Leather gloves are highly durable, made with tanned hides of various animals and are a popular choice for tasks that require abrasion, heat, and fire resistance. Liners can be sewn into leather gloves to offer protection from additional hazards, and other additives and treatments can also be integrated to enhance glove performance.

Because leather is a natural material, it softens over time to conform to the hand’s shape. This adds to dexterity and comfort. But not all leather grains are created equal. The part of the animal’s body the hide comes from contributes to leather’s overall thickness, feel, dexterity, durability, and comfort. To learn more on the different parts and types of leather materials used for safety gloves, see Glove Shell Materials.

Note: The only mechanical protection that leather gloves really provide is abrasion resistance. While thicker and more abrasive hides may also offer a degree of cut and puncture protection—it is nominal. This is because leather is just skin, and skin inherently offers almost no cut or puncture resistance. For this reason, some leather gloves are paired with other engineered materials to enhance protection.

Thanks to engineered yarn, string knit gloves can offer protection from a variety of hazards. Engineered yarns incorporate the benefits of two or more fibers to make them an even stronger yarn. This also allows to integrate higher levels of mechanical protection without compromising comfort or dexterity. Like leather, other additives and treatments can also be integrated into string knit gloves to enhance performance.

Another important factor to consider for knit gloves is the glove’s gauge. Glove gauge, which is actually the gauge of the yarn (i.e., string) used to make the glove, typically ranges from 7- to 21-gauge. Lower gauge gloves are thicker and offer more cushioning and durability, while higher gauge gloves are thinner and more dexterous. No one gauge is better than the other. It all depends on the tasks and hazards for which they’re needed. To read more on materials used for string knit gloves and glove gauge see Glove Shell Materials.

Mechanics gloves are essentially different layers of materials (natural or synthetic) sewn together to make safety gloves. This construction method allows us to integrate zoned protection. What this means is that protection can be localized to glove areas where hands are at high risk of injury. Another advantage of mechanics gloves is that there is a wider variety of material options that can be sewn onto the gloves that would otherwise be difficult to incorporate in other types of gloves.

Chemical gloves are designed to repel liquids and fluids. The outer shell of chemical gloves is fully coated to resist penetration and soak through of liquids, as well as to resist chemical degradation.

Chemical gloves can be supported or unsupported. An easy way to understand is to think of it as lined or unlined. A lining that supports the glove acts like a skeleton for the glove to maintain its shape, even without a hand in it. On the other hand, an unsupported glove cannot keep its shape without a hand wearing it.

Cotton and nylon are the two most common materials used as liners for chemical gloves. Less often, you will see high-strength fibers like para-aramid, meta-aramid, or HPPE being used as well. Essentially, the lining adds to the gloves comfort, durability, and ease of donning and doffing. On the other hand, an unsupported glove cannot keep its shape without a hand wearing it.

The best way to shop for these gloves is to identify the chemical you’re handling and match it to the glove material that resists that chemical. For this, you can ask an expert or consult your chemical SDS (safety data sheet). For more information on key features and attributes of the materials used in manufacturing chemical gloves, check out Glove Additives and Treatments.

Disposable gloves are primarily used in the food and health industry to prevent product contamination of bodily fluids, bacteria, etc. They are commonly made with nitrile, and sometimes, made with latex (though latex poses the risk of allergic reactions).