Portwest Cut E15 Silicone Heat Glove

One Glove for Two Hazards — High Cut Resistance and Serious Heat Protection in a Single Dexterous Package

In many industrial environments, cut hazards and heat hazards do not exist in isolation. They coexist — on the same production line, at the same workstation, often on the same component. A freshly laser-cut steel bracket has razor-sharp edges and retains significant residual heat. A glass sheet pulled from a tempering oven is both thermally dangerous and capable of inflicting deep lacerations. A casting removed from a mould presents sharp flashing alongside surface temperatures that can burn unprotected skin on contact.

Traditionally, workers in these dual-hazard environments have been forced into an unsatisfactory choice: wear cut-resistant gloves and accept minimal heat protection, wear heat-resistant gloves and accept minimal cut protection, or switch between two different gloves throughout the shift — losing time, breaking workflow, and creating the inevitable moments when the wrong glove is being worn for the hazard at hand.

The Portwest AP42 Cut E15 Silicone Heat Glove eliminates that compromise. It delivers EN 388 cut level E protection — requiring 22+ newtons of cutting force to achieve blade penetration — through an aramid and steel fibre liner that is inherently heat-resistant, combined with a silicone palm coating that provides reliable contact heat protection up to 250°C for 15 seconds. The result is a single glove that protects against both sharp edges and hot surfaces, with the grip, dexterity, and comfort to be worn productively throughout an entire shift.

Hall-Fast supplies the AP42 alongside our comprehensive hand protection range. For technical advice on dual-hazard glove selection, call 01623 645645 or browse our full PPE catalogue online.

Key Features Explained

Contact Heat Protection Up to 250°C — EN 407 Certified

The AP42 is certified to EN 407: 2020 with a rating of X2XXXX, providing protection against contact heat up to 250°C for 15 seconds. This is a substantial step up from the 100°C contact heat protection offered by standard cut-resistant gloves — the difference between incidental warmth and genuine thermal hazard protection.

To understand what 250°C contact heat resistance means in practice, consider the temperatures commonly encountered in industrial environments. Freshly welded metal joints can exceed 300°C at the weld and remain above 200°C for extended periods as they cool. Components emerging from heat treatment ovens, powder coating lines, or curing processes may carry surface temperatures of 150–250°C. Glass from tempering furnaces, castings from moulds, and plastic parts from injection moulding machines all present surface temperatures well above 100°C during handling and inspection.

A standard cut-resistant glove with 100°C contact heat protection offers only a momentary buffer against these temperatures — enough to avoid a burn from a briefly warm surface, but nowhere near adequate for deliberate handling of genuinely hot materials. The AP42's 250°C rating provides meaningful thermal protection for the intermittent contact with hot surfaces and components that is routine in metalworking, glass processing, foundry operations, and thermal processing environments. Workers can pick up, inspect, reposition, and transport hot components with confidence rather than waiting for parts to cool to a safe handling temperature — reducing production delays and improving workflow efficiency.

The 15-second contact time at 250°C is important to understand correctly. This is protection for intermittent contact — picking up a hot component, repositioning it, carrying it a short distance — not for sustained gripping of objects at 250°C. For prolonged contact with extreme heat, dedicated heavy-duty thermal gloves remain necessary. The AP42 is designed for the real-world pattern of repeated brief contacts with hot materials that characterises most industrial heat-handling tasks.

Aramid and Steel Fibre Liner — Dual-Purpose Protection

The AP42's liner is constructed from aramid fibre, steel fibre, and elastane — a material combination chosen specifically for its ability to deliver both cut resistance and thermal protection simultaneously.

Aramid is the material that makes the AP42 fundamentally different from the HPPE-based cut-resistant gloves that dominate the market. While HPPE provides excellent cut resistance at lower cost, it has a relatively low melting point and begins to lose structural integrity at temperatures above approximately 130–150°C. For a glove intended to handle materials at 250°C, an HPPE liner would begin to degrade precisely when it was needed most.

