Gloves/Safety Practices?

What kind of hand protection do you all use when grinding, sawing and buffing, etc.?

I generally look for the best deal I can find on the stiff-cuffed leather palmed gloves that become available, now and then, for about $1 -1.50/pair, when puprchased by the dozen.

I seem to have seen, somewhere, the use or availability of just finger coverings of some kind. Don't know if they'd work for me, as I often am putting pressure on the blade with the edge fo the first knuckle of either hand. The finger coverings may not reach high enough for that. Or is this topic even worth a comment? Not exactly delving into the "secrets of knifemaking!"

And then there are those who don't wear gloves. Also, it is advised by some that one should not wear gloves while using a band-saw.

How about wearing a shop apron? I've often wondered if it might not be wise to wear a leather apron, thick enough to stop, or at least slow down, a blade that gets tossed out of a buffer, or grinder at you? Ouch!
Any thoughts or experiences in this area that work well?

I do wear an apron for almost all shopwork. I used to wear it mostly for forging but have become accustomed to wearing it for grinding and buffing just in case a blade goes flying. It also helps keep you somewhat cleaner also. If you spill a bunch of TSP, acetone or quenching oil the apron comes in handy.

I wear a glove on my left hand when forging only. I have trouble "FEELING" the hollow when I grind if I wear gloves. I also like to be able to feel the heat so I can quench when necessary.

I constantly burn my fingers so I bought some of those finger gloves but they were worthless and only tried them once.

My wife hates the calluses but I'm sure in this group we have all heard that.

I use leather gloves for rough grinding, finger gloves(from Tru-Grit for around $.85 ea.) for medium grit grinding, and after HT, I use nothing. I prefer to have better feel and don't want it to overheat. Before a show, I end up losing the skin from the backs of both index fingers and the tips the fingernails. This can't be good in the long haul, so I know I need a little more protyection, I just don't know what else to do.

Steve,I used to wear moto-x type gloves years ago,seam is on the outside,very comfortable,too pricey anymore,I just barehand it now.On the aprons,a guy in New York called,Morty the knife man,makes an apron of two layers of leather sandwiching a sheet of chainmail,should STOP a knife from penetrating.His contact info is in the back of the Knives annuals.

I wear the gloves you mention Steve for finish work and use the real heavy welding gloves for rough grinding,HT,and what forging I do.I would not recommend the cheap brown jersey gloves,they are subject to get you hurt bad if they catch on something and pull your hand.

I do not wear an apron yet but when I do I will make sure that they fasten to the legs someway that still allows it to be comfortable.It too can get you hurt if it does not fit properly!!!

Jason wear the gloves everytime you think about it and you will begin to feel everything once you get use to them.No it is not good to get all those burns and hide removal after awhile you will start to lose sensitivity in your finger tips.

I wear the leather apron, and own a 12-pack of those work gloves, but the only time I use them is when I am removing blades from the heat-treat furnace. Profiling, rough grinding, tang tapering, and finish (post HT) grinding are all done barehanded, I guess just because that's how I learned to do it.

I guess that I'm one of the old school people but I hate to wear gloves anytime. I used to put one on for taking blades out of the HT oven and have even quit that. I can't feel the work as well with gloves on so I guess I will have to continue to put up with all of the little (hopefully little) knicks and dings on my hands.

I don't like to use anything but a push stick for preliminary grinding and after HT keep just my thumb on the blade. It's just part of the business to say OUCH and *#+^* once in a while as your thumb gets hot. [Please tell me I'm not the fool to torture his thumb this way.]

As for an apron, I used to wear a leather one all the time when I worked on a coal forge (Levi's are just too expensive to be burning holes in them all the time) but since I have gone to doing just stock removal have quit that too.

I was taught as an apprentise to never wear any loose clothing around power tools and am too old to change old ways. I roll up my sleeves to keep them out of the way and won't let my beard get too long for the same reason. (I had a friend get his beard caught in a 3/4" hand drill once and saw the chunk of hair that he lost.)

Anyway, that's just my two bits.

Gary

Thanks for all the good ideas and advice.

