>glove, which is supposed to be of metal, but could easily be, in origin,
for
metal - such as a glove used to hold moderately hot work on the anvil (on
occasions when tongs are inappropriate - or not enough), or perhaps more
likely gloves used by a smelter or caster<
I used to work in a steelworks, though not as a smelter or caster, and used
to handle hot metal objects on occasion. The last thing I would have wanted
was a metal glove. The best was a leather glove with a cotton glove inside
it. Historically workers handling some hot metal objects such as sampling
spoons used a piece of leather with a slit to go over the wrist. The
original disposable hand protection.
Besides the inflexibility of a metal glove (other than mail which as holes
in it) I cannot imagine any circumstance when handling hot material where a
metal glove would not cause burns. Metal gloves are useful only for
protection against sharp objects.
Peter Hutchison
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