Work Glove Selection Guide: ANSI Cut Levels and Matching Gloves to the Hazard

"Cut-resistant" on a glove label doesn't tell you how cut-resistant - and neither does thickness, price, or brand. The ANSI/ISEA cut level rating is the number that actually tells you what a glove is built to handle, and it's worth understanding before you buy by category alone.

How ANSI/ISEA cut levels actually work

Cut-resistant gloves are tested by measuring the force, in grams, needed to cut through the material with a standardized blade - more force required means a higher rating. The current ANSI/ISEA 105 scale runs from A1 (lowest protection, roughly 200-499 grams of cutting force to fail) up through A9 (highest, 6,000+ grams). Roughly, that breaks down as:

• A1-A2: light material handling, general assembly, boxes and light packaging
• A3-A4: general warehousing, glass handling, light metal parts handling
• A5-A6: metal stamping, sheet metal handling, glass installation
• A7-A9: heavy glass handling, sharp metal fabrication, and other high-laceration-risk environments

Buying by the word "cut-resistant" without checking the level is how people end up under-protected on a high-risk task or overpaying for protection a light-duty job never needed.

Match the glove category to the hazard, not the other way around

Cut-resistant gloves (aramid/leather-face construction) are purpose-built for sharp-edge work - sheet metal, glass, blades - and are the only category with a real ANSI cut rating behind them. Leather and welding gloves protect against heat, sparks, and abrasion, which is a different hazard than a bladed cut - they don't carry the same cut-level certification even though they feel tough. Coated and knit gloves are general-purpose dexterity gloves for handling and light abrasion, with a coated palm (nitrile or PU) for grip - not rated for cut protection at all. Anti-vibration gloves are their own category entirely, built with padding and dampening material specifically to reduce hand-arm vibration exposure from powered tools like grinders and impact wrenches - a thick leather or knit glove doesn't provide meaningful vibration dampening no matter how substantial it feels.

Multi-hazard tasks may need more than one glove

A task that combines hazards - handling sharp metal that's also cold, or welding near an edge that could cut - often needs a glove built for the primary hazard plus supplemental protection (a liner, a sleeve) rather than hunting for a single glove that claims to cover everything. No glove optimized for cut resistance is also optimized for heat, and vice versa.

Buying to match your actual usage

• Full glove range across all protection categories in Gloves
• Global Glove Aramid/Leather Face Cut-Resistant Gloves, K300LF
• Global Glove Big Ole G2 Leather Palm Gloves, 2000 - heat and abrasion protection
• Global Glove Coated String Knit Gloves, S966E - general handling and dexterity
• Global Glove Anti-Vibration Gloves, AV1121
• Full category breakdown including chemical-resistant and cold-weather gloves: Work Glove Buying Guide

Ordering by the case for your team? Request a quote and we'll get you pricing.

Quick buying checklist

• Check the ANSI/ISEA cut level (A1-A9) on any cut-resistant glove rather than trusting the word "cut-resistant" alone
• Match glove category to the specific hazard - cut, heat, abrasion, vibration, or contamination are each a different category
• Don't substitute a leather or knit glove for a task that actually needs vibration dampening or a cut rating
• For multi-hazard tasks, combine a primary-hazard glove with supplemental protection rather than searching for one glove that does it all
• Buy consumable/general-purpose gloves by the case once usage is established - per-pair cost drops sharply at volume