The Top 8 Wood Carving Gloves

 

 

There are many kinds of wood carving gloves on the market today. Which ones are the best? I’ll give an overview of the most common wood carving gloves, so you can choose the one that fits your hand and needs the best.

Let’s get started:

There are several types of carving gloves available. It’s important to understand that wood carving gloves will stop a slicing cut, but no glove will prevent punctures.

Many carvers try a few different gloves before finding one that suits their needs and hand size. Gloves are sold as a pair or as singles, so pay attention to the description of the products

Warning:

If you are doing any kind of Powder carving, it’s very important to NOT WEAR A GLOVE.  The reason for this is, a glove WILL get caught into your bur bits and cause a great deal of damage to your fingers, hand, and other parts of your body. 

I have firsthand knowledge of the effects of this. NO, I didn’t do this myself, but a friend of mine did, the damage she received was quite severe. 

She not only broke her index finger in three places but gouged her hand very deep in several places needing 54 stitches to close her middle finger and hand back up.  Needless to say, it was a painful lesson to learn the hard way for her. 

Hand carvers do wear a glove but they only wear a single glove on the hand that holds the wood. Here are a few to choose from.

I want you to understand that some of my articles (like this one) contain links where you can purchase these products. All the links I provide within this article are NOT affiliate links. I receive NOTHING from any of the companies I recommend to you. I do this purely as a courtesy to you.

Kevlar Knit Gloves With Rubber Dots

 

 

Detailed Description:

This is the glove I use. It is a soft knit glove with reinforced threads that gives a great deal of dexterity, yet is soft to the touch and protects very well.

These are knife carving gloves; they have a tight weave to protect you from the tip and edge of the knife. They are reinforced with strong Kevlar. These gloves do not have steel in them so they are flexible, yet give good protection.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• Kevlar knit gloves with reinforced threads
• A rubber dot pattern on the palm for increased grip
• Helps to prevent cuts
• Dots help to grip the wood
• Available in 5 sizes

Available from MDI Woodcarvers Supply

 

 

Stainless Steel Mesh Glove

 

 

Detailed Description:

These gloves are made from wire mesh, they are heavy metal and you will feel their weight on your hand as you wear them. Any glove made from metal is going to be heavy.

These are good for people with either medium to large hands. Smaller hands will find this glove to be too heavy to use on a full-time basis. They work fine for the short term though.

These are made for using heavy tools like chisels and heavy rough-out tools.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

•  Stainless steel wire material
• Palm width: Approx.10cm/3.94 inch.
• Length of the middle finger: Approx. 8cm / 3.15 inch.
• Total length: Approx. 24cm / 9.5 inch.
• Fit both right and left hands.
• Cut-resistant, stab-resistant, but NOT stab-proof  
• Protection grade: 5

Available from Amazon

 

Kevlar knit glove with leather palm

 

 

Detailed Description:

These gloves are a nice soft cloth and have a thin layer of suede leather in their palms. They are a good medium-weight glove to use and offer a fair amount of protection. Most hand carvers use these gloves to at least rough out their cutouts.

The leather palm gloves are a bit stiffer than just Kevlar gloves. These gloves don’t implead movement in any way if you have medium or large-size hands. The leather palm gloves are a bit too stiff for small hands and you lose some dexterity with them.

I wish I could have found a better picture of these gloves for you, as this one doesn’t show the leather on the palms.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• Kevlar leather palm, fingers, and thumb.
•  Leather prevents the wood from slipping in the glove.
• This glove allows you to get a better hold on the carving.
• It comes in six sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, and XXL.

Available from The Carving Glove Guy

 

Kevlar glove reinforced with steel threads

 

 

Detailed Description:

These are medium-weight gloves and offer good grade-5 protection. They are made from Kevlar and are reinforced with steel threads to protect you from slicing cuts.

These gloves are more comfortable than an all-metal glove because they flex better. They have an adjustable wrist strap, so you can get the perfect tightness.

These gloves are available in five sizes.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• More comfortable than an all-metal glove
• Does a better job than a Kevlar knit glove
• The glove is reinforced with steel threads
• Comes in five sizes: XS, S, M, L, and XL

Cons of this product:

They are a bit heavy for small hands.

Available from Amazon

 

Kevlar knit glove with rubber gripping dots

 

 

Detailed Description:

These gloves are a lightweight option. They have rubber gripping dots on both sides of the glove, so they can be worn on either hand.

These gripping dots help you hold the project securely. They are a great compromise between safety and comfort.

These gloves are a knit fabric made with Kevlar, to provide you with great protection. The Kevlar fibers are as soft as cotton, but more slash resistant.  They allow you freedom of movement because of their flexible fabric.

