Cut resistant gloves are rated A1 to A9 under ANSI/ISEA 105-2024. A machine called the TDM-100 measures how many grams of force a straight blade needs to cut through the palm material, from 200 grams at A1 up to 6,000 grams at A9. Match the level to the task, and the rating does its job.
That single scale is the most useful tool in hand protection, and the most misread. At CACO America we field the same question from distributor partners every week: which number do my accounts actually need? I have sold PPE for more than 30 years, since joining our family business in 1992, and I can tell you the answer is never “the highest one.” This guide decodes the standard, kills the “cut proof” myth, and maps every level to real work.
How ANSI/ISEA 105 cut testing actually works
The rating on the glove tag comes from one specific laboratory procedure. ANSI/ISEA 105-2024, the American National Standard for hand protection classification, scores cut resistance using the ASTM F2992-23 test method on a machine called the TDM-100.
The lab cuts a sample from the glove palm and clamps it under a straight blade. The blade travels across the fabric under load, and technicians add weight until it cuts through within 20 millimeters of travel. A fresh blade goes on for every single pass, so a dulled edge never flatters the score. The final gram rating is an average across multiple tests, verified by an accredited third-party laboratory.
That gram score then maps to a level: 200 grams earns A1, and the ladder climbs to 6,000 grams at A9. The ANSI Blog’s breakdown of the 2024 edition confirms the same ranges. One label, one test, no marketing math.
“Cut proof gloves” do not exist
Let me correct the most common search term in this category. People type “cut proof gloves” into Google 1,500 times a month, and the honest answer is that no such product exists. Every glove on the market is cut resistant, never cut proof. An A9 glove withstands 6,000 grams of blade force in a controlled lab test. A powered saw, a serrated edge, or enough pressure in the wrong spot will still defeat it.
Manufacturers know this. Reputable spec sheets say “cut resistant” and warn against moving blades, because a glove that slows a blade is buying reaction time, not immunity.
Why does the distinction matter commercially? Because a worker who believes his hands are invincible takes risks he otherwise would not. I tell every distributor partner to sell the rating honestly, the same way we coach them to spot quality claims that do not hold up across the wider PPE market. Trust survives an honest label.
Matching the cut level to the task
ISEA groups the nine levels into three practical bands, and the ISEA hand protection guidance is blunt about what each band is for. A1 to A3 protects against scrapes. A4 to A6 protects against cuts that would need stitches. A7 to A9 exists for brutal or extreme cut injuries.
| ANSI/ISEA Cut Level | Minimum Force to Cut | Typical Applications |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 200 g | Packaging, warehouse work, general material handling |
| A2 | 500 g | Small parts assembly with sharp edges, forestry |
| A3 | 1,000 g | Construction, pulp & paper, automotive assembly |
| A4 | 1,500 g | Drywall installation, electrical work, HVAC, light glass handling |
| A5 | 2,200 g | Metal fabrication, metal handling, canning, appliance manufacturing |
| A6 | 3,000 g | Metal stamping, glass manufacturing, recycling sorting |
| A7 | 4,000 g | Sharp metal stampings, window manufacturing |
| A8 | 5,000 g | Changing slitter blades, meat processing |
| A9 | 6,000 g | Severe blade exposure in steel and glass work |
Source: ISEA, ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 Key to Hand Classifications, verified August 2026.
Under-specifying is dangerous, but over-specifying quietly kills a program. Hand a warehouse picker an A6 glove and he sheds it by lunch because it fights his fingers. The general purpose gloves he will actually keep on protect him better than the heavy glove in his back pocket.
The stakes, in fresh numbers
Hand protection is not a rounding error in workplace safety. Over 2023 and 2024 combined, private industry employers reported 1.8 million injury and illness cases that required days away from work, and contact incidents, the event family that covers workers cut or struck by objects and equipment, produced 860,050 cases involving days away, restriction, or transfer, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released in January 2026.
The frustrating part is how preventable this category is. ISEA, citing OSHA, reports that 71 percent of hand and arm injuries could have been prevented with the right PPE, yet 70 percent of workers do not wear hand protection, and 30 percent of those who do wear the wrong glove for the task. OSHA’s rule under 29 CFR 1910.138 requires employers to select hand protection based on the hazards present. The standard tells them how.
