Warning: Heard a safety guy from the Indiana plant say we should ditch leather gloves for aluminized Kevlar near the furnace.

He claimed the leather can actually catch fire faster and offers less heat protection once it chars. But my old foreman always swore by thick split-hide, saying it's tougher against sharp edges and spatter. I'm looking at a $75 price difference per pair, so I need real opinions. What's your shop's standard issue for pouring crew?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_harris781mo ago

Wait, why did I think leather was the heat champ?

emery191mo ago

Maybe you got it mixed up with how leather feels warm at first? It's a good insulator, but it doesn't breathe at all. Once you sweat, it gets clammy and actually makes you colder. Wool pulls moisture away from your skin.

kevin_harris7818d ago

i mean, idk if it's really that deep honestly. like yeah wool is good at wicking moisture away and all that, but unless you're literally running a marathon in your jacket most people aren't sweating buckets. i've had leather jackets for years and they keep me warm enough in the winter, plus they block wind way better than any fabric. maybe it's just me but i feel like people overanalyze this stuff sometimes. you can get good insulation from a lot of materials, it's not like leather is useless just because it's not the absolute best at breathability.