Cut resistance of Protective Gloves

In Europe, the standard EN 388 is used to regulate protection classes of cut restistant safety gloves. To achieve a high level of cut protection, several technical materials – known as high performance fibres – are used.

Testing procedures and product classifications are adapted to reckon with this continuous process of product and material developments.

Rotating cut resistance test : Coupe test

The samples are cut with a counter rotating blade with an alternating movement and specific load.

sampling area: palm of the glove
linear movement of a rotating knife over the sample until the fabric is cut through
introduction of reference material (typically cotton)
altenration of sample and reference material until at least 5 results are registered
loss of sharpness of te knife is compensated by cutting the reference material before and after the sample
cut resistance is determined by the number of cycles needed to cut trhough the sample related to the reference material

Linear cut resistance test (TDM-100) method

The ISO 13997 cut resistance test has been added to the revised standard EN 388 to reckon with the novel materials (high performance fibres) for protective gloves.

a fabric sample is fixed on a curved testing device and a force from beneath is applied
the knife sharpness is calibrated after each completed cycle or when the knife has cut through the sample
the cut-through is established when an electric contact is observed between the knife and the curved testing device
if the sample contains any metallic yarns, a plastic film is placed between the testing device and the fabric to prevent electric contact initiated by the fabric
the sample is submitted to a minimum of 20 cutting movements applied with variable forces
the distance that is covered to cut through the material is measured
the data are used to establish the force that is needed to cut through the fabric