Shop All Heat Resistant Gloves

Heat resistant gloves are not a single product -- they are a category covering several distinct material types, temperature ratings, and application-specific designs. The leather welding glove a MIG welder reaches for and the aluminized foundry glove a steel pourer uses are both heat resistant gloves in the broadest sense. They are not interchangeable, and selecting the wrong one does not provide the protection the application requires.

The practical failure is selecting by feel, brand, or appearance rather than by the temperature and hazard type of the actual application. A leather welding glove rated for spatter and moderate radiant heat is not a foundry glove. A Kevlar heat resistant glove designed for contact heat up to 350°C is not an aluminized radiant-heat glove. Use the application guide below to find the right starting point, and call 800-525-3313 if your operation requires a more specific specification discussion.

Heat Resistant Gloves by Application

Heat Resistant Glove Materials: What Each One Does

Leather is the base material for welding and metalwork applications. Heavy grain leather and split leather provide good spatter resistance, a comfortable feel for extended wear, and sufficient contact heat protection for most arc welding environments. Contact heat protection in leather gloves without additional insulation is limited to approximately 100-150°C -- appropriate for welding but not for sustained high-temperature contact.

Kevlar (para-aramid fiber) heat resistant gloves combine contact heat resistance up to 350-500°C depending on construction with cut resistance in the same glove. That combination makes Kevlar heat resistant gloves the standard for glass handling, where both sharp glass edges and high surface temperatures are present simultaneously, and for industrial oven and conveyor work where sustained contact with heated surfaces requires more than leather provides. Cut resistant gloves in Kevlar construction serve both hazards in a single product.

Aluminized fabric -- a reflective metallic coating applied over a Kevlar or fiberglass base -- deflects radiant heat rather than absorbing it. This is the correct technology for foundry and casting operations where the primary thermal hazard is the intense radiant heat from molten metal, open furnaces, and hot ingots rather than direct contact. Aluminized gloves can deflect radiant heat at temperatures up to 1,000°C and beyond depending on the base material and liner. They are not a substitute for leather welding gloves in arc welding applications -- the physical demands of welding cable handling and spatter resistance favor leather.

Hot mill gloves are purpose-built for steel mill and hot mill environments where workers handle hot steel billets, plates, and rolled products at sustained contact temperatures. The construction uses dense woven insulation optimized for repeated contact with hot steel rather than the shorter-duration exposures of welding or casting work. Hot mill gloves are a specialized product for a specific industrial segment -- not interchangeable with general welding or foundry gloves.

Para-aramid and carbon fiber blends represent the highest-performance tier: sustained contact at 500°C and above for primary metal, glass, and ceramic industry applications where none of the above materials provides sufficient protection.

Working in Combined Heat and Cut Hazard Environments

Glass handling, glass tube processing, and certain metalwork applications present both high contact temperatures and sharp edge cut hazards simultaneously. In these environments, specifying heat resistance and cut resistance as separate products means workers either wear two gloves (impractical) or choose between two hazards (unacceptable). Kevlar heat resistant gloves solve this by providing both in a single product -- EN 407 contact heat rating and an ANSI/ISO 13997 cut resistance level in the same glove construction. For specific ANSI cut level requirements in heat environments, see our cut resistant gloves page for the full cut level guide.

Heat Resistant Gloves for Welding Environments

For welding-specific applications, Masterman's welding gloves category covers MIG, TIG, and stick welding gloves specifically -- leather construction with heat and spatter requirements matched to each welding process. Welding gloves and heat resistant gloves are adjacent categories with significant overlap. If your application is welding, the welding gloves page provides a process-specific breakdown. If your application is foundry, glass, oven work, or steel mill—applications requiring sustained high-temperature protection beyond what welding gloves provide—you are in the right place here.

Heat Resistant Safety Gloves at Masterman's

Browse heat resistant safety gloves at Masterman's. Leather, Kevlar, aluminized, and hot mill options in stock at our Auburn, MA warehouse. Free samples on most glove styles before committing to a bulk order for your crew -- a glove that fits poorly or restricts motion will not be worn, regardless of its thermal rating. Same-day shipping on orders before 3 PM EST. Call 800-525-3313 for application-specific selection and bulk pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions: Heat Resistant Gloves

1. What are heat resistant gloves used for?

Heat resistant gloves protect workers from burns during contact with hot surfaces, radiant heat, and molten metal in welding, foundry, glass handling, industrial oven loading, and steel mill operations. The correct glove type depends on the specific thermal hazard -- leather for welding spatter and moderate radiant heat, aluminized for high radiant heat and foundry pouring, Kevlar for combined heat and cut hazards, and hot mill gloves for sustained steel mill contact temperatures.

2. What are Kevlar heat resistant gloves?

Kevlar heat resistant gloves are made from para-aramid fiber (Kevlar is DuPont's brand name) providing combined contact heat resistance -- up to 350-500°C depending on construction -- and cut resistance in a single lighter-weight glove. They are the standard for glass handling and industrial oven work where both heat and cut hazards are present simultaneously, eliminating the need to wear two separate gloves.

3. What are hot mill gloves?

Hot mill gloves are insulated woven-construction gloves purpose-built for steel mill and hot mill environments where workers handle hot steel billets, plates, and components at sustained contact temperatures. They are designed for the repeated, sustained high-temperature contact that characterizes steel processing -- different from welding gloves designed for shorter-duration spatter and radiant heat exposure during arc welding.

4. What is the difference between heat resistant gloves and welding gloves?

Welding gloves are leather-construction gloves optimized for spatter resistance and moderate radiant heat during arc welding. Heat resistant gloves is the broader category including foundry, Kevlar, aluminized, and hot mill gloves rated for higher temperatures and fundamentally different thermal hazard types. Welding gloves are not rated for molten metal contact or the sustained high-temperature exposures of foundry and steel mill work -- using them in those applications is a specification error.

5. How do I choose the right heat resistant glove for my operation?

Match the glove material and temperature rating to the specific hazard. For welding: leather with spatter resistance. For foundry and pouring: aluminized over a hot mill liner. For glass handling: Kevlar with combined cut and heat rating. For oven and furnace loading: hot mill or insulated cotton at the appropriate contact heat level. If your operation spans multiple hazard types, stage the correct glove at each work station rather than looking for one glove that covers everything -- compromised performance on a high-heat application is how burns happen.

6. Where can I buy heat resistant gloves in New England?

Masterman's carries heat resistant safety gloves across material types and temperature ratings at our Auburn, MA warehouse -- same-day shipping before 3 PM EST. Free samples on most items before bulk orders. Serving manufacturing, foundry, construction, and industrial operations across MA, CT, RI, NH, VT, and ME. Visit mastermans.com/catsearch/5/heat-protection-gloves or call 800-525-3313.