Leather Glove Testing

Leather glove testing mainly conducts scientific testing and analysis on mechanical protective performance, chemical protective performance, physical performance indicators, comfort and applicability, and environmental tolerance, objectively assessing the product quality grade and issuing a detailed test report, providing a basis for manufacturers' quality control and downstream users' product acceptance.

Testing Items

Mechanical protective performance: Evaluates the ability of leather gloves to resist physical and mechanical damage. The core testing items include abrasion resistance, simulating the wear condition of the glove surface repeatedly contacting rough objects; cut resistance, determining the force required for a blade to cut through the glove; tear resistance, measuring the resistance to tearing of the material with an existing cut under force; and puncture resistance, evaluating the force required for sharp objects (such as nails and needle tips) to penetrate the glove.

Chemical protective performance: Examines the resistance of the leather material to specific chemicals. Through the immersion or droplet method, after the glove contacts chemicals such as acids, alkalis, oils and solvents, the change rate of its physical properties (such as tensile strength and tearing strength), mass change and appearance change are tested, to determine its protective effectiveness and the applicable chemical categories.

Physical performance indicators: This is the key to evaluating the basic quality of leather gloves. It mainly includes the tensile strength and elongation at break, reflecting the toughness and extensibility of the leather; thickness uniformity, ensuring the consistency of protection; coating adhesion firmness, for finished or laminated gloves; and the apparent density and air permeability of the leather, affecting the wearing comfort.

Comfort and applicability: Focuses on the experience and suitability of the glove in actual use. The main testing items include dexterity (such as bending force determination), conformity with the dimensions and sizes, anti-slip performance (static/dynamic friction coefficient test), moisture absorption and perspiration, and the biosafety evaluation of whether it is irritating or sensitizing to the skin.

Environmental tolerance: Simulates the performance stability of the glove under specific environmental conditions. It usually includes aging resistance testing (such as xenon lamp or UV light irradiation), evaluating the retention rate of the colour and strength; high and low temperature tolerance, testing its flexibility changes under extreme temperatures; water resistance (static penetration or dynamic rain testing); and salt spray corrosion resistance.

Testing Scope

Classification by leather material: Testing covers leather gloves of different origins. This mainly includes cowhide leather gloves, which are tough and wear-resistant; pigskin leather gloves, which have good air permeability and moderate price; goatskin leather gloves, which are light, thin, soft and delicate in handle; sheepskin leather gloves, which are extremely soft but have relatively low strength; and special leather such as deerskin gloves, commonly used in fields requiring high dexterity.

Classification by protective use: The testing focus is divided according to the application scenarios. General labour protection gloves focus on mechanical protection and durability; chemical protection gloves focus on the penetration and degradation tests of specific chemicals; antistatic gloves need to test the point-to-point resistance and charge decay performance; welding gloves focus on examining the flame retardancy, heat insulation and resistance to molten metal droplets; and special operations such as cut-resistant and cold-proof gloves.

Classification by processing technology: Different processes affect the testing parameters. All-leather gloves, of which all parts are leather, are comprehensively tested; leather-fabric combined gloves need to separately test the performance of the leather part and the fabric part and the bonding firmness; dipped/coated leather gloves focus on evaluating the adhesion strength between the polymer coating and the leather substrate and the additional protective performance brought by it.

Classification by product life cycle stage: Testing runs through the whole process of the product. Raw material testing carries out physical and chemical analysis on raw hides, tanned wet-blue leather or finished leather; production process monitoring, such as the leather thickness after cutting and the coating uniformity; finished product ex-factory inspection, implementing comprehensive type tests; and periodic safety performance sampling inspection and failure analysis during use.

Classification by market and regulatory requirements: Testing is carried out against the mandatory or voluntary standards of different sales regions. For example, the hand protection product certification (LA labour safety certification) under the Chinese GB standards, the EN standard tests under the EU PPE regulation (CE certification), the ANSI/ISEA standard tests of the United States, and the customer customized testing requirements of specific industries (such as automobile and electronics).

Testing Methods

Standard test method: Carried out in accordance with the internationally, nationally or industrially recognized standards, ensuring the comparability and reliability of the results. Common methods include: mechanical hazard protection tests with reference to GB/T 20991-2007 and EN 388:2016+AI:2018; chemical penetration tests in accordance with the EN 374 standard series; antistatic performance tests with reference to ASTM D5151; and the determination of hexavalent chromium content in leather in accordance with ISO 17075.

