Rotary Cutter Protection : Science Fair Time!

{Eeek!  covid got us the day before Christmas.  We are all recovered, it wasn't fun, and sewing is just getting going again.  Lessons from teaching Mara to sew are finally under way and coming here soon.}

But for now...

It's science fair season.  

I have a mini experiment I stumbled into and now I'm looking to crowd source my quilty friends for the best rotary cutting glove.

Knock on wood!  Many years, tons of quilts and things made, I haven't hurt myself with the rotary blade beyond a couple tiny nicks.  I cringe every time I see a friend post about their severed finger tips and ER visits.

Beyond the catastrophic accidents, changing a blade is a little harrowing as well. 

I have a whole process that involves paper towels and methods for sliding the stack of new blades apart without slicing my finger tips.  You totally have to hold your breath the whole time.  It's tense!

So, I did some searching for strong cut resistant gloves that also left me enough dexterity to change a blade.  I was excited to find some that looked great and also have anti-slip grip.  The gloves just arrived, and they sent the wrong size.  Booo.  

Then I decided to use one of them to conduct a little experiment.

Fail.

I thought maybe I had pushed a little too hard.  So I tested on a finger tip, as if I was cutting fabric and accidentally ran over my finger. 

 

Not.  Good.

My thread snips also cut into them.  So disappointed.

Since they were advertised as usable in the kitchen - they are food grade materials and washable - I tested knives on them.  

Interestingly, the glove totally protected against both my sharp chef knife and serrated bread knife.  I gave a good go with each, sawing away. Not a thread frayed.  

Thinking maybe it was the pressure of the scissor action and my downward rotary blade force, I tried cutting the glove with my chef knife - placing the front end and pivoting down with the handle.  Like when you're cutting carrots.  Still not a nick!  

I'm now on the search for what type of glove works against a rotary blade.  I would love to try to dice up a kevlar glove and several others, although it would become pricey very quickly with the kevlar if they keep failing.

What have you found?  Anything you know to work for sure?