Overview
ISO 13999-1:1999 - Protective clothing - Gloves and arm guards protecting against cuts and stabs by hand knives - Part 1: Chain-mail gloves and arm guards specifies design, performance and testing requirements for chain-mail gloves and metal or plastic arm guards used with hand knives. The standard defines penetration resistance, ergonomic and dimensional requirements, materials, marking and user information, and prescribes the appropriate test methods (visual, tensile, penetration, interstice gauges, cuff compression).
Keywords: ISO 13999-1, chain-mail gloves, arm guards, protective clothing, penetration resistance, PPE, knife protection.
Key Topics
- Scope & applicability: Applies to protective chain-mail gloves and to metal and plastics arm guards for work with hand knives.
- Design & dimensions: Defines protective surface coverage for five-finger, short-cuff and long-cuff gloves; arm guard lengths and required overlaps (e.g., minimum cuff overlap of 8 mm between glove and arm guard).
- Materials & construction:
- Chain-mail requirements (rings with internal diameter ≤ 3.2 mm; four rings through each ring).
- Interstice limits: a 6.0 mm gauge must not pass through any protective surface; a 4.0 mm gauge is allowed only at limited, specified sites (between certain digits and seams).
- Requirements for plastics/rigid arm guards including proximal-end shape and dimensional ranges to help stop knife blades.
- Mechanical performance: Tensile strength and penetration resistance test methods are specified, including use of blunt probes, test arms and gauges.
- Ergonomics & fittings: Cuff compressed/extended length limits, adjustable straps (minimum width and quick-release closures), sizing (colour codes and hand/arm size tables in annexes).
- Marking & user information: Required markings, instructions for use, pictograms and cleaning/maintenance guidance are included.
- Test apparatus & procedures: Detailed apparatus descriptions (tensile, penetration, gauges) and testing procedures to verify compliance.
Applications
ISO 13999-1 is practical for manufacturers, PPE designers, compliance officers, safety engineers and procurement specialists in industries where hand knives present a cut/stab risk:
- Meat, fish and poultry processing, slaughterhouses and large-scale catering
- Manual boning, food preparation, and certain textile, leather, plastics and flooring tasks
It supports product development, quality control, procurement specifications and regulatory compliance for protective gloves and arm guards.
Related standards
- ISO 13999 (Parts 2 & 3) - other glove/arm-guard materials and impact cut tests
- ISO 13998 - aprons, trousers and vests protecting against cuts/stabs
- EN 1082-1:1996 - referenced as the basis for ISO 13999
For manufacturers and safety professionals, ISO 13999-1 provides prescriptive, testable requirements to ensure effective knife-resistant chain-mail gloves and arm guards.
Open preview (PDF)Protective clothing — Gloves and arm guards protecting against cuts and stabs by hand knives — Part 1: Chain-mail gloves and arm guards