What actually stops the blade: materials
Cut resistance lives in the yarn, and three material families do most of the work.
- HPPE (high-performance polyethylene). The workhorse of modern cut-resistant gloves. Light, cool on the hand, and strong for its weight, HPPE knits carry most A2 to A4 gloves on the market.
- Aramid fibers. The Kevlar family. Aramids resist cuts and heat together, which makes them the pick where sparks, hot parts, and sharp edges share a bench.
- Steel and glass fiber cores. To reach A5 and beyond, manufacturers wrap yarn around a thin steel or fiberglass core. The composite jumps the gram score, at the cost of some weight and stiffness.
Blends are the norm now, tuned to hit a target level while staying wearable. This is also why laundering and abrasion matter: the rating belongs to an intact knit, not a worn one.
When cut protection needs impact protection too
A blade is not the only thing that finds hands. Pipe handling, tool drops, and pinch points break bones on the back of the hand, and cut resistance does nothing for that side. That gap has its own standard: ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 tests back-of-hand protection at the knuckles and fingers and assigns Level 1, 2, or 3, with Level 3 transmitting the least force, no more than 4 kilonewtons on average, per the ISEA impact protection white paper. A glove is rated by its worst-scoring zone, so a Level 2 knuckle with Level 1 fingers sells as Level 1.
For oil and gas, demolition, and heavy fabrication accounts, spec both numbers together. Our impact-resistant gloves line pairs A4 to A6 cut knits with TPR back-of-hand guards for exactly that combination, the same pairing mechanics gloves borrow for tool-heavy work.
Coated or uncoated: the dexterity trade
Most cut-resistant knits ship with a palm coating, and the coating decides how the glove feels at hour eight.
- Polyurethane (PU). Thin and tactile. The default for assembly, electronics, and any task where workers handle small parts all shift.
- Nitrile coating. Better oil and abrasion resistance than PU, in flat, foam, or sandy finishes. Sandy nitrile grips oily steel like nothing else. Note this is a coating on a knit shell, not the same product as disposable nitrile gloves.
- Uncoated knits. Food processing and fine inspection work sometimes run bare knits for breathability, accepting less grip.
Here is the field truth I repeat most: dexterity is a safety feature. A glove that lets a worker feel the part stays on the hand, and the glove that stays on is the one that was there when the blade slipped.
How Europe reads the same glove: EN 388
Gloves sold internationally usually carry a second mark, the EN 388 shield, and distributors should be able to read it. Europe’s EN 388:2016 standard rates cut resistance two ways: the original coup test, scored 1 to 5, and the ISO 13997 TDM test, which appends a letter from A to F, spanning roughly 2 to 30 newtons of blade force. The TDM letter was added because glass and steel fiber yarns dull the coup test blade and inflate old-style scores.
The letter test runs on the same TDM machine family as the ANSI method, but the scales do not translate one to one. An EN 388 letter F is not “the same as” an A9. When an account hands you a European spec, match the letter, not a guessed conversion.
Care and laundering: protect the rating you paid for
A cut rating is earned by an intact glove, so care policy is part of the safety program.
- Inspect before every shift. Pulled yarns, thin spots, and holes end a glove’s service life on the spot. A compromised knit no longer performs at its tested level.
- Launder to the manufacturer’s instructions. Most HPPE and aramid knits tolerate commercial washing, but harsh bleach cycles and high heat can degrade coatings and shrink liners. The care tag, not habit, sets the recipe.
- Retire on schedule, not on failure. Abrasion eats cut performance invisibly. High-wear roles should cycle gloves on a calendar, the same replacement-cadence logic we apply across hand protection
A glove trial makes this concrete: run two or three candidate models on one shift for two weeks, count failures and complaints, and let the results pick the SKU.
