[Kenny_S]

Wearing leather glove should help in eliminating the dust. Good point Arnold. Seen some at an Attwoods that had rubber donts on the palm amd fingers.

[snickerbocker]

Arnold,
Phil and I were just talking about that, this is really a drag. I guess a mask which I wear anyway but gloves to sharpen too. Phil offered to sharpen for me but I would rather do it myself.

[mark yundt]

The tape might be a good idea,,would hate to see you stop carving. One other thing you might try is liquid rubber. It is sold in many hardware stores to dip handles of tools into to give them a rubber grip,,just like on pliers and wire cutters . You might try dipping the shafts into it,,let it dry and just trim off the very end leaving you a completly insulated tool. Could be worth considering.

[Baldy]

Vicki:
I too had the problem with dermititus and hands that would dry to the point that they would crack and bleed. I tried everything the doctor could think of and even included Bag Balm which is used for cows with sore teets from milking. Some one handed me a tube of AVON Moisture Therapy and in a very short time had almost eliminated the problem. This would not do anything for the allergy but might aleviate the discomfort.
Dick

[snickerbocker]

Mark and Dick,
We found some silicone tape and Bart is sending me some heat shrink stuff, so we are going to try that and Dick I grew up on a dairy so bag balm was one of the first things I used to no avail. The steroid stuff the doctor prescribed is working and now I have to wait until it heals to carve again. Most over the counter creams I have tried do not work on this. Thank you both for your input, it is appreciated.