By Owen Fitzgibbon, Editorial Director & Safety Reviewer · Updated August 31, 2026
Direct Answer
Cut levels rank how much force a glove resists before a blade cuts through. ANSI/ISEA 105 grades cut from A1 (light) to A9 (extreme); EN 388:2016 shows a four-digit code plus an ISO 13997 letter from A to F. Higher ratings mean more cut resistance, not more dexterity.
Cut levels tell you how much force it takes for a blade to slice through the glove fabric. They rank cut resistance from light to extreme so you can match the glove to the hazard, whether that is a pruning blade, sheet metal or a loose saw chain. A higher level means more resistance to a slicing edge — not more comfort, and not more dexterity.
ANSI/ISEA 105 versus EN 388
North American gloves use ANSI/ISEA 105-2016, which grades blade cut from A1 to A9 by the grams of force needed to cut through on a TDM-100 machine. European and most chainsaw-brand gloves use EN 388:2016, which shows a four-digit code — abrasion, coup cut, tear and puncture — followed by an ISO 13997 cut letter from A to F. The two scales do not convert exactly, because they use different blades and methods, but both climb from light to heavy protection. When a fabric is sharp enough to dull the rotating coup blade, that older cut digit becomes unreliable and the ISO 13997 letter is the figure to trust.
Matching level to the job
Match the level to the sharpest thing your hands will meet. The rough ladder below covers most outdoor and workshop work.
Light pruning and planting: A1–A2 (EN A–B) is enough.
General handling and tool work: A2–A3 (EN B–C).
Blades, sheet metal and firewood: A4–A5 (EN C–D).
Specialist blade handling: A6–A9 (EN E–F).
Buy the lowest level that safely covers your hazard, because higher levels usually mean stiffer, less dexterous gloves, and a glove you take off to do fine work protects nothing. For servicing equipment, an A4/EN-C glove is a sensible floor when you handle loose chains and sharpening files and tools.
A worked example
Say you are sharpening a chain and handling replacement links. The hazard is a static but very sharp cutter edge, not impact, so a cut rating matters more than knuckle guards. An A4 or A5 (EN C or D) nitrile-dipped glove grips the file and oily links while resisting the edge, and its snug knit keeps enough feel to seat each link. A thin garden glove would give feel but little protection; a heavy leather rigger would resist the edge but cost you the dexterity to handle small parts. The A4 cut glove sits in the middle, which is exactly where that job lives.
How are cut levels tested?
Both standards draw a blade across the fabric and measure what it takes to cut through, but the method differs. ANSI/ISEA 105 uses a TDM-100 machine that pulls a straight razor across the material under increasing load and records the grams of force needed to cut through, giving the A1–A9 grade. EN 388's older "coup" test rotates a circular blade back and forth across the fabric until it cuts through, producing the digit in the four-part code; because sharp modern fibres blunt that spinning blade, the standard adds an ISO 13997 straight-blade test that yields the more reliable A–F letter. Knowing the method explains the advice to trust the ISO 13997 letter whenever both a digit and a letter appear, since it comes from the test that better mimics a real slicing edge.
Common mistakes reading cut levels
The usual mistakes are treating the two standards as interchangeable, chasing the highest number, and forgetting what cut level ignores. ANSI/ISEA 105 and EN 388 use different blades and methods, so an A-level in one does not equal a letter in the other — read them as separate ladders that both climb from light to heavy. Chasing the top level backfires, because higher cut fibres are usually stiffer and less dexterous, and a glove you remove to do fine work protects nothing. And a cut level speaks only to a slicing edge: it says nothing about impact, puncture, heat or a moving chain. Read the rating for what it is, match it to your sharpest realistic hazard, and add a separate glove for any other risk the job carries.
What cut ratings do not cover
A cut level says nothing about impact, puncture, heat or a moving chainsaw chain. Impact needs thermoplastic knuckle guards; a chainsaw needs gloves certified to EN ISO 11393-4 with a left-hand saw-clogging pad, because a chain moving at 16 to 24 metres per second cuts far faster than the static blade any cut test uses. Treat cut level as one attribute among several, and read the full picture in the work gloves guide. To find a cut-rated pair for general work, see the best gloves for work picks.
