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Safety issues are important in the workshop.
Note: Try to be aware of safety issues at all times and put your own safety and that of others first and foremost while in the workshop..
Keep your back straight and bend your knees. Never try to lift more than you can safely. Be conservative and don't be a hero.
Many of the chemicals used in knifemaking are dangerous on their own or when mixed with other materials. When diluting acids with water, always pour the acid into the water not the water into the acid.
Materials such as Cocobolo provoke an allergic reaction in some people.
Using the right eyewear, face mask and clothing will go a long way toward making the workshop a safer and healthier place.
This is probably the most dangerous tool in the shop. The buffer can be cutting away happily one second and then grabbing the workpiece the next. Buffers can be lethal and should be treated with the utmost respect.
Bob Engnath always stresses the point that you should never push a belt beyond its limits, lest you want to wear it as a necktie. He says that a belt can move at sixty miles an hour and removes skin quicker than metal. The contact wheel is usually made of aluminum which can grab a knifepoint and swing it around real quick. The edge of the belt it like a saw and hurts like hell when it cuts into fingers.
Make sure all appliances are properly grounded. Avoid working with electrical equipment in very damp conditions. Replace fraying leads. Never overload circuits.
Dermatitis, soriasis and excema can result from exposure to some materials. Wash your hands after work and wear protective clothing where needed. Avoid inhalation of dust or fumes.
Try to work with your back straight at all times. Raise or lower the height of your worktable so that you can work comfortably.
Injuries such as "carple tunnel syndrome", tennis elbow and bursitis, result from doing the same thing with the same muscles repeatedly for years. Take a break, do something else for a while and if the chance to acquire a machine to do the same job you were doing by hand comes along, grab it. Machines extend the working life of the knifemaker. Don't sacrifice your hands upon the alter of "handmade".
They are quicker than you are, they are more powerfull than you are, and sometimes they can be a lot less predictable than you are. Read the manual that comes with each tool. Do not remove safety fittings. Unplug them before you leave.
Keep a fire extinguisher on hand at all times. If you are using a gas forge make sure all gas lines and valves don't leak and are working properly. Never grease or oil the threads on gas fittings.
When oil quenching, the bath should be fitted with a cover to contain any flareups that might occur.
Sawdust is very flamable in the right concentrations and when mixed with oxygen it can be explosive. Solvents and petrochemicals are also fire hazards. Such materials can make fuel air bombs when the mixture is right. Ventilation goes a long way but maintaining tidy work habits goes further.
Buy the best handtools you can afford. Make sure they are comfortable to use and properly setup. Make sure edges are kept sharp. Not only will this yield better work but it will reduce breakage and attendant risk of injury. The heads of drifts and chisles or other tools that are struck with a hammer should be soft enough so that they will not chip or break off and run the risk of eye injury. Such tools should not be allowed to mushroom as the risk of flying schrapnel and consequent injury is higher as a result.
Its Spring time, almost summer and for some reason word is out that I can handle the kind of vegetation that no one else with their gizmos and gadgets can make much of a dent in. My gardening cutter may not be plugin but it sure plays. Being a longtime fan of the gardening sword, you won't catch me poncing with cutting targets and all that martial art stuff. My object is to put the fear of God into a Privet hedge thats fifteen feet high. With every cut a blossom falls, but this is real work, less like a duel and more like a battle. Three hours of hot sweaty and unreasonable abuse of both sword and wielder. Cutting rounds that run from finger thickness to wrist thickness in tough live wood. Since this is not something I practise, just something I do now and then, half way through I'm so beat I realise that my angle of attack is off, my speed and power are compromised and my form is shot. I'm unsteady on my feet and the sword binds in the cut and as I sway sideways I watch in horror as the blade bends. I really hate a bent blade, its such a pain to get them straight again and they are never the same anyway. Broken blades are downright dangerous My Nahuarra and I have put in many hours together, its probably done more real cutting than most swords and it still delivers the cuts without complaint or faltering. Imagine my relief as the sword returns to true of its own accord and proves to be entirely unharmed by poor technique.
The realisation dawns that had it been a Japanese sword made in the traditional way it would be ruined. Because without perfect and practised technique the traditional sword is very vulnerable to bending of the spine and the possibility of cracking at the edge. For the unpractised the Nahuarra really is a super cutting tool as it is far more forgiving and able to take this kind of abuse in its stride.
So a word to the wise, if you do not have perfect technique do not use a fine and expensive Japanese sword to practice cutting. You will probably damage it sooner or later. Always pay attention to form, making sure to conserve energy so that cutting efficiency and control are not compromised when you are tired. When you are tired, stop and take a break.
