Cut Resistant Fabric Can Help Protect Lives

“Why did you actually create your Cut-Tex® PRO Cut Resistant Fabric, and what was the actual reason behind it?” This is a question I have been asked so many times over the past few years.

Well, I founded PPSS Group in November 2010 and right from the start we set a mission statement: “Protecting Frontline Professionals from Human Threat”. Our key objective was to reduce the risk of injuries and prevent the loss of life.

It was a little later, on 13 March 2011 when my friend (and father of my three god daughters) Craig Wylde was brutally assaulted. Having previously served as Infantry soldier in the British Army, Craig ultimately became a prison officer at the Category A (high security) Frankland Prison, in Durham, England. One morning he opened a prisoner’s cell door… the prisoner had a broken glass bottle in his hand… he slashed Craig under his arm… he severed his artery, muscle, tendons, ligaments and created severe nerve damage. Days later glass bottles of any type became illegal in the prison setting in the UK.

This was an exceptionally tragic incident, which ultimately led to the development, design, and engineering of our high performance cut resistant fabric known as Cut-Tex® PRO. I had already worked on some type of cut resistant fabrics, but I soon came to realise that a ‘good performance’ wasn’t good enough. So, I ended up traveling the world, meeting, and consulting some of the most respected textile engineers on the planet. One day we reached the point where we concluded “this is as far as textile engineering allows us to go at this stage”. We really had pushed it as far as we could have.

Now we look at Cut-Tex® PRO as a the benchmark of cut resistant fabric.  Thoroughly field tested, it is now allowing others to design and produce protective clothing, protecting and saving lives all over the world.

It has been tested against several British, European and American blade cut resistance standards. We took this action to substantiate independently the extraordinary protective properties of our fabric, and back up all claims we are making.

Cut-Tex PRO is an exceptionally durable cut resistant fabric which is 5 times stronger than Kevlar, rated at cut resistance level 3 at 5.0N.

It is an ultra-high cut resistant fabric, knitted from an innovative combination of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and other technical fibres at a UK based ISO 9001:2008 quality standard accredited manufacturing facility.

Performance Levels

• ASTM F-2992-15 Blade Cut Resistance Level A5
• ISO 13997:1999 Blade Cut Resistance Level 5
• EN 388:2016 Blade Cut Resistance Level E (TDM 100 Test)
• EN 388:2016 Blade Cut Resistance Level 5
• EN 388:2016 Puncture Resistance Level 4
• EN 388:2016 Tear Resistance Level 4
• EN 388:2016 Abrasion Resistance Level 3

Cut-Tex® PRO is also ‘skin friendly’. At pH 6.6, our fabric has a pH value similar to that of water (usually between 6.5 and 8.5). This makes it an extremely low risk skin irritation fabric. It will maintain the skin’s natural balance.

Suitable Applications

Just as an example, the highly acclaimed SlashPRO® Slash Resistant Clothing brand is using our Cut-Tex® PRO fabric, protecting homeland security, law enforcement, prison services, border force, immigration, customs, covert police, counter terror units, surveillance, and other professionals.

We understand that muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves of these men and women require such level of protection, preventing rapid blood loss, subsequent shock, loss of life or simply immobility (which in certain circumstances can result in loss of life due to lack of the ability to further defend yourself).

‘Slashing’ or ‘slash injuries’ are extremely ‘under-reported’. Historically ‘knife injuries’ have been reported as ‘stab injuries’, hence we have been made to misbelieve that both mean the very same. Maybe you want to read my article, titled “Re-Evaluating Our Current Understanding Of Knife Attacks And Injuries” for further clarification on this subject matter.

“A retrospective survey of hospital admissions data that contributed to the development of the standard suggested that 63 % of wounds attributable to sharp edged weapons were SLASH events.” – by Ian Horsfall and Mathew Arnold, of the Impact and Armour Group within the Department of Engineering and Applied Science at Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the UK.

Moving away from ‘slashing’, we have subsequently created other protective clothing brands, targeting additional markets, and utilising our outstanding cut resistant fabric:

• CutPRO® Cut Resistant Clothing – for flat/float glass, sheet metal processing and air conditioning industry etc.
• BitePRO® Bite Resistant Clothing – for mental health care, special educational needs, psychiatric nurses, social workers etc.

We need to stop thinking that everything will be ok. We need to stop believing that nothing is ever going to go to happen, simply based on that fact that the past has been very kind to us, and no one has been injured in our company, facility or organisation yet.

Cut resistant fabrics exist and they can effectively help create garments and uniforms, preventing injuries and ultimately save lives.

Cut-Tex® PRO has been developed with exactly this in mind, and this truly exceptional fabric is now available for sale. If you wish to purchase it, then please email us info@cut-tex.com and visit our dedicated website www.cut-tex.com

Robert Kaiser, CEO

PPSS Group

Author:

Robert Kaiser is the CEO and Founder of PPSS Group, a well-respected expert on body armour.  His written word has been featured in several industry leading, international homeland and private security publications. A great video demonstration of him being subjected to knives, machetes, axes, shanks, other types of edged weapons, as well as blunt objects can be found and viewed on YouTube.