“The distributor who asks what the crew is cutting will always beat the one who asks what the buyer spent last year. Cut levels turn that conversation into a number both sides can act on.” - Joel Abbo, CEO, Caco Abbo Group
For distributors: label by cut level, sell by task
If you distribute PPE, the A-scale is your merchandising system. Organize the shelf, the catalog page, and the quote template by cut level, then talk to accounts in tasks. The playbook we coach:
- Stock the A2 to A6 core deep. That band covers warehousing through metal fabrication, which is where most recurring volume lives. Our cut glove rangeconcentrates there deliberately.
- Put the task mapping in front of buyers. A one-page chart that pairs “drywall, HVAC, light glass” with A4 closes faster than any spec sheet. Safety managers buy certainty.
- Ask the two-question qualifier. What is the sharpest thing a hand touches? What happens on the back of the hand? The answers spec the cut level and flag whether ANSI/ISEA 138 impact protection belongs on the quote.
- Sell the program, not the pair. Sizing runs, trial protocols, and replacement cadences are what make an account sticky, a theme we covered in our guide to navigating the safety gear market.
We built CACO America to back exactly this motion. We hold the exclusive license for GE-branded PPE across the Americas and the Caribbean, and our GE PPE line gives distributors a recognized name at working prices, with cut-rated hand protection stocked alongside the most in-demand safety products of 2026. We support distribution partners in more than 38 countries, and hand protection is the category where a knowledgeable rep earns an account fastest.
FAQ
1. What do ANSI cut levels A1 to A9 mean?
They are performance classes under ANSI/ISEA 105-2024, based on how many grams of force a blade needs to cut through the glove material on a TDM-100 machine. A1 starts at 200 grams and A9 requires 6,000 grams. Higher numbers mean more cut resistance, and ISEA groups them into scrape hazards (A1 to A3), stitches-level hazards (A4 to A6), and severe hazards (A7 to A9).
2. Are cut proof gloves real?
No. Every rated glove is cut resistant, not cut proof. The rating measures how much force a blade needs in a controlled test, so higher levels buy more protection and reaction time, never immunity. No glove should be used with moving or powered blades, and manufacturers state this on their own spec sheets. Treat any “cut proof” claim as a red flag on the seller.
3. What cut level do I need for sheet metal work?
Sheet metal, glass handling, and similar stitches-level hazards call for A4 to A6 under ISEA’s task guidance. Light fabrication and HVAC duct work typically start at A4, while stamping plants and glass manufacturing push to A5 or A6. If the same job risks tool drops or pinch points, add back-of-hand impact protection rated under ANSI/ISEA 138.
4. How is ANSI/ISEA 105 different from EN 388?
ANSI/ISEA 105 is the North American standard and reports one cut score, A1 to A9, from the TDM-100 test in grams. EN 388 is the European standard and reports cut resistance twice: a coup test digit from 1 to 5 and an ISO 13997 letter from A to F measured in newtons. The scales do not convert directly, so match each spec on its own terms.
5. Can you wash cut resistant gloves?
Usually, yes. Most HPPE and aramid knit gloves survive commercial laundering when you follow the manufacturer’s care instructions. High heat and aggressive bleach can damage palm coatings and shrink liners, which changes fit and grip. Inspect gloves after every wash cycle, and retire any pair with pulled yarns, thin spots, or holes, because a damaged knit no longer delivers its tested rating.
6. Do cut resistant gloves also protect against punctures and impacts?
Not automatically. Cut, puncture, and impact are three separate ratings. ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 scores puncture resistance on its own scale, and back-of-hand impact protection has its own standard, ANSI/ISEA 138-2019, with Levels 1 to 3. A glove can score high on cut and low on the others, so check every rating the task requires.
7. What cut levels does CACO America stock?
Our cut-resistant glove range concentrates on the A2 to A6 band, the levels that cover warehouse handling through metal fabrication, including hi-vis impact styles that pair A4 cut knits with ANSI/ISEA 138-rated TPR backs. Distributors get wholesale pricing, fast US shipping, and task-mapping support from our team.
Stock the levels your accounts actually need
Round out your hand protection program with cut levels matched to real tasks, backed by a supplier that has lived this category since 1992. Browse our cut-resistant range at cacoamerica.com, request wholesale pricing, or ask us to build a cut-level task map for your top accounts.