It seems to me that we'd all be wise to go the SAFE route, rather than even the traditional. Although, I know how hard it is to "break tradition." A hand, leg, thumb, eye that is functional is much more valuable than one that has been damaged.

Mike H., Can you give us an address or phone number for Morty, the guy who makes the aprons? Interesting.

I got slapped (luckily not stabbed) on the inner thigh once with the side of a point when I accidently stuck the tip into the side of the rubber wheel. It was a close call. I just momentarily wasn't paying attention. I even saw one maker get a very BAD cut on his hand from a blade that got caught in the buffer. Probably most of us have this happen, either a minor cut or major.

We really ought to observe all the safety procedures and precautions that we are aware of. In this case, as in most, it's better to be safe than sorry. I can tell you that, with practice and discipline, we can get used to wearing dust masks, gloves, glasses, hearing protectors, aprons, etc. I have to admit that I don't always do it, but I do try to do so, most of the time. Thanks again.

Gotta agree. No gloves! I just can't stand the thought of my fingers/hand getting ground ripped off!:x

Another point to consider, married or not, is the wisdom in removing all jewelry, especially rings, (wedding, class, military or company service, etc.) when in the shop. They can get caught in tooling and machines and oops, there goes a finger, or at least all the skin and flesh off the bone. A bit gruesome, but quite true.

I don't think rings are allowed in most machine shops. An end mill will choose the easier path, finger vs. metal, if a ring should get close enough to get grabbed.

The wife would surely approve this little practice if we were to explain the reasoning behind it. Hck, shemight even require it!

Steve,here ya go.Morty The Knife Man,Inc.,PO box 630007,Little Neck,NY,11363-0007.Ph#516/491-5764 or1-800-247-2511.He has chain mesh gloves as well.He is listed in the knives annuals under specialty cutlers.

Thanks, Mike. I'll give him a call. If that apron isn't too heavy it sounds like a smart thing to do.

How about a Kevlar lined apron? I know that a knife can penetrate a bullet proof vest, but how easily? And it'd surely be better than nothing, or just a leather apron, maybe not as heavy?

Steve - Speaking of kevlar - a few year back I bought a pair of kevlar gloves, about the weight of medium to light cotton golves but kind of "clamy." They are made specifically to protect woodcarvers from getting cut when the tool slips. They were for a daughter and she never used them, nor have I so I can't say how they feel working or how they hold up. Also available are rough out leather 1/2 fingers (mesh on the other side). If interested let me know and I will dig up the source and price (not real cheap).

Around machines that can take of chucks off your body real fast, I don't like to have anything on my ands (watches, rings, bracelets, gloves). I have had rings snag and have come real close to heavy damage. I wear a canvas bib apron (too hot for leather where I live) and don't think there is much danger as it fits pretty close to my body.
John

It wouldn't recommend gloves of any kind for lathes,mills,or drill presses.One burr or splinter could be real ugly.

The kevlar or chainmail gloves don't sound to promising either in my opinion.Seems like they may be more likely to get caught by a burr or splinter, but I see were the may keep you from getting cut from a blade.

No gloves. I have some pretty good calluses built up on my thumbs from being burned so many times. If it is the heat that bothers you, use that white tape they use on bandages on your fingertips. It works OK. If your fingers get hot, dip 'em in water. Gloves and long sleeve shirts are a bad thing around rotating equipment.

Safety equipment??? Safety glasses and a good respirator are in order. The respirator is often over looked. I am quite sensitive in this area, my mother died from COPD (Cardio Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) a couple of years ago and it was not nice. Basically your lungs are no longer able to absorb oxygen and you slowly (and cruelly) starve your body of needed oxygen. Other organs start to shut down.
This was due to her smoking but can also be triggered from black lung, asbestosis, or enphysema from a variety of sources such as wood and metal dust. Once the particles go in, they never come back out. My maternal grandfather also died from a lung disorder so my genetic makeup is not in my favor...

So when you hear folks tell you to "WHERE YOUR RESPIRATOR!!!", this is the reason.

Craig