Safety concerns for new knifemakers

THIS would make a great "Forward" to any How-to book on knifemaking or any subject dealing with Shop practices. Very well written!

Most of my adult life was spent working in this kind of environment and I cringe when I think of some of the dumb things I have done and seen done because of a lack of a full understanding of the potential disastrous consequences.

In a production setting many serious accidents occur because someone gets in a hurry. Slow down and stay focused on what you are doing!

Thanks for the great instruction.

DL
 
Great read!

The other that I would add is clear path to an exit. The more hazardous the thing your working with, the closer to the door! The other thing is to put the fire extinguisher on the way out. You can double back after grabbing one a lot easier than you can reach across a burning work bench to get to the one mounted in the corner.

Slip hazards, tools left out, lots of metal chips... and then also stuff like decent boots and knee pads to keep "you" from wearing out. Just as useful in the later years as ears, eyes, and lungs! :cool:
 
I'm Mike Crenshaw. Kit Carson and a few of the other makers know me. In addition to being a collector I just took my first knifesmithing training. I'm also an Indutrial Hygiene/Occupationl Safety consultant. Some of you may have attended the presentation I gave at Blade a couple of years back. I'll try to provide sources of information like where to find Material Safety Data Sheets or chemical hazard info for any questions you guys have.

As a start - here's one of the best sources for MSDS pages (http://www2.siri.org/msds/index.php), http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0000.html is the niosh wedsite, http://www.nsc.org/library/chemical/index.htm is the National Safety Council site. You can look chemicals up and read about the hazards they represent.

When dealing with any airborne respirable hazard you want to first switch what you're working with or how you're working it to keep it from making a respirable hazard. Some of you won't grind or work with particuar materials that you know cause problems. Others only work them by hand or in ways that won't produce fine dust or smoke. This way you don't have it floating in the air.

When you can't substitue materials or techniques you should try to work the material wet and flush away the hazardous particles (and that means flushing all of it away) or you should use a ventilation system that takes it out of the air you're breathing and puts it somewhere else. Sometimes something as simple as a box fan and a refrigerator box to contain the work to pull the air past you and out a window where it can't come back in the shop works. Other times you can set up more involved systems with ducts and explosion-proof blowers. Regardless, any time you have to work with materials that are more complex than simple carbon steels you should find a way to ensure that you don't put the dust or smoke into the air you breath.

If all else fails you can resort to a respirator. Keep in mind that a simple P95 dust filtering respirator will work in the shop for almost anything the knifemaker deals with except vapors from organic chemicals (e.g., acetone) and gases from tanks or offgassing from chemical reactions. For chemicals an organic vapor cartridge is needed. Remember that the respirator will do you little good if you don't use the proper filters, if it doesn't make a good seal with your face (beards won't allow a seal), or you store it in such a way that the dust settles inside the respirator before you even put it on.

The most common problem I've seen with respirators in small shops is they get stored in the open in the shop and have all the hazardous dusts they're supposed to protect the knifemaker from already collected inside the respirator. That's much like putting your dirty cat litter pan on your face to keep the stench out.
 
All very good advice. I would add that protective clothing is the next step in safety. BUY a leather welders apron from MSC or another Industrial supplier. It will last fgorever. Also, wear steel toe work shoes, 6" or 8". they will save a lot of wear and tear on you feet. Plus, good leather work gloves. The cotton twill canvas gauntlet work gloves with the leather palms and fingers help a lot. Most smiths seem to wear at least one. (I wear one on my left and, and use no glove on my, right hammer hand.) A glove should be loose enough to throw off you hand one-handed when it gets hot. Broken in correctly, a leather work glove will take a lot of heat before your hand gets too hot. (I always "clay" my gloves. wet 'em and work a hand full of yellow clay into them when new.) Being able to grab something hot, anf then sling the gove off one handed as it starts to burn is a lifes saver. You should always be aware of the flamable, inflamable hot zones in your shop. Have an rea where you can lay, toss, sling and chuck hot steel, clinkers and such to cool with out fear of fire. Line walls with sheet metal. cover wood floors with cement, etc. And for goodness sake, keep the hot stuff away from the house, barn, hay shed, etc.
 
Keep the shop door locked. The UPS or FedEx delivery man have a tendancy to walk in and scare the jeezers out of you with "hey got a delivery for you". Jumping around on a grinder isn't funny. Cavelady
 
I was making a meat cleaver with my dad, when the grinding wheel exploded.
knocked me to the ground with a laceration in the back and layed my dad open on the leg.
brand new wheel. goes to show you STUFF HAPPENS.
stone wasn't cheap either.
 
All new grinding stones should be run at full speed for 5 minutes to check for stability.A drop in shipping,a bump in handling,improper mounting,etc. can cause them to explode with lethal force.DO NOT STAND IN FRONT OF A NEW WHEEL until it has been run for a few minutes (or when turning on any wheel).
Stacy
 
Where does one find the relevant city codes for building a forge, say in a garage? What about the home insurance (for a garage unattached to the main house, but close by)?

