Choosing gloves with EN 388

A buyer's guide from Hanekom Innovations · Reading time about 5 minutes

Reading the six characters

An EN 388 glove carries a shield pictogram followed by up to six characters, always in the same order. A rating of 4543CP reads as follows:

So 4543CP is: maximum abrasion, coupe cut level 5, tear 4, puncture 3, TDM cut level C, and impact protection.

Why cut resistance is measured twice

The original coupe test drags a circular blade across the fabric under a fixed light load. It works well for ordinary materials, but a genuinely high-performance cut liner blunts the blade during the test — which makes the result unreliable and, perversely, understated.

The 2016 revision therefore added the TDM test (EN ISO 13997), which measures the force in newtons required to cut through the material with a fresh blade at a fixed distance. That result is expressed as a letter:

• A and B — approximately 2 to 5 newtons. Light handling.
• C and D — approximately 10 to 15 newtons. Sheet metal, glass handling, general fabrication.
• E — approximately 22 newtons. Heavy plate and sharp scrap handling.
• F — 30 newtons and above. The highest available protection.

For any cut-risk task, buy on the letter, not the digit. The letter is the more meaningful number for high-performance gloves.

What an X means

An X in position two is not a failure — it means the coupe test was not performed or was invalidated by blade blunting. On a serious cut glove this is expected and normal. Look at position five instead.

An X elsewhere means that test was not carried out. If you need that property, ask for it to be tested and stated.

The other glove standards

EN 388 covers mechanical risk only. Hands face other hazards, and each has its own standard:

• EN 407 — thermal risks: burning behaviour, contact heat, convective heat, radiant heat, small and large splashes of molten metal. This is the standard that matters on a welding glove.
• EN 511 — cold: convective cold, contact cold, water permeability.
• EN ISO 374-1 — chemical protection, with Type A, B or C depending on how many test chemicals the glove resists and for how long. Crucially, this is chemical specific: a glove that resists sulphuric acid may fail against a solvent.
• EN ISO 374-5 — protection against micro-organisms.
• EN 12477 — gloves for welders, combining mechanical and thermal requirements.

Matching the glove to the task

Three things that undo a good glove

• Wrong size. A loose glove catches; a tight glove causes fatigue and gets taken off. Order a size range and fit people properly.
• Wearing gloves near rotating machinery. Around drill presses, lathes and unguarded rotating parts, a glove can pull the hand in. The correct control there is guarding and procedure, not a better glove.
• No replacement interval. A cut liner that has been worn through has the cut resistance of the coating that is left. Set a change-out rule and stock to it.