Ratings, explained plainly.
US employers must match hand protection to a documented hazard assessment — and be able to prove the match. This page decodes the pentagon mark printed on every rated glove, so your safety file says exactly what your crew is wearing and why.
The pentagon mark
ONE MARK, THREE TESTED NUMBERS.
IF A GLOVE HAS NO MARK, IT HAS NO RATING.
ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 is the North American standard for hand protection. Instead of a paragraph of fine print, it condenses lab testing into one standardized pentagon: cut level at the top, abrasion at lower left, puncture at lower right. A safety officer can read a glove's tested performance in two seconds — and an auditor can check it against your hazard assessment just as fast.
Cut — A1 to A9
Measured in grams of force: how much load a blade must carry before it cuts through the material. A1 resists 200 grams; A9 resists 6,000. Higher is not automatically better — too much glove costs dexterity, so the right level is the one your assessment names.
Abrasion — 0 to 6
Measured in cycles: how many rotations of an abrasion wheel the material survives before wearing through. This is the number that predicts service life — how many shifts a pair actually lasts on your floor.
Puncture — 0 to 5
Measured in newtons of force from a standard probe. It rates resistance to pointed hazards — wire, splinters, sharp offcuts — not hypodermic needles, which are tested separately.
Every HNJ style carries its tested levels in the pentagon format, on the product page, the spec sheet, and the lab report that ships with your order.
Cut levels at a glance
The six bands most US buyers actually spec. Match the band to the hazard, not to the highest number on the chart.
| Level | Grams of force | Typical work |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | 200 g | General handling, light assembly, parts sorting |
| A2 | 500 g | Warehousing, automotive assembly, general industry |
| A3 | 1,000 g | Metal handling, construction, light fabrication |
| A4 | 1,500 g | Sheet metal, glass handling, HVAC duct work |
| A5 | 2,200 g | Metal stamping, food processing, blade handling |
| A6–A9 | 3,000–6,000 g | Heavy fabrication, recycling, pulp & paper |
Levels per ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 cut-resistance test method (grams of cutting load). HNJ's CutShield A4 sits in the band most sheet-metal and glass crews spec.
Your OSHA obligation
Federal regulation 29 CFR 1910.138 requires employers to select hand protection based on a documented hazard assessment of the work — the tasks, the materials, the sharp edges and heat involved. "We bought gloves" is not compliance. "We assessed the hazard, selected a rated glove that matches it, and kept the documentation" is.
That distinction decides liability. If a worker is injured wearing uncertified gear, the question will not be whether gloves were issued — it will be whether the glove's tested rating matched the hazard, and whether you can produce the paper that proves it. We build our documentation so that answer is always yes.
Lab reports with every order
The ANSI/ISEA 105-2024 test report for the exact style you ordered travels with the shipment — ratings you can file, not claims you have to trust.
EN 388 + ISO 9001 copies
European mechanical-risk certification and the factory's quality-management certificate, available with every quotation pack on request.
Full customs documentation
Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and correct HTS 4203.29 classification on every shipment — clean entry, no broker surprises.