Many thanks,

JD
 
I was an FMF Recon Corpsman many years ago. I use ask the guys what part of your body can you live with out. A hand, an eye, a finger, leg hand , your package. Smart ass says appendix, gall bladder part of my stomach. I explained war is not surgery, you do not get to pick the part you are willing to give up. So ya all be careful out there in that jungle where even the old two step who looks like a garter snake. That is a small member of the Manba family that has a bite that will kill you before you hit the ground or maybe in two steps. Those knives and tools do not have a memory or a care.

Luck is the result of superior planning
Floyd O`Leary
 
Joss said:
Where does one find the relevant city codes for building a forge, say in a garage? What about the home insurance (for a garage unattached to the main house, but close by)?

Many thanks,

JD
Click to expand...

WHAT EVER YOU DO DO NOT SAY YOUR SHOP IS USED FOR A BUSSINESS..AS A HOBBY IT MAY BE COVERED
 
As a female i am glad i don't get caught up in the macho bs that many do...ill forge with a north half mask be it with gas or coal..as much as i hate it i wear mine..i am even thinking of a full mask with the filters over my back far away from what im working on be it on the sander or forgeing..

i have a wood dust colletor but i need something that can handle hot metal for the cloth bag will burn..any one have any suggestions?

one thing we all need to wear is "DIDYMIUM" GLASSES!to stop the sodium fllair and "ultraviolet and infra red rays" you get forgeing..

cotton clothing,not synthics that melt into your skin

face shields

kevlar gloves rather than wet leather gloves

a hat to protect your hair from hot flying metal

sturdy leather shoes

full lenght leather apron

no watches or jewelry while working with power tools

no loose clothing around belt sanders or buffers

and like all im scared to death of a buffer!

leathr gloves while working on a belt sander can be grabed by the belt and ive known more than one that took a un exspected trip around a wheel!

this can be very dangerious work we do..i know it almost seams we need to look like a knight in full armour .lol

you only have one body and one short life..why risk it by being macho or it can't happen to me bit..

i am new in here but not to bladesmithing..(1987)i plan on being here along time by being safe

chele groups i own
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pattern_welded_knives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mokume_gane
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eastcoastbamboogroup
 
:) as wood partcules do not always get into a collection system i am working on haveing my wood working shop seperate from the forge/welding shop..its more cost but no cross catamination and minamizes fire..
 
The buffer is (in my experience) in a league of its own in danger.

About 5 years ago I was visiting a very talented bowmaker in Lake Worth, FL (I went to his shop about once a week) and when I arrived there was yellow police tape all over the shop next door. It was a yacht and boat restoration shop.

When I parked and walked in everyone was morose and quiet.

"OK, what the hell happened?" I asked slowly.

The shop next door had a 5hp buffer for big work. A craftsman was buffing a heavy antique brass porthole fixture, and the monster snatched it from his hands and took 1/2 the top of his head off with it. He was dead when he hit the ground. Apparently this was not the first accident of this sort, as if caused the old company's demise as well as the poor man's. I can't imagine the shock to the family or the shop's owner. It was a tragedy.

I have always been a "custom" maker; that is I prefer to make another man happy with my work than make myself a knife I want. One of my first custom pieces was a hollowground "tanto" with the Americanized chisel point. It was 1/4" 440-C stock, about 1.5" wide and 13 inches long. A ridiculous knife, but it was what someone wanted, so I cheerfully made it.

While I was buffing it I saw an enormous raccoon in my periferal vision taking off with one of my prized mangos. That was all the distraction I needed to shoot the giant knife into my thigh. It was a 2hp 1750 buffer (thankfully not a 3300) and the knife hit me a perfectly broadside glance, and shot through the 2X4 stud of the wall and 1/2" into the concrete foundation.

It ruined the knife (and my nerves) but only left a horrific bruise on my thigh (Gil Hibben has a similiar story; he was not so lucky).

The buffer also releases SO much particulate matter (mostly invisible to the naked eye) that it is also the most dangerous machine in the long term. One can be very safety-conscious around the shop save for a respirator, then BANG one day he gets up and can't work or live worth a damn anymore because of emphesyma. It happened to one of the most famous and talented makers in history. He needed bottled oxygen to sleep every night.

Please be careful with the buffer.

After about 5 years making knives it is easy to forget that you are human of fallible nature. Into my 5th year I bisected my right thump on the edgde of a 60 grit grinding belt. I was doing slackbelt work on a suberito and was daydreaming of a girl (Valerie. Fabulous. :rolleyes: )

In my 8th year I bisected the same thumb with my old Swiss Inca bandsaw cutting a mosaic handle pin WITHOUT A PUSHSTICK!!! It still gives me trouble every day, and likely always will. But I had cut 300 mosaic pins off of glued-up knives before without incident.

It was never going to happen to Superman, right? :foot:

Do not ever believe your own press that you are a "Master Craftsman" or make "Perfect Knives". Only one perfect man ever walked this earth. :D

Safety has to be a lifelong habit if you want a long life.