They come in five different sizes.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• Great compromise between safety and comfort
• Kevlar fibers are soft as cotton, but more slash resistant
• Allows for good freedom of movement
• Has rubber gripping dots, which help hold the project securely
• Comes in five sizes: XS, S, M, L, and XL

Available from Amazon

 

Stainless Steel Filet Glove

 

 

Detailed Description:

These are easy to get in most sporting and fishing stores and offer good protection at a reasonable cost.

They stop a slash by most knives, but will not stop a puncture wound due to the medium weave of the material.

They are medium-weight and offer grade-5 protection. These gloves come in five sizes.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• Comes in five sizes: S, M, L, XL, and XXL
• Available in the fishing section of sporting goods stores
• Offer good protection at a reasonable cost
• Grade 5 protection

Available from Amazon

 

Chain-mail glove

 

 

Detailed Description:

These are heavy chain-mail gloves, made from stainless steel rings weaved together. They are a heavyweight too.

They would be good for Medium to Large hands. They might be a bit too heavy for small hands.

They feature an adjustable wrist strap, so you can get just the right tightness.

You have to oil-clean these gloves to keep them from rusting, and then polish them dry. They are more work to keep clean & rust-free, so you may prefer to use a glove that can be washed out by hand or thrown in the washer.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• A dedicated chain-mail carver’s glove
• Good for medium to large hands
• An adjustable wrist strap
• Great protection

Cons of this product:

• Heavyweight 
• Might be a bit too heavy for small hands
• Have to oil clean these gloves
• More work to keep clean & rust-free
• These are kind of pricy 

Available from www.LeeValley.com

 

Grespri 2 pairs of cutting gloves for Men and Women

 

 

Detailed Description:

These are the lightest weight gloves that deliver grade 5 protection. They are also food safe, so you could use them in the kitchen cutting meat or vegetables as well as carving.

These gloves come in a prepackaged set of two pairs, a medium and large size. They are lightweight and have an elastic wristband. These gloves are machine washable and should be hung dry.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• Cut Resistant Gloves
• Grade Level 5
•  Two sizes in one package – Medium and Large
• 2 pairs (4 total)
• lightweight and elastic
• Machine washable

Available from Amazon

 

Thumb protection: Leather thumb guard

 

 

Detailed Description:

These thumb guards are lightweight and provide good 4-grade protection. Great for protecting your thumb while doing the pairing cut on your project.

Buy a few at a time as the elastic tends to wear out, but they are inexpensive so this should not be an issue.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

•  Protective thumb guard for your knife-holding hand
• Cushions your thumb as you do the pairing cut
• A leather pad attached to an elastic band
• Split Leather
• Closed-end for fit and safety
• Elastic Cloth Backing
• Priced per pair

Cons of this product:

The elastic tends to give out after a few months of use, so you might want to buy a few of them at a time.

Available from Amazon

 

Flexible Finger Tape ( 2 Pack)

 

 

Detailed Description:

This is the same thing as vet wrap that you can buy at most farm supply companies.

This tape is made from an elastic material that sticks to itself and has no residue when removed. For this reason, you might like using this as a thumb guard. If you wrap it a little lose you can take it off in one piece and reuse it several times before throwing it away.

It’s very good for grade-3 protection if you wrap the finger or thumb several times. They can be put around your tool handles as another way to give a much better grip for that tool.

Benefits you’ll receive from this product:

• The soft and flexible tape used to prevent small cuts
• Add cushioning to your fingers
• Excellent for wrapping tool handles
• The tape sticks to itself
• No residue when removed
• Comes in 2 packs of assorted colors
• 1″ wide and 15 feet long

Available from Amazon

 

Summing it all up:

Okay, we talked about The Top 8 Wood Carving Gloves.

We’ve learned the differences between the Kevlar knit, Kevlar-reinforced with steel threads, and the Kevlar knit with rubber gripping dots.

We’ve also learned the differences between Stainless steel mesh, Stainless steel filet, and heavy-duty Chain-mail gloves.

Then there were the Grespri cutting gloves and don’t forget the thumb guards and the flexible finger tape too.

All of these products will help protect your hands and keep you a lot safer while carving. You may want to choose at least one of these products and get in the habit of using them each and every time you carve.

Keeping yourself safe and cut-free will lead to many enjoyable carving years and many wonderful carvings too.

I hope you enjoyed this review, if you have any questions or would like to leave a comment, or your own personal review please feel free to do so below.

I would love to hear from you and help in any way I can. I will get back to you as soon as possible. (Usually within 24 hours or less.)

Thanks for stopping by,

Happy Carving!
Lynne Clay
Founder of Carved Fairy Houses