Near perfect gloves?

[David Ragan]

Hi all,

My hands are, well, soft. No callous anywhere.

During the French Revolution, one look at my hands, and a trip to the Guillotine (is that political?)

Too many cuts and glue and so forth.

My grip is way down.

There are risks for rotary objects.

No perfect solution; I have woven kevlar for carving-but if one uses proper technique, you don't need them. And, too bulky.

I was getting ready to spend $40 on Amazon-anyone have a reasonable balance w dexterity/cut resistance/breathability?

Thanks-have a great day

[Tom M King]

I tried a number of different ones for wearing when using a Wuko roller folder on long sheet metal edges, and ended up using some West Chester ones. Some were too bulky, or too fat, or too skinny in the fingers. These were the least objectionable.

search for this on the auction site: we're not allowed to post a link here, but copy and paste this in the search box there. They come in sizes.

Stainless-Steel-Wire-Heavy-Duty-Work-Anti-Slash-Stab-Resistance-Cut-Proof-Gloves/

Probably not the best for fine dexterity, but not as bulky as some. Normally, I don't like the dipped gloves for anything, but these are the best of those that I've found.

Here is what I use them with, so not exactly carving dexterity needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYckHlEbbTc

[Mike Heidrick]

The first pair is best bought in a store vs online. I like ansil brand but there are soo many types. I like leather ones but do not use them much unless splintering potential is bad or handling steel and other metals. Mechanics, plumbing, and electrician types are typically good. No gloves on mill or lathes or around round blade saws for me. I am super careful around my big tools.

You can bulk up your hands by using more pumice hand vleaners too to toughen them up.

[Mike Cutler]

David

I'll start out by saying that I'm "old school". No rings, watches, jewelry, loose fitting clothes, uncuffed sleeves, long hair, or gloves, around rotating machinery.Now let's get past that.
I did a project made from Wenge a number of years ago that kind of made me loosen up a bit on the above statement. Wenge hurts! Bad!! I think getting a barbed fishhook out is less painful than a Wenge sliver. So now during some parts of wood working I will use gloves.

The gloves I like are the MaxiFlex 34-874's, and the Maxi-Cut Ultra DT's. They fit tight, have good friction and the protect your hands. They're not cumbersome, or awkward.

[Yonak Hawkins]

David, to this same question someone once recommended Terminator gloves. I find they provide for good dexterity and splinter resistance. They're reasonably priced and last a good while. They're now my regular gloves, along with many specialty pairs.

[Tim Bueler]

I use a cloth glove with nitrile coating. Cloth is nylon I think. Used to be sold under the Atlas brand name. Uline has a number of choices. Uline's Super Gription® Flex are almost identical to what I use except in latex instead of nitrile. They have a good "grippy" coating, still breathe through the cloth and aren't so thick you can't feel what you're working on.

[Nick Decker]

Agree with Mike Cutler on the Maxiflex gloves. I also avoid gloves, but sometimes you just gotta.

[J.R. Rutter]

I use a cloth glove with nitrile coating. Cloth is nylon I think. Used to be sold under the Atlas brand name. Uline has a number of choices. Uline's Super Gription® Flex are almost identical to what I use except in latex instead of nitrile. They have a good "grippy" coating, still breathe through the cloth and aren't so thick you can't feel what you're working on.

I use the Atlas rubber dipped gloves, too. Without them, I don't have the grip strength and my carpal tunnel flares up.

[Morey St. Denis]

I'll not suggest a specific brand or model, but rather inform you of a long preferred material for a craftsman's gloves. Authentic Deerskin; its thinner, more supple & elastic and breathes better than cowhide or most synthetic materials. Especially durable and long wearing too. Very important to get the right size and snug fit, so these are something you'll want to find locally until you settle upon a brand and size that works best for you. If you have a local gardening or hardware store that sells quality chainsaws, Stihl markets some dandy deerskin gloves, at somewhat lower cost they can often be found at Tractor Supply and sometimes even Lowe's. As a good alternative to quality deerskin or certain vegetable tanned, thin-shaved & sueded leathers you may also come across goatskin glove leather which has similar fine properties. There are numerous red stag being raised for restaurant quality venison in New Zealand and elsewhere, so there lately exists ready availability to deerskin leather for glove makers and non big-game hunters.