Dani
 
dani i hear ya..very true words.i have heard of many have a knife grabbed out of there hand and ither get them or inbed into objects....

i own a 14' inca bandsaw too..one of the old ones (1988)..its a jewel,but i always use a push stick for i have seen it cut others..

when i work i lock all doors so not to be suddenly surprised.it only takes a nano second to kill,mame or ruin i object im working on..
 
That reminds me:

NEW MAKERS! Make a very very visible "Do Not Knock!" sign for your shop door. Put it out when you are gringing or buffing.

A visitor looking for you can startle you and cause GRAVE injury or death.

I have ruined 100 knife blades by being startled, and have been lucky enough to have just gottten by with ground-off fingertips and slices from film belts.

NEVER have a phone in your shop with the ringer on when grinding or buffing, either one.

And as much as they love it, keep the dogs out, too. They can be asleep for an hour, then when you forget they are there they can let out a bark and give you a heart attack and another hole in a finger....or worse! :confused:

Dani
 
Great words of wisdom. As an apprentice toolmaker I had a couple of things snatched from my hands by a buffing machine. Left a lasting impression.
The grinder is dangerous enough. A buff can mess up the definition of the lines of a blade too easily too.
Something nobody mentioned , and I suppose it is too obvious and utterly insane to even mention, is alcohol and machinery.

I made the mistake when I was much younger. Young men are stupid and a danger to themselves, we think we are indestructable, that is why they send young men to war, when we are older we realize we are mere mortals and the scars are a reminder, if we make it!

I was using an angle grinder to dress some bad welding on a gate I had made.
It was a hot day and I had a couple of beers and then decided to tackle the job. One careless moment and I found myself in the emergency room with some ground down finger tips. The staff were not very sympathetic when they smelt beer on me!! I was lucky though, no lasting damage. :o
My best friend got killed when an angle grinder blade shattered and a piece hit him in the heart. 22 years old and we had both survived 2 years in the military.
Machines seem to sense when you are not 100% compus mentus and they seem to go for you then. Heck, it is always a gamble anyway....

Everybody is probably shaking their heads and wondering what kind of idiot would have a beer and then operate machinary. I understand, however I doubt that I am the only one that has ever done that. I walked away though, in great pain but alive. Do not tell me that you forgers have never done it while all sweaty and thirsty.
Anyhow, life is full of choices. I just found it a bit odd that everyone has been wisely warning about the dangers of machines and equipment and what should and should not be worn (no sarcasm intended, these are very valid points) but nobody pointed out the most obvious. The human idiot factor.

Take care all of you. :thumbup:

Mike
 
i bought R.W. lovesless's book titled "how to make knives" on my first ventures into knifemaking.To quote a master bladesmith "there is no single operation in knifemaking so hazardous as buffing pay attention to this job because if if you get just a little careless , parts of the knifemaker can end up on the SHOP FLOOR!!!!". :barf: :barf: :eek: "that may sound ugly, and in fact we mean it just that way".I am a union ironworker by trade as an aprrentice i have gone through over 70 hours of safety classes,osha,msha,first aid/cpr,scaffold,electrical,general job safety,safety in steel erection,fall protection,respirator training.not to mention videos in class just to beat it into my thick head.as some one who is new to the art of knifemaking(hopefully i can post a pic soon) i highly reccomend how to make knives by Richard W. Barney and Robert W. Loveless, i got my copy through texas knifemakers.
i hope this helps someone :) Joe
 
I agree buffers are deadly..when i studied at Bob Lovesless shop with Bob and Jim Merritt many years ago they told me they had a knife get away and ended up in the ceiling....fyi: jim merrit makes almost all loveless's knives as bob runs the shop and assembles them along with his wet sheaths...jim is a jewel of a person..

thank you
chele

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pattern_welded_knives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/custombladesmiths
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mokume_gane
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homefoundry_and_casting
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bamboo_world
 
I'm not gonna lie to you. I've mixed beer and forge work in South Florida SummersMANY times, because I've never used a power hammer. Cold light beer when trying to flatten-out a crowbar when it's already 110 degrees out is pretty refreshing, but it's pretty hard for me to to make a mistake baging on an anvil compared to power tools. You can never come close to finish work on a sword when yer drinking beer. Can't be done.

I've since quit drinking "with the boys" and when I do have a beer it is an absolute and inflexible law that snakes and tools are strictly off-limits. (I raise rattlesnakes. Seems like every time a buddy has a few beers he wants to play with one of my snakes. Some a universal macho thing. Don't ask me!) I don't care how much someone begs, if I've had so much as a sip of wine I won't turn on a thing.
 
There's a lot of Great health tips in these threads.I've only made about 20 knives and ruined 5 of them in shop accidents. The last one was an 18 inch Bowie that got grabbed,flung into the bench and bent at nearly a 90. Looked like a flex test blade.The only item in my shop I haven't been hurt by yet is steel wool. I just got a forge, set a bench on fire and the quenching oil up in flames.Glad I had a fire exstinguisher...(now I have 2)... I'm trying not to even say the word "knife" around my wife!!
 
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