cut-resistant gloves made with Taeki 5 yarn from Global Gloves, we think they provide a great way to stay safe while still being able to maintain the dexterity and tactile sensitivity you need. For our Performance rating, we gave these gloves a 9/10 since they really do what they are supposed to do. For Value, we gave them a 9/10 since they have a relatively low price range of about $8 up to $17 for the protection they offer.
