Burnt Fingers !! Is there a cure ??

I am like Kevin...No gloves at the grinder...and no glove on my hammer hand when forging,except when welding,I have way more control of the hammer and my blade grinds...You know that you have built up the caluses enough when you can pull a cake pan out of the oven without pot holders or "gloves" and I am not kidding...I used to hate wearing gloves at least ones with fingers in them when I working in the scrap yard and running the tprch.You loose all sense of feel when wearing gloves.

Bruce
 
Beans2 said:
As some have already stated gloves + any sort of grinder = bad mix.
I prefer bare hands and a small container of water to cool the work peice down.
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Welcome to Blade forums!:thumbup: Fred
 
I wear leather gloves for rough grinding-( before heat treat). No rest, freehand hollow grind on an 8 or 12" wheel. I use blue painters tape on my fingers and on the fingers of my gloves where they grind through. I finish grind bare handed to avoid over heating the blade. Not trying to change anyone's mind but that's what works for me.

Monty
 
LRB said:
Just how is a belt going to catch fingers, when you are working mid way on the wheel, and the belt is running away from you at the bottom? I totally do not get this logic. Your finger will not fit between the wheel and the belt, and there is no reason to work from the upper part of the wheel.
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I HAVE had my finger run between the belt and 2 wheels and the platen, it felt like having it ripped off. Believe me you do not want this to happen. I was not wearing gloves and I never do while grinding. I agree with Kevin about the forging with gloves as well. Not only does it give you better control, but wearing a glove while hammering tires your hand out more with a glove. Since I switched to no glove while forging, I can hammer for 3 times as long.
Thanks,
Del
 
yep yep. it was funny to night i pulled my grinder out side to do some edge bevels. i asked the nabor if he wanted to watch. so im out there in the dark grinding a dager and i got one side done and was working on the other side so my index finger is very close to the wheel. as hes watching me grind i go to dip the blade to cool it of and a lot of steel dust had colected on my index finger and it was glowing red hot :). he like your fingers on fire. im like "it happens" and go back to grinding. ha ha ha :)
 
LRB said:
36 grit boo-boo's take about 36 days to heal.
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And ask my old friend Dave how long it takes for a missing ring finger to heal...
13 years later, he can still only count to 9.
george tichbourne said:
As long as you are grinding freehand the gloves are OK and do not present a pinch point hazzard. I wouldn't grind without gloves because if I am concentrating on not burning my hands I can't concentrate on the job at hand and usually end up catching an edge or touching the handle to the side of the wheel thus losing the knife.
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Gloves are NEVER Ok around rotating machinery.
Ever.

Lose that concentration you mentioned while wearing gloves, and you can easily put your hand somewhere it doesn't belong.
Losing a finger/limb instead of a knife....
 
Normark said:
Hey Guys...What do you guys use to protect your fingers... ??
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I don't know, you can try this it works pretty good for me. You can try not touching the hot steel, Maybe?

Use a push stick.


If you insist on using your fingers, You can make a
little leather pad that fits loosely over the tip of your finger. They must never fit any higher than the top of your fingernail and must be loose enough to slip right off if they catch on anything. Make them out of 7 or 8 oz sheath leather scraps. I sometimes use one on my thumb when working the tip of a thin blade

When I say loose I mean loose, If I hang my hand at my side it will fall off my thumb.
 
I have to agree no gloves while grinding. It's not likely to grab without a work rest or something, but wierd thing happen. I mainly don't wear them because I lose the feel of what I'm doing. I tried them once and the only ones I liked and worked good were the Machanic type gloves, too expensive and the heat up just about as fast as skin and you can't cool them as quick as your hand. Gloves are great insulators but they can cause worse burns as they hold the heat to your skin.

Try a magnetic holder, I use some I got from working in the sign buisness, there used as jigs on a welding table to hold aluminum sheat metal in position for welding curves and such. There about 2 1/2" long by 1" or so tall by about 1/2" thich and hold real good. They work great for everything from bowies to mid size pocket knives. The heat up too, but let me get at least a full pass before I dunk to cool everything down.
 
To each, his own. I never wear rings, and I don't use a platen,or a tool rest on my grinder. Instead, I flat grind in a 6x48 table sander. I find it much more controlable. I use a glove on the left hand for the blade heat, but nothing on my right which is holding the tang.
 
I altered my tool rest into a "U" shape and each arm of the "U" goes on either side of the belt - this prevents the blade from being pulled down between the belt and toolrest. I use a wine cork to hold the blade against the belt as I pass it through.

Brad M
 
i am not a knifemaker but i was recently watching ed fowlers video and he was at the grinder......he had a big notch in his fingernail.....i think he called them a grinding notch......his hands looked like they have been grinding quite some time......i don't even know if he would feel a belt hit them.....ryan
 
I am new to using a belt grinder as I just bought my KMG a few weeks ago, but I have sometimes been using a magnet to hold the blade on one end and bare hand on the other end.
 
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