Carving Safety $ Protection

[Eddy-Smiles]

I attempted to post this before but couldn't get the photograph to upload.Carving Protection.jpg

[Brian T]

Always carving away from myself with mallet and gouges, I didn't need to give much thought to safety except at the end of the day, putting the tools back into the rolls.

Then I got interested in the shapes and functions of the Pacific Northwest native style carving tools.
Everything comes towards me. Everything. Seems a fine motor skill control issue.
Adzes = have to stand aside and be mindful of the path of a missed strike.
Crooked knives = with mostly pull strokes, I got hit in the chest a few times.
Minor cuts and wrecked a couple of nice shirts.
I had large pieces of super-duty canvas from an old airlines flight bag.
Had an apron made with a high front and the pockets all on the underside.
Furniture restoration guy had the sewing machine.

I admit that I have hit myself many times since.
What worries me a little is that wearing the apron, I'm just a bit complacent.

[Spiritwolfe]

Michelle, I think the big difference between carver's tape and vet wrap is that carver's tape is impregnated with latex.

I think the metal woven gloves I have are inpregnated with latex or silicone because they don't slip. This I was pleasantly surprised about. I was expecting major slippage

[Spiritwolfe]

Always carving away from myself with mallet and gouges, I didn't need to give much thought to safety except at the end of the day, putting the tools back into the rolls.

Then I got interested in the shapes and functions of the Pacific Northwest native style carving tools.
Everything comes towards me. Everything. Seems a fine motor skill control issue.
Adzes = have to stand aside and be mindful of the path of a missed strike.
Crooked knives = with mostly pull strokes, I got hit in the chest a few times.
Minor cuts and wrecked a couple of nice shirts.
I had large pieces of super-duty canvas from an old airlines flight bag.
Had an apron made with a high front and the pockets all on the underside.
Furniture restoration guy had the sewing machine.

I admit that I have hit myself many times since.
What worries me a little is that wearing the apron, I'm just a bit complacent.

Gosh RV. You sound like an accident waiting to happen . LOL
I bet the apron looks absolutely Devine on you. Plus you're instantly ready for cooking and cleaning

[Spiritwolfe]

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S-W-E-E-T! Do you find these heavy or cumbersome Eddy?

[Spiritwolfe]

For what it's worth, I save any worn or damaged carving gloves and cut the fingers from them, glue a leather patch in the appropriate place and then use them as thumb guards

Regards
John

THIs is a great idea.
Thanks

[Spiritwolfe]

As we age, some of lose the fat in our hand and it make holding things uncomfortable. The soft cotton glove adds a cushion between the hand and the links of the stainless steel glove with no affect on gripping power or maneuverability. .

While I'm not quite as old as you, I can definitely relate to your first sentence here. I've just turned that corner this year. Suddenly my bones feel less insulated but that's because they are
Growing old kinda sucks!!!!!
Thanks Eddy

[Spiritwolfe]

Think of leather as an extra layer of skin, which it is! It helps when power carving with a big aggressive bit, because it doesn't tangle up with the bit like a cloth or kevlar glove. It just gets chewed up, which hopefully you notice before it gets to regular skin. I like kevlar gloves to protect my holding hand from slices and slips when carving smaller objects. It doesn't protect much against stabs, which can go between the woven material, but there are some brands that have little rubber dots on them that improve your grip. I am currently using a glove (from the carvinggloveguy) that is kevlar with part of a leather glove sewn over the palm. I guess the idea is that leather will offer some protection from minor stabs and cuts with the backup of kevlar. After using it for a bit, I noticed a pattern of areas that the leather was getting sliced on this glove, which was primarily the thumb and base of the thumb. So I have wrapped those areas with vet wrap to protect the leather and add an additional layer to protect my hand. The glove is fairly cool because the back is the woven kevlar. So you might try wrapping certain areas of your gloves if you stick with just regular leather gloves. Paying attention to dangerous cuts is still advised, as I have heard of people cutting their chests, stomachs, legs, and feet from various slips and accidents. You can't protect against everything, but it sure does slow your carving down when you hurt yourself, not to mention getting blood on your carving and tools!

