Keep Your Kitchen Staff Safe with Cut-Resistant Knife Gloves 

Safety gear is critical in the kitchen, and few pieces of gear are more necessary than cutting gloves. These cut-resistant gloves protect anyone in your kitchen who's using a knife and - perhaps even more importantly - they protect both your other staff and your patrons from any accidental contact with blood.

As with most kitchen tools, there are a variety of options when it comes to cutting gloves. Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind.

Types of Cutting Gloves

There are three basic types of cutting gloves: stainless steel, synthetic, and hybrids.

Stainless steel gloves form a mesh and act like chain mail armor for your chefs' hands. Metal cutting gloves are by far the strongest and most durable of your options, and they're the only type of cutting glove that protects against stabs as well as slices. However, you will pay for that level of protection. They are also by far the most expensive type of cutting glove available.

Synthetic materials are another option. Gloves can be made from damage-resisting materials such as Spectra, Dyneema or Kevlar, which are more commonly associated with body armor. They offer a good balance between cost and performance, with their main drawback being the lack of stabbing protection.

There are also hybrid cut resistant gloves available. These utilize thin shaped metal in the interior, wrapped in a synthetic material such as vinyl or polyester. Such gloves are generally at the lower end of protection but are also usually inexpensive.

How To Gauge A Cutting Glove's Level of Protection

Fortunately, you don't need to be a materials specialist to figure out how protective any particular glove is. There's a standardized system with ratings from A1 to A5 indicating their level of protection, with A5 being the highest rating. Some materials are typically rated:

• Stainless steel mesh gloves: Always A5
• Spectra: A4-A5
• Dyneema: A4-A5
• Kevlar: A2 (Although Kevlar is also highly heat resistant)

Sizing of Cutting Gloves

Cutting gloves will never have an adjustable fit and come in a range of standard sizes from S to XL+. Left, right, and ambidextrous options are also available. Basically, as a restaurant owner, your best option is to buy a variety of gloves in different handedness and sizes, so that your kitchen staff will always have sufficient options to find a good fit.
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