There are a number of red
safety warnings throughout these pages. Read
them. Please!
And:
Wear
eye protection!
The first thing I want to say
about safety: Do not panic! Most workshop injuries are not life
threatening, but panic is. It pushes up the heart rate, opens up the veins
and arteries, leading to shock. The best way to avoid panic is knowledge.
Go on a first aid course, know where your safety risks are and eliminate
them.
There are three basic rules
regarding a safe working environment: Neatness, awareness and common
sense.
Neatness:
A place for everything and
everything in its place. Having to search for a tool or a knife part
leads to frustration and inattention. Inattention is one of the greatest
causes of accidents. Sweep the floor after each day's work,
put chemicals away after use.
A neat workshop impresses clients,
leading to easier sales.
Awareness:
Always be aware of your
extremities. Know where your fingers are in relation to the tools you are
working with, else you might lose one.
Be aware of the sounds your tools
are making. Power tools usually give ample warning that something is going
wrong, giving you time to switch off or to get out of the way. There are
exceptions; like a weak joint in a grinding belt, which can snap without
giving you warning.
Be aware of the air in your
workshop. Funny smells should be investigated. The smell of smouldering
wood, cloth or rubber may mean that a spark has ended up in a place where
it will cause major damage.
Be aware of where the sparks are
falling when you use an angle grinder.
If you share a workshop, be aware
of the other person or persons in your workshop.
Common Sense:
Of the six senses, this one most
often fail craftsmen. An example: You do not put the swimming pool in the
bottle of hydrochloric acid. (Never add water to acid, always add acid to
water)
If a tool can cut metal, it will
go through skin and flesh like the proverbial hot knife. (The worst cuts I
have had were from new 36 grit belts.)
Leave the sharpening until all the
work is done, including the making of the sheath. If the knife must be
sharpened, cover the cutting edge with a layer of masking or isolation
tape. – I learned this while receiving four stitches at the local casualty
ward.
Never work when you are tired,
under the influence of alcohol and / or drugs or
any medicine that cause drowsiness.
The first aid kit
A bare bones first aid kit for a
knifemaking workshop should contain the following:
A 2-inch stack of Gauze squares.
(Do not use cotton wool as the fibres make a mess of any open wound.)
A selection of plasters
Tweezers to remove splinters
A small bottle containing a 10-20%
solution of ferric chloride to use as coagulant. It is commercially
available as “Steel Drops” under the Lennon’s Dutch Remedies trade mark or
can be bought from chemical supply houses. (Ferric Chloride is also used
to etch pattern-welded blades.)
Bandages: 2 rolls of 1 ˝” and a
roll of 2” bandage. Remove the cellophane wrapping, it is a bother to
remove the wrapping when your one hand is bleeding and the other is trying
to dial 911.
Eye drops. I have mine made up at
my local drug store. He adds a drop or three of local anaesthetic to a
commercial eye drop solution.
A pair of scissors
A plastic eye shield,
fitted with an elastic band. Used with a guaze pad to cover an injured
eye.
An asthma pump or ventilator, (a
small pressurised can fitted with a mouth piece containing a medicated
spray to open constricted air passages) I am not an asthma sufferer, but
have found that some of the chemicals used in etching and colouring metals
have an adverse effect on me. Having one of these pumps handy has saved my
life on one occasion after I breathed sulphur fumes.
Optional items:
A sachet (the type used for
intravenous medication) containing a 5% saline solution or Ringers Lactate
provides a sterile solution to rinse eyes or wash grit and particles from
open wounds.
I have used any number of
improvised first aid techniques over the years. I was an Operational
Medical Orderly during my national service, and we were taught to think
fast and act fast. In a pinch a wad of toilet paper wrapped with masking
or isolation tape works just as well as gauze pads and bandage. My wife
used to get very angry with me for going to town with her, half my hand
wrapped in toilet paper and masking tape.
Safety factors
in a knife shop
Dust
Working in a dusty workshop is
delayed suicide. There are three ways to deal with dust and it is best to
use all three:
Deal with it at its origin.
If your budget permits, install a
dust extraction system. The next step down is to fit a catching basin
filled with soapy water beneath every grinder. This will eliminate close
to 90% of the heavy particles and noticeably cut down on suspended dust
particles.
Ventilation
Positive air pressure – an air
inlet fitted with a blower, or negative air pressure – an air outlet
fitted with an extraction fan.
Because you will spend more hours
at the bench than at the grinder, the airflow should move from your bench,
over the grinding area and out.
Point of entry
Cover your mouth and nose with a
filter in the form of a respirator.
Use all three methods together.
Materials
Some woods are known to be
poisonous; all the woods of the Euphorbia species are poisonous in some
degree. Many will cause severe bouts of hay fever (Kiaat, Sneezewood) or
coughing (Iroko). Breathing the smoke of smouldering Tamboti or Lebombo
Ironwood will lead to severe diarrhoea. Spalted wood is beautiful, but
every pore is filled with the spores of the fungus that caused those
lovely colours and patterns. Bogged woods such as bog oak are also a risk.
Wear your respirator if you are unsure!
All animal products should be
viewed as a potential source of illness. Never grind fresh bone. Bone
should be cooked in soapy water and bleached with peroxide or ammonia
before any grinding is done. Ivory dust is a known cause of lung
abscesses, be particularly careful with warthog tusks. Always wear a
respirator when working with ivory.
Chemicals and poisons
All chemicals should be kept in a
lockable, ventilated cupboard. If you do not have a suitable cupboard, a
shelf that is at least six foot off the ground should be used. All
containers should be marked clearly.
Wear surgical gloves and eye
protection when working with chemicals.
Never store granular chlorine
where it can encounter other chemicals, especially organic chemicals such
as alcohol and acetic acid as well as petroleum based chemicals like oil,
turpentine or gasoline.
Use chemicals in a well-ventilated
workshop or work outside.
Aqua Regia should be prepared
outside and stored outside in a place where children and animals cannot
reach it. The bottle or jar should not be closed tightly as Aqua Regia
produces a lot of gas as it cures (it can be used after 30 days or so).
This gas is highly corrosive and will tarnish all exposed metal in your
shop.
Mechanical injuries
Of all the injuries you are likely
to sustain in a knifemaking workshop, the most common will be mechanical
injuries: cuts, scratches and abrasions.
Dealing with cuts:
Stop the bleeding by applying
pressure to the site of the cut. If this does not work, apply pressure to
a pressure point higher up on the limb. These points are all the places
where you can feel a pulse: on the wrist, in the crook of your elbow,
under the arm. A first aid guide will have a full listing of pressure
points.
Warning:
If you apply a tourniquet, remember to release it every
fifteen minutes, failure to do this will lead to the tissue below the
tourniquet dying from a lack of blood and oxygen, the result being
gangrene and amputation.
Noise
Most knifemaking operations do not pose a hearing
hazard. My personal guide is: "If it irritates me, I wear a hearing
protector". I have an aversion to loud noise, and some sounds, for
example, the buzz of an orbital sander drives me nuts. If noise does not
make you uncomfortable, so be it. But wear those protectors, because you
do not want your grandchildren to shout at you!
Other tips:
Keep a list of emergency numbers
close to your telephone.
You should have fast and easy
access to the earth leakage or power cut-off switch on your electrical
distribution board. See Workshop
layout & planning
You should have fast and easy
access to a fire extinguisher.
Know your neighbours. Should you
have an accident they will be your first line of defence.
Be prepared. Your local fire
station will be able to advise you on where you can attend a first aid
course. The Red Cross and various ambulance services also present evening
classes in larger towns.
Wear your eye protection!
