Buffing safety

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Pondoro2310

Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
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I have heard the stories of people who were buffing knives, the wheel pulls the knife out of their hands and it ends up propelled somewhere, perhaps into the person. I believe the stories.

It occurred to me that you could clamp the knife firmly to a table and buff it with a hand buffing machine. But surely someone has thought of this before. What do people think of that method?
 
Hand (car) buffers are not the same tool that is used to buff knives.
Buffing can be dangerous, if you don't know what you are doing.
 
Did we not lose a well-known member of the community this year due to a buffing accident?
 
TravisH said:
Did we not lose a well-known member of the community this year due to a buffing accident?
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Don't remember if it was this year, or end of last, but yes. A well known maker took a knife in the chest, and passes away.
 
To keep this in context, I'm sure circular saws injure many more people than buffers.
As I said- IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. All tools are dangerous. Buffers are no more dangerous than most other tools.
 
The buff is made up of stacked Levi material. The blade can be held in one hand the buffer in the other. Its very handy, its easy to get to all parts of the blade.

I haven't hurt myself as of this time.

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Buffing is generally safe if you know how to control it. Firm grip and edge trailing are the way to go. The tip is always a sketchy situation, and can easily grab a knife even with good technique. The scary part is that it just takes one slip up to turn a knife into a deadly missile with the buffer. There are costs and risks for taking advantage of the speed increase.
 
Pondoro2310 said:
It occurred to me that you could clamp the knife firmly to a table and buff it with a hand buffing machine. But surely someone has thought of this before. What do people think of that method?
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If you are going to do something with clamps then you probably should have some kind of fixture that you clamp to the knife that is somewhat attached to the buffer and/or table that the buffer is attached to.

And of course you need appropriate safety gear to certainly protect your face, hands, lower extremeties, feet.
 
bgentry said:
That link should come with a warning. I turned it off after less than a minute and wish I hadn't watched it. Uuuhhhhh.

Brian.
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I thought "horribly wrong" was a warning ... but I always read the description before deciding if I want to watch a video, which says
. The video shows what type of accidents can occur when proper safety measures aren't taken with grinders and abrasive wheels. This video isn't for the faint of heart but will certainly resonate with those who watch it.
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Guys, it's no big deal. I'm not a little girl. :) Just saying the video was more than I expected.

Brian.
 
Bill, has it right.
My buffer is nothing like what Fred shows. Mine is built on a axle with 3 buffing disc. DM
 
That video has to do with abrasive grinding, not buffing.
So many people are afraid of a buffer, but bang on red-hot steel!
Buffing is a learned technique. It requires much finesse and little brute force.
I think I have 8 or 9 buffers in my shop.
Polishing on hard felt wheels is probably the safest method. Loose wheels tend to grab things.
 
Yes, the concerns are similar. I just don't want everyone to think that a buffer is going to turn them into hamburger.
Like any other power tool, they require experience and care when using.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Yes, the concerns are similar. I just don't want everyone to think that a buffer is going to turn them into hamburger.
Like any other power tool, they require experience and care when using.
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:) the video cautions, if you haven't been trained on the machine don't use it, step back... training is key :)
 
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