I was with a customer recently discussing hand protection for sheet‑metal handling, and they mentioned a term you may have heard of, ‘cut level 5’. It was used in the old cut protection scale. But that hasn’t been around in years!
This was a reminder for me and every other safety expert out there supporting customers, how important it is to keep people up to date. Even if it’s been several years since a new standard has been rolled out, people need reminding, or more worryingly, they may not even know about it yet. So here’s a reminder of what they need to know:
I hope this video gives you a good understanding of how this all works. But here’s a written explanation so you can really take it in and absorb the information.
Before 2018, cut protection was measured using the Coupe test. A rotating circular blade (essentially a small pizza cutter) moved back and forth across the glove material at a fixed force of 5 newtons. The result was based on how many rotations it took to cut through. That’s where the familiar cut level 1–5 scale came from.
In 2018 the industry moved to EN ISO 13997, which uses a completely different method. Because the test is different, there’s no direct correlation between the old levels and the new ones. Under the new standard:
The scale now runs from A to F, with each step representing a higher force needed to make a cut:
This gives a far more accurate picture of real‑world cut resistance, especially for high‑risk tasks like metal fabrication, glass handling, and sharp‑edge assembly work.
If you’re still specifying “cut level 5”, you may not be getting the protection you think you are. Two gloves labelled “level 5” under the old system could perform very differently under the new one.
Using the correct EN ISO 13997 rating ensures:
If you want to review your current glove range or check whether your teams are using the right cut levels for their tasks, then connect with me on LinkedIn or use our contact form to request a hand‑protection survey.