[Tom M King]

There are some really thin, nice Deerskin gloves made for Tig welding. Also, there are some expensive "touch screen" capable, thin gloves, but wouldn't think they'd be cut resistant.

[johnny means]

I like the rubber dipped, stretchy gloves, too. I buy the yellow ones from HD. I usually stock up on them when they go on sale for $10 for 5 pair, i think. I consider them disposable. I also like using high quality nitrile gloves for every day protection. They offer just enough protection from abrasion and splinters with almost no loss of dexterity. As an added bonus, I don't have to worry about glue, paint, or finishes mucking up expensive gloves.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Maxi flex gloves are my favorite in all situations except extreme cold. They make a lot of different types so hop on Amazon and see what they have available.

[Matt Day]

I have pairs of these all over the house. Garage, car, and about 3 around the shop. And of course a 5 pack in the packaging. I use them in the shop mainly during machine restoration, but sometimes I will use them with machinery if I have too. I did get one caught in a bit in the drill press and learned my lesson there!

https://www.homedepot.com/p/West-Chester-Multi-Purpose-Large-Nitrile-Dipped-Gloves-5-Pack-37120-L5PQP48/202066047?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CTHD%7Cgoogle%7C&mid=sF2BZPNpH%7Cdm_mtid_8903tb925190_pcrid_1114156 80425_pkw__pmt__product_202066047_slid_&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuYTYBRDsARIsAJnrUXBScZu8Xl2fp4OTCZJw bmt3hffMkrgp46CJeMEzdNKlcfTiNqqfDEMaAuBWEALw_wcB&dclid=CObz7eqeldsCFQRIAQod2kYNNw

[Dan Friedrichs]

Ansell HyFlex:
https://www.amazon.com/Ansell-Dyneema-Resistant-Polyurethane-Coating/dp/B002SG835S/ref=pd_sim_328_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002SG835S&pd_rd_r=PQQD5QZ4ZA2NMZCKDFRA&pd_rd_w=gXDU4&pd_rd_wg=gEUvu&psc=1&refRID=PQQD5QZ4ZA2NMZCKDFRA

[Dave Cav]

I like the Global PUG gloves on Amazon. Just over a buck a pair when you buy a dozen. Nylon fabric with a grippy surface on the front. Lightweight, good feel, cheap enough to throw away after a few days if they get nasty.

I generally don't like to wear gloves around rotating machinery, but when handling rough lumber for dimensioning, planing and jointing, and when running the edge sander I find they help a lot especially since my hands don't always work as well as they used to.

[Anthony Spotorno]

I use these from ULine. They are cut resistant and fit great. Little expensive, but one pair lasts a long time.

The material is stretchy, and the rubber cut resistant.

https://www.uline.com/BL_1368/Ninja-Max-Coated-Cut-Resistant-Gloves

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have tried plenty of different gloves, and my current favorites are Pig gloves. They are made for shooting, so you get very good dexterity, they are relatively thin, and have enough to keep you warm in the winter, but breathe well in the summer.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PW825YY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[David Ragan]

I looked at all the various contenders and ordered these two:

386666

This here one (above), the PUG, while cheaper, has a little too much of plastic-y feel to it, and the palm area is kinda tight.

While taking this picture, I recalled the OJ trial several years ago...(can I say that?)

The winner:

386667

The Maxiflex is great.

Dexterous, breathhable, grippy, and fits great.

The iPhone touch screen doesn't recognize me w these gloves on, but am able to everything except get PSA backing off things.

I may try others in the future.

The very thin leathers sound interesting also

Am trying to Keep It Simple

Thanks to all.

[Warren Lake]

old school as well, taught no gloves. in my prime jointing lots of rough red oak hands had calluses on them and I could sand wood with them, they were protected and strong, slivers were minimal at that point. Chuck Norris would be proud. One thing about the old way was they had different gloves bulky leather stuff. Along the way things fit better and got the sticky rubbery stuff, you cant argue with having more traction on a larger boards on the jointer still could not get my head around it. I tried it once with some ansell and did give me more traction. Went back to my old way have a wet sponge in a container near the jointer just pinch it every now and then.

[tom lucas]

I just use the 9 mil nitrile gloves. Safe around machinery, cheap (100 for < $20), pretty durable for what they are. No cut protection, but great around the lathe and when using sandpaper.