Aramid fibres, by contrast, do not melt. They are inherently flame-resistant and maintain their mechanical properties at temperatures far exceeding those encountered in normal industrial heat-handling applications. Aramid retains its tensile strength, cut resistance, and structural integrity at sustained temperatures where HPPE would soften and fail. This makes aramid the essential foundation for any glove that must provide both cut and heat protection — the liner itself resists heat degradation, while the steel fibre reinforcement within the yarn boosts cut resistance to level E.

The inclusion of elastane adds stretch and recovery to the liner, improving fit and comfort. The aramid and steel combination can produce a stiffer fabric than HPPE-based alternatives, and the elastane mitigates this by allowing the liner to flex naturally with hand movements rather than resisting them.

Silicone Palm Coating — Grip, Heat Insulation, and Chemical Versatility

The AP42's palm coating is silicone — a material that is fundamentally different in character from the PU, nitrile, and latex coatings used on standard cut-resistant gloves, and one that is specifically chosen for thermal applications.

Silicone is a hybrid material — part plastic, part rubber — that combines high elasticity and tear strength with exceptional temperature performance. Where PU coatings begin to harden and crack at elevated temperatures, and nitrile coatings can become brittle, silicone remains flexible, grippy, and structurally sound across a far wider temperature range. It is this thermal stability that allows the AP42's palm coating to function as both a grip surface and a heat insulation layer at temperatures up to 250°C.

In terms of grip, silicone performs well across the full range of conditions. It provides secure handling on dry surfaces, maintains traction on wet surfaces, and resists the loss of grip that affects many coatings when oils or greases are present. This versatility makes the AP42 effective in environments where conditions change throughout the shift — from dry assembly tasks to oily component handling to hot-part retrieval — without requiring a glove change.

Silicone is also inherently resistant to a broad range of chemicals, UV radiation, and weathering. It does not degrade on exposure to many common industrial fluids and maintains its properties over a longer service life than many alternative coating materials in thermally demanding environments.

15-Gauge Construction — Dexterity in a Heat-Resistant Glove

Heat-resistant gloves have a reputation for being bulky, stiff, and difficult to work in. Heavy oven mitts and thick thermal gauntlets provide excellent heat insulation but make it nearly impossible to pick up small objects, operate controls, or carry out any task requiring fine motor skills.

The AP42 challenges this assumption with a 15-gauge seamless knitted liner that provides a close, flexible fit and preserves genuine working dexterity. The EN ISO 21420 Dexterity Level 5 rating — the highest possible — confirms that the wearer can manipulate objects as small as 5mm in diameter while wearing the glove. This is an exceptional achievement for a glove with 250°C heat protection, and it means the AP42 can be worn not just for heat-handling tasks but for the detailed work that surrounds them — inspecting components, operating machine controls, reading measurement instruments, and assembling parts — without requiring a glove change.

EN 511 Cold Protection

The AP42 also carries certification to EN 511: 2006 with a rating of X1X, indicating a degree of protection against convective cold. While the AP42 is primarily a heat and cut protection glove, this cold resistance provides a useful secondary benefit in environments where workers transition between hot and cold conditions — such as moving between a heated processing area and a cold storage or outdoor loading zone — or where materials being handled may be at sub-ambient temperatures.

Cut Level E — EN 388: 3X42E

The AP42 achieves EN 388 cut level E with a full performance code of 3X42E:

The maximum tear resistance (level 4) is particularly relevant for a heat-handling glove. Workers handling hot materials often need to grip firmly and pull — removing parts from moulds, extracting components from fixtures, pulling items from conveyor systems — and maximum tear resistance ensures the glove holds together under these forces rather than splitting at the point of greatest stress.

Technical Specification

Standards and Certifications

Why Aramid Matters for Heat and Cut Applications

The choice of aramid over HPPE as the A42's liner fibre is not a marginal one — it is the difference between a glove that works safely in thermal environments and one that does not.

HPPE (high-performance polyethylene) is the dominant fibre in the cut-resistant glove market, and for good reason. It provides excellent cut resistance at competitive cost, and in ambient-temperature applications it performs superbly. However, HPPE has a fundamental limitation: it is a thermoplastic polymer with a relatively low thermal threshold. At temperatures above approximately 130–150°C, HPPE begins to soften and lose its mechanical properties. In a heat-handling application, this means an HPPE-lined glove may provide its rated cut resistance when new and cool, but begin to lose that protection when the glove is heated by contact with hot materials — precisely the scenario where reliable cut protection is most critical.

