A systematic study of cut-resistant socks for hockey players

Hockey skate-blades can cause serious injuries, so players typically wear padding to lower the risk of possible catastrophic wounds. However, the padding is unable to provide complete protection, and serious injuries still occur. Cut-resistant socks have emerged as a helpful addition to aid in preventing laceration injuries from skate blades during play. There are two main materials that are often used in cut-resistant hockey socks – Kevlar and Dyneema. These materials are the most common due to their high tensile strength and flexibility. Our goal was compare the two materials’ cut-resistive properties to determine which is a more effective material for injury prevention for hockey players. We hypothesized that Kevlar would have a higher cut resistance than Dyneema because of its long molecular chains linked by hydrogen bonds. Six samples of varying cut-resistant material percentages, three Dyneema and three Kevlar, were tested to identify which material was more cut resistant. A total cut resistance parameter was needed to provide a fair comparison between each sample due to varying amounts of cut-resistant material in the reinforced area. After testing with varying degrees of cut force, we discovered that Dyneema has a higher cut resistance per unit of high-performance fiber strength and is therefore better suited for the application of cut-resistant socks.