Thanks for the tips about carving protection. The carving glove guy sounds like the guy to see. I figure I won't sweat as much in leather and I really like the idea of modifying areas with extra tape etc. At least on leather it probably sticks.

I agree "It's annoying getting blood on your tools. " Or ruining good shirts. Not fun!

[Spiritwolfe]

I use the glove from The Carving Glove Guy, also. It is comfortable enough, and he is great to do business with!
I used to work in a slaughterhouse and as a meatcutter.
Sharp knives in your hands for MANY hours every day. TRUST ME the BEST way is to get used to a glove. Keep your appendages out of the way and know where that blade is going if (when) a slip happens.
If after carving, there are no nicks in your glove, count yourself lucky. If there are no nicks in it, count yourself VERY lucky!
Jim

Oh man. A slaughter house.
My friends went to Australia for 6 months. They couldn't get a job so worked in a slaughter house. They became vegetarians ever since but YES handling knives all day , gets you used to them.

Thanks Jim

[DiLeon]

I just got a post from an old timer on this board.....Goody. Long time carving.... it expresses,

Not for the faint of heart. Woodcarvers discretion only.
Don't take your carving glove off for even a second and don't ask me to show you my finger .

Picture of Goody.....blood on his shirt, blood on his elbow, blood all over the floor, and blood on the rags he used to stop the bleeding..... And his middle finger wrapped up in bandage. Says it all.

[Spiritwolfe]

Oh! I would like to add that I cut off the nails. While I have managed to do most things with them, I came to realize that I could not grip the wood as well with them so they WERE in fact a safety issue. THIS goes to show you just how much I love carving and working with wood. It's the ultimate commitment. Right? Lol

[Eddy-Smiles]

S-W-E-E-T! Do you find these heavy or cumbersome Eddy?

No, not really. It's like everything else in carving. It's all what you get used to. I at first tried wearing the metal gloves with out the cotton gloves underneath. In fact, everyone said that they'd be too slippery and I wouldn't be satisfied with the grip so I wore the cotton glove on top of the stainless steel chain link glove. As I stated before, my hands have lost a lot of fat as I've aged and it wasn't comfortable so I switched from the cotton glove on top to the cotton glove inside. It solved the problem of comfort plus I have no problem with grip.

[Brian T]

I'm really happy to wear the apron on days using the PacNW tools. However, I am absolutley convinced that for me, the most dangerous time is putting knives and gouges away at the end of the day = tired, distracted, complacent. After all is buttoned up, THEN the gloves come off.

[Spiritwolfe]

No, not really. It's like everything else in carving. It's all what you get used to. I at first tried wearing the metal gloves with out the cotton gloves underneath. In fact, everyone said that they'd be too slippery and I wouldn't be satisfied with the grip so I wore the cotton glove on top of the stainless steel chain link glove. As I stated before, my hands have lost a lot of fat as I've aged and it wasn't comfortable so I switched from the cotton glove on top to the cotton glove inside. It solved the problem of comfort plus I have no problem with grip.

The GRIP is extremely important hence the reason I cut my nails but so is adaptability.
We do get used to certain things which is why I wanted to start carving getting used to wearing gloves. I honestly thought these white gloves I have would be slippery but the inside of the glove have some type of silicone/ latex covering over them. That is probably why my hands sweat some but with powder and taking my hand to wash and dry it, has proved effective. Plus they really have great gripping power.
I really like the idea of DIY'ing patch work protection. That way it truly is 'custom' for the individual .

[Spiritwolfe]

However, I am absolutley convinced that for me, the most dangerous time is putting knives and gouges away at the end of the day = tired, distracted, complacent. After all is buttoned up, THEN the gloves come off.

'Tis the reason I got the 'Tom Ellis' loud hot pink knife. I'm the same way. I'll spend hours and hours woodworkng and then suddenly crash. Like Dileon stated , being over tired is a safety hazard and I couldn't agree more.
At least with this pink handle I won't misplace it.