When Cut-5 isn't the same as Cut-5 !

When Cut-5 isn't the same as Cut-5 !

Since the new standards came in 2016 there's been a lot of confusion around "CUT" protection ratings on gloves... here's the low-down.

Gloves have gotten tougher! That's good, but under the old standard, lots of gloves made the "toughest" rating-level.
The two new standards show the difference between various "tough" gloves; and it can be a BIG difference.

  • Cut 1 to Cut 5:    is now out-of-date, but still well-known.
  • A1 to A8:    is the new ANSI standard from the USA
  • A-B-C-D-E-F:    is the new EN388 standard from Europe.

Here's how they stack up:

Cut levels compared

See how it's tested, and why the results are so different: