Forging glasses/googles

H

HSC ///

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Nov 7, 2012
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eye protection, what do you guys use for forging and for 2000 F heat treating furnace?


thanks
 
I haven’t done any heat treating or forging with them, but I did just buy a pair of Uvex S2850HS Avatars for about $10 on Amazon, and they’re the first pair of safety glasses I’ve had (and I’ve tried dozens) that didn’t fog up on me to some extent. They’re not shaded, if that’s what you’re looking for, but they’re damn good glasses. I think the S2851 model is shaded.
 
A good pair of welders #3 safety glasses is all most chaps need for hobby forging.

Didymium glasses were the ones recommended years back. They are used by glass workers and others. However, they aren't the best choice for our forges. We deal with a high amount of IR as well as UV. Glass workers are dealing with sodium flare (IR and UV plus bright light) which is very bright in light output. The didymium stops that, but isn't as good in the darker work areas of a forge. It is harder to see the temperature of the steel by eye with didymium.

The current forging glasses I use when forging for a long time are Auralens AUR-99 . You can get them in prescription, bi-focal, even clip-ons. You pick the welders shade desired 2.0 through 8.0. I use a #3. Cost is much better than Didymium, too. I think Auralens is now called Aura Visual Concepts.
 
Last edited:
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
A good pair of welders #3 safety glasses is all most chaps need for hobby forging.

Didymium glasses were the ones recommended years back. They are used by glass workers and others. However, they aren't the best choice for our forges. We deal with a high amount of IR as well as UV. Glass workers are dealing with sodium flare (IR and UV plus bright light) which is very bright in light output. The didymium stops that, but isn't as good in the darker work areas of a forge. It is harder to see the temperature of the steel by eye with didymium.

The current forging glasses I use when forging for a long time are Auralens AUR-99 . You can get them in prescription, bi-focal, even clip-ons. You pick the welders shade desired 2.0 through 8.0. I use a #3. Cost is much better than Didymium, too. I think Auralens is now called Aura Visual Concepts.
Click to expand...
I contacted Auralens, they replied - "Our AGW-300 filter is the replacement. The AUR-99 material is no longer available; we exhausted the last stock of the glass a year ago."
 
The AWG-300 is a superior lens, but it used to be about two to three times the cost. What are they charging now?
 
Yeah, that is what it used to be. And that is why I didn't list them in my post. They may be very good, but for the average knifemaker, ridiculously costly.

Any welding shop should carry suitable #2 or #3 glasses. Any discount optical shop (including Costco, etc) can make you up lenses to fit your frames or theirs in the same shade and filter.
 
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