When you need a pair of safety gloves, not all pairs are created equal.
Of course, this depends upon the job you're doing.
Some sets of are designed for construction and labor environments, while others are designed to protect the hands from chemicals.
Additionally, many are given a rating between one and five for their effectiveness in protecting certain hand injuries.
While you should keep this in mind when you need hand protection for your job, the materials making up a pair of gloves are almost as important as the safety rating.
Some of the most common occupations needing hand protection are industrial, construction, and labor occupations.
Generally, gloves geared toward such tasks are made of a knit material or leather.
While leather gives all-around protection and gripping ability, knit gloves are often reinforced with Kevlar for additional strength or coated with PVC to give the user more gripping ability.
These types, no matter when used in construction or package handling, come with a rating that describes their abrasion and puncture resistance.
After all, abrasion and puncture resistance is needed in various degrees for such jobs.
Typically, however, an average pair of construction gloves is rated a "three" on the one to five scale for hand protection.
But, hand protection doesn't only include abrasion and puncture protection.
Another aspect concerning many safety gloves is protection from chemicals.
Those in medical occupations to chemical labs and handling need this type of hand protection, and such safety gloves are designed to protect the hands from chemical spills and bloodbourne pathogens.
Typically, these safety gloves, on the lowest level, are made from latex, while stronger types are made from neoprene, PVC, butyl, or nitrile.
These stronger chemical handling gloves not only need to protect the skin from chemical splashes but also need abrasion and puncture resistance.