safety equipment

[Dan S]

He there,
I 'm taking a break from carving and waiting for the bleeding to stop... Just thought I would mention to the newer carvers that even good safety equipment doesn't help a lot if you do something dumb. On the brighter side if I hadn't been wearing a thumb gaurd i would be waiting for stitches at the local quick care.Head Bange
Has anyone seen a really good thumb gaurd that holds up better than the average ones. Mine has a big hole in it and I'm less than impressed with it's durability.

Dan

[xsailer]

What kind of guard were you using?
I use the secretaries rubber tip wrapped with carvers tape. It's comfortable, so far safe and it sticky enough that it stays on snug.

Really a bummer getting cut, sorry.

[Buckskin]

I use the leather ones from SMWK. So far, so good.

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

This isn't going to help now, but if you hold your thumb below the path of the knife, the blade never touches your thumb. I know everybody like to stop the blade with their thumb, but ........

[TreeWizard]

I like the fingers cut out of an old leather work glove.

[Just Carving]

Don't use a thumb guard--I try to keep me from being in the path of a carving tool. Sooner or later, whether it be the kevlar glove or a thumb guard or vet wrap or whatever, the tool is going to find a way to bite ya! So, ya best be watching what yer doing. Seriously, I find that wearing the glove--which I do wear when carving--gives me a false sense of security and eventually, I get nicked which is better than getting sliced but nonetheless, I don't want any cuts.

Hope you heal up quick!

Bob

[Eddy-Smiles]

Dan...

Is this the thumb guard that you were wearing? We had a post on this a couple of weeks ago and the consensus was that most of the guys either reinforced it with safety or duct tape or they glued an extra layer of leather on it where the knife hits. I use safety tape and replace the tape on a weekly basis. By shaping and molding the tape around the base it keeps it from shifting on my thumb.

[Claude]

I have one similar to the one Eddy shows. The elastic part stretches out too much, so I put it on my thumb and wrap 5 or 6 turns of a half-wide strip of duct tape around it. About once every three or four months, I peel off what's left of the duct tape and put a new layer on.

Claude

[BrandantR]

I cut the thumb out of an old carving glove and stitched the frayed edges to keep it from unraveling. It's comfortable, breaths, and a great new use for warn out equipment.

[Dan S]

The one I used is the same as in the photo. I was using it as a stop for a little bitty part. I'll post a photo when I am done painting it. I use the extra leather I have some in the shop. The cut is really not all that bad, I've done far worse I'm just mad that I did something that dumb. I know better.
Oh well, Johnson & Johnson need my money as well.

Dan