Aramid does not share this limitation. It maintains its structural integrity, tensile strength, and cut resistance at temperatures far above those encountered in industrial heat handling. It does not melt, does not soften, and does not lose its protective properties under thermal stress. For any application where the glove will be regularly exposed to elevated temperatures — whether from the materials being handled, the environment, or the processes taking place nearby — aramid provides a level of reliability that HPPE simply cannot match.

This is why the AP42 uses an aramid-based liner rather than the HPPE liners found in the rest of the Portwest cut-resistant glove range. It is designed for an environment where heat and cut hazards coexist, and every material choice reflects that dual requirement.

Industries and Applications

The AP42 is engineered for environments where workers routinely encounter both sharp edges and elevated temperatures on the same task or within the same work area.

Metal Fabrication and Welding — Handling freshly cut, welded, or plasma-cut metal components that are both sharp-edged and hot. The AP42 allows workers to pick up, inspect, and reposition parts immediately after cutting or welding rather than waiting for them to cool, improving production throughput without compromising hand safety.

Foundry and Casting Operations — Removing castings from moulds, trimming flash and sprues from hot castings, and handling patterns and cores in environments where ambient temperatures are elevated and component temperatures routinely exceed 200°C. The aramid liner maintains its cut resistance under thermal stress, while the silicone coating provides grip on rough, hot casting surfaces.

Glass Manufacturing and Processing — Handling glass during and after tempering, bending, and forming processes where surface temperatures are high and edges are sharp. The AP42's dexterity allows workers to position and inspect glass pieces with the care and precision the material demands, while providing dual cut and heat protection.

Heat Treatment and Surface Finishing — Loading and unloading heat treatment furnaces, handling components after powder coating, and managing parts through curing ovens. The 250°C contact heat protection covers the temperature range of most common industrial heat treatment and coating processes.

Automotive Manufacturing — Handling engine components, exhaust parts, and body panels that retain heat from welding, machining, or coating processes. The silicone coating's effectiveness on oily surfaces is particularly valuable in automotive environments where components frequently carry residual machining oils or rust preventatives.

Bakery and Industrial Food Processing — Handling hot trays, oven racks, and heated equipment in commercial baking and food processing environments where sharp blade hazards coexist with high-temperature equipment. The silicone coating is food-contact safe and easy to clean.

Ceramics and Refractory Manufacturing — Handling kiln-fired products and components that are both thermally hot and capable of fracturing into sharp edges. The AP42 provides combined protection against both hazards.

Plastics and Rubber Manufacturing — Retrieving parts from injection moulding machines, handling hot extrusions, and trimming flash from moulded parts where the material is still warm. The silicone coating resists degradation from contact with common plastic processing chemicals and release agents.

AP42 vs Standard Cut-Resistant Gloves with 100°C Heat Protection

Many cut-resistant gloves in the Portwest range — and across the market — carry EN 407 ratings with contact heat protection up to 100°C. While 100°C is adequate for incidental warmth from recently processed components, it is nowhere near sufficient for the deliberate handling of genuinely hot materials.

The AP42's 250°C rating represents a 150°C increase in thermal protection over these standard gloves. In practical terms, this is the difference between being able to touch a slightly warm component briefly and being able to pick up, hold, and reposition a component at temperatures that would cause an immediate contact burn through a standard glove.

For any operation where components or surfaces regularly exceed 100°C, the AP42 is the appropriate choice. Standard cut-resistant gloves should be reserved for environments where heat exposure is genuinely incidental and temperatures remain well below 100°C.

Ordering the Portwest AP42 from Hall-Fast

Hall-Fast supplies the Portwest AP42 Cut E15 Silicone Heat Glove alongside our complete hand protection range, including heat-resistant gloves, cut-resistant gloves, chemical-resistant gloves, and general handling gloves from Portwest and other leading brands.

For technical advice on dual-hazard glove selection, bulk pricing, or trade account enquiries, contact our PPE specialists:

• Phone: 01623 645645
• Email:sales@hall-fast.com
• Online:hall-fast.com

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