After a hurricane passes and I'm able to leave the storm shelter there has always been mounds of unidentifiable garbage to be cleared. Was it a boat? airplane? animal, vegetable, mineral? Impossible to tell, but the one certainty was that it had broken glass to cut my hands, rusty nails to puncture, and probably a snake to keep things interesting.

Pictures from recent earthquakes show a similar problem, and I assume such debris is a daily/routine issue for firefighters, EMT and police.

What is working well for people to resist cuts and punctures yet retain some dexterity for grasping and removing debris? I already have a small whisk broom in my car for other reasons, but sometimes you have to grab something to get it out of the way.

I have used, not abused! those $5 work gloves available at 7-11 for dangerous tasks. They work well and protect from heat very well too!

Woven polyester gloves with rubber on the palms work pretty well. They are puncture and abrasion resistant. They are also cheap.

Kevlar gloves: http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Weight-Kevlar-Knit-Gloves/dp/B000IGGBX6

Sue

Get a pair of leather work gloves from whatever store sells wood. I have a pair from local home improvement store and they are quite strong, since they are intended to keep your hands safe from wood splinters etc.

Leather work gloves are the basic tool. Welding gloves are much tougher (and heavier).

My father (who ran cattle for 30 years) swears by a brand of rubber-coated cotton that is mostly impermeable to barbed wire. I don't know the name, but they are widely available in country hardware stores (the ones where the square footage of bolts vs. potpourri is at least 100:1).

But why handle things directly? A small shovel or full-size spade will keep sharp, bio-active, or biting things at a safe distance. Extra-long needle-nose pliers are gold as well (when handling traps with deer-hanta-mice for example).

I agree with Doug. Any decent pair of leather work gloves will work for your needs. Make a visit to your closest hardware or Home Depot store. They will both have a good selection of gloves to choose from.

I use these Rona brand (Canadian hardware/lumber supply chain stores) gloves which are priced south of $10.00

> What is working well for people to resist cuts and punctures yet retain some
> dexterity for grasping and removing debris?

It's all a compromise. I grew up using Missouri Mule gloves - leather palm and fingers with some kind of fabric back and stiff cuffs that went up the wrist a couple of inches. You can't thread a needle while wearing them, but barb wire, cables, and whatever else never punctured them. This is similar:
http://www.discountsafetygear.com/mens-leather-work-gloves-white-mule-wells-lamont.html

As for the unidentifiable garbage, I'd recommend using honking huge rubber gloves to wear inside the leather gloves. I don't mean dishwashing gloves, I mean big thick rubber work gloves that'll fit inside the leather. That way the rubber doesn't get punctured. Your hands will sweat and stink, but the rubber keeps the chemicals and germs away.

The ones I used at the tie plant (railroad ties newly steamed in creosote) looked like these, but I'm going by the picture:
http://www.abcsafetyglasses.com/mly-13-152.html
They were _not_ puncture proof; hence, we wore them inside our leather gloves, which soaked through with the creosote.

I have a pair of leather gloves in all my bailout bags, on the assumption that I'll be dealing with broken glass and maybe broken studs, nails, screws, and the like.

philip raises an important point.

When handling materials that may be chemically toxic, leather gloves are not enough. They will absorb the gunk and can, in fact, increase overall exposure over time if they are not properly and thoroughly cleaned (assuming that is even possible). Simply put, each time you use those gloves you get another dose through your skin. Nasty business.

BTW, the treatments used on railway ties and power poles are the worst. Coal tar creosote and additives, designed to kill fungi (perhaps the hardiest forms of life on Earth) for 30 years or more. Nothing to trifle with.

You can get kevlar gloves for slash protection.
They are usually yellow and look knitted, also usually under ten dollars.
They offer no barrier to chemicals but, as Doug and Phillip say, you can wear rubber glove over or under them.

Northern Tool and Equipment sells the Ansell Pro Grade Cut Resistant Glove. It is NOT a true cut proof glove like one uses in a butcher shop or glass cutting facility, but darn good anyway. I have several pair, I really do like them for three reasons: Dexterity, Protection, and Price.

Thanks for bringing this up, I now remember I need to pick up a few more pairs as replacements for some that accidentally took a bath in diesel. Kinda smelly, and all that.

When working in that environment, along with the gloves, you want sturdy, puncture proof footwear as well - good boots.

Don't know if you can find them at a surplus store, probably on line -

The gloves used to work with concertina wire. Essentially heavy heavy leather gloves with large metal staples in the palms. I mean heavy, an effort to bend your fingers, but I never got pricked using them.

Let me see what I can find online.

I would suggest Hatch gloves. Look into military/police dealers-they will have those types of gloves.

Better than the Kevlar knit gloves are the Nitrile coated Kevlar gloves:

Best Nitri-Flex Coated Kevlar Gloves

Everyone should note that Kevlar knit gloves, while they may be slash resistant, offer little to no puncture protection.

Adding the Nitrile coating does improve the protection in general.

For real puncture protection, you need a super tight weave (or other approaches) like the Turtleskin material:

Turtleskin FullCoverage Gloves

Beware though, while the Turtleskin stuff is impressive, they are also quite stiff, despite being very thin and light.

I keep both types of gloves in my EDC pack, and with the FullCoverage gloves -- two sizes. One that fits snugly to be worn alone, and one larger size that I can wear a Kevlar knit liner under for padding since the FullCoverage gloves offer no padding.

Re: the FullCoverage gloves sizing, I wear a size 9, and the FC glove in "M" fits snugly, so mine are "M" and "L".

Random thought -- consider heat resistance. While there are a number of materials that offer protection, and some great high tech materials, some melt, which is why I like Kevlar, Turtleskin (basically very tightly woven Kevlar) and leather. IIRC, Nitrile has a higher melting point than some of the other materials used for "rubber" coating items, which is why I choose the Nitrile coated Kevlar over other options. Nitrile also has good chemical resistant properties.

Another random comment is I've found that Geier leather gloves fit me much better than most and I've been able to find them in my local feed store. Their pile lined ones work great in the winter as well. The black ones will pass as dress gloves but offer protection and fit well.

They fit so well that I find I lose very little dexterity, although they are not so thick as to offer a huge amount of protection, either.

I tend to waterpoof mine by dipping in Nikwax Aqueous Wax, dabbing off the excess and allowing to dry.

-john

Leather work gloves can be had for $1 a pair or so.

They offer very good protection from the hazards the OP mentioned.

FWIW, industrial safety companies tend to have a wide assortment of cut resistant gloves.

I've also found it useful, perhaps not from the puncture perspective, to put a (heavier duty) Nitrile glove over say, a Kevlar knit liner, and you have an instant waterproof glove with a bit of insulation.

-john

Living in the blackberry capitol of the world, I'd go for good leather work gloves. I like the ones with double leather on the palm and index finger. I was just burning some downed winter brush and clearing some blackberries yesterday, and leather is the only glove that offers protection. The blackberries stickers go right through the nitrile.

Yes, it is important to distinguish between puncture resistance and other sorts of protection.

The Nitrile coated gloves, while offering better protection than their non coated versions, are not going to make up for the lack of puncture protection of a knit glove.

-john

Good thick leather gloves will take alot of abuse if of good quality. How about masons gloves?

Not an endorsement, but there's at least 10 slash/cut resistant gloves here:

Gall's Duty Glove Page