Instrumental analysis method: Precision instruments are used for the quantitative analysis of the material composition and micro structure. For example, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is used to detect the heavy metal (lead, cadmium, etc.) content in leather; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is used to analyse hazardous substances such as organotins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; an electronic tensile testing machine is used to precisely measure the tensile and tearing strength; and a rubbing fastness tester is used to evaluate the rubbing resistance.

Sensory and manual simulation method: Evaluation combining the subjective feelings of people or simulating the actual use scenarios. For example, trained assessors carry out hand dexterity tests (such as picking up small parts); trial wearing evaluation of the comfort and fit; wear life tests simulating the actual working scenarios; and the direct visual evaluation of the water resistance by dripping or spraying water.

Environmental simulation aging method: Accelerates the simulation of the influence of the natural environment or working environment in the laboratory. The samples are placed in constant temperature and humidity chambers, UV aging chambers, salt spray test chambers or high and low temperature alternating test chambers. After the specified cycles, they are taken out to test the changes in their physical properties, appearance and colour, so as to predict their service life and stability.

Chemical reagent test method: Specific chemical reagents are used for qualitative or semi-quantitative analysis. For example, a diphenylcarbazide solution is used to test whether the leather contains hexavalent chromium; a pH meter is used to measure the acidity and alkalinity of the leather extract; a specific solvent extraction method is used to determine the free formaldehyde content in the leather; and a fat content tester is used to analyse the oil content of the leather.

Testing Standards

Domestic Standards:

1. GB 18401-2010, National general safety technical code for textile products

2. GB/T 20991-2007, Personal protective equipment — Test methods

3. GB/T 3920-2024, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to rubbing

4. GB/T 3921-2008, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to washing with soap or soap and soda

International Standards:

1. EN 388, Protective gloves against mechanical risks

2. EN 374, Protective gloves against chemicals and micro-organisms

3. ISO 13934-1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of maximum force and elongation at maximum force using the strip method

4. ISO 105, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness

Note: The applicable standard can be selected according to the product use and customer trade requirements; standards agreed in the contract take precedence over general standards.

Testing Instruments and Equipment

Mechanical property testing equipment: Used to evaluate the mechanical strength and durability of the gloves. The key equipment includes a universal material testing machine, which can carry out various tests such as tensile, tearing, peeling and puncture; a Martindale abrasion testing machine for simulating planar reciprocating friction; a falling pendulum or constant rate extension cut resistance tester; and dedicated fixtures for evaluating the seam strength.

Chemical analysis instruments: Used to detect the content of hazardous substances and the chemical protective performance. The core equipment includes atomic absorption spectrometers (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometers (ICP-OES) for the analysis of heavy metal elements; gas chromatographs (GC) and liquid chromatographs (HPLC) for the analysis of organic volatiles and pesticide residues; and dedicated penetration cells and automatic analysis systems for chemical penetration testing.

Environmental simulation and aging equipment: Used to accelerate the evaluation of the environmental tolerance of the product. This mainly includes xenon lamp aging test chambers and UV aging test chambers for simulating sunlight; high and low temperature test chambers and constant temperature and humidity chambers for simulating temperature and humidity changes; salt spray corrosion test chambers for evaluating the corrosion resistance; and rain and hydrostatic pressure testers for the water resistance determination.

Dedicated protective performance testers: Equipment designed for specific protective functions. For example, surface resistance testers and static decay testers for antistatic performance evaluation; molten metal droplet testers and contact heat transfer testers for the heat insulation performance test of welding gloves; anti-slip performance test benches for measuring the static/dynamic friction coefficient with specific surfaces; and dexterity test kits (such as standard nuts and bolts).

Conventional physical property testing instruments: Used for the measurement of the basic physical parameters. Including leather thickness gauges (constant weight type or digital display type) for measuring the thickness of each part; leather area measuring instruments; leather air permeability testers; leather softness testers (handle meters); colour measuring spectrophotometers for colour difference and colour fastness evaluation; and auxiliary equipment such as balances and drying ovens.