The number ONE workshop hazard and it's NOT your buffing machine!

Out of all the dangers that knife makers face every day, there's one that stands out and we will be talking about it today in more detail!
Many knife makers feel that Carbon Monoxide Poisoning is one of the things we try and ignore, maybe because it's tasteless, odourless and colourless?
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[@UKBladeshow]

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[@mattholzmer3741]

Remember that carbon monoxide is heavier than air. Put at least one lower in the room ,perhaps at knee level, to give yourself even more warning and time to escape/remove the hazard. I love the thought of the interconnected detectors 3 pack! Put one on the ceiling, one at knee level, the last one at eye level in your shop so you can look at the eye level unit to tell you which issue you have.

[@UKBladeshow]

Thanks for the comment and suggestions Matt!

[@shaungreen679]

there's another danger thats often over looked and that is my own stupidity

[@UKBladeshow]

Hahaha! Can’t be as bad as me mate!

[@realbroggo]

I was a workplace health & safety advisor for a few years. I use the 'stupid man' test all the time to assess systems & processes. What would the most absent minded fool do .....

[@johnh8615]

As a long time boilermaker welder there are many workshop hazards. You must never stop and thinking about the hazards and likelihood of what could go wrong and then think about all the options you have to do to make the job safe. A solution for all unsafe possibilities.

[@UKBladeshow]

Great way to prevent hazards! Thanks John!

[@realbroggo]

100%. It's important to be able to go home at the end of the day.

[@andyc750]

some good, valid points in there, fortunately something I don't need to worry about as my forge has to be outside as my back garden and shed are tiny, guess that is one of the few plus points it has lol, having said that were I forging inside I would without a doubt fit one, far better safe than sorry, another useful one is have a fire extinguisher handy as firs is a major hazard

[@UKBladeshow]

Thanks for the fire extinguisher tip Andy! Again, probably another form of protection that manny of us are guilty of not having. Thanks!

[@WessexBladesHandMadeKnives]

I used to use my old (homemade charcoal ) forge outside, safer, but at 1am the neighbours were not so keen...

[@geraldandre7009]

Thanks for reminding! CO poisoning even a tiny non severe one is no fun.

[@krissteel4074]

I've never been keen about forging indoors either, or at least in my case I put the gas forge outside the shed door and its just an arms reach to bring it to the anvil. Basically I've also given up letting friends/family/pets into a knife making workshop, everything is either- sharp, pointy. extremely hot, on fire, acidic, dusty, heavy, noisy, or spinning around. Sometimes 2 of those combinations together, so its just not worth it.

[@UKBladeshow]

Thanks for the comment and feedback guys!

[@jasoncampbell6222]

Great awareness video, nice to see that the channel isn't just about the building process but the lesser discussed topics, greetings from Yorkshire.

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi again Jason! Nice to hear from you again bud. Thanks for the compliment! If you have any other topics that you feel is worth discussing, please let me know and I’ll do my best to tackle it!

[@realbroggo]

Great video. Properly installed detectors are a must!! I also strongly recommend reading up on the symptoms of CO poisoning. The problem with CO poisoning is unlike most conditions that make you feel 'bad' (eg. nausea, headaches, wheezing, etc...) so you know something is wrong; CO poisoning can create numbing & euphoria which often delay you realising something's wrong. Even mild CO poisoning can cause brain etc... damage so it's a must to take seriously and seek medical help even for mild exposure.

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi David. Thanks for highlighting the dangers of CO and I appreciate the point you made that “properly installed” CO detectors. Thanks again David!

[@beggsforgeworks]

HSE declared that 20ppm over eight hours as the maximum exposure levels so if you are forging the whole day, maybe set it to that if you would like to be compliant 👌

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi buddy thanks for sharing that! I appreciate the comment!

[@realbroggo]

Really good point. Most governments have a health & safety regulator who can provide great advice - usually for free. The only comment I'll make is that monitoring exposure for any toxin can be difficult and usually requires specialised equipment. For example it's impossible to measure 20ppm without equipment. However, if this is your everyday job then it's cheaper than death or brain damage. Have a great day.

[@keithcolby4378]

With so many different types of fine dust from metal to synthetic handle materials, I would be curious to know how these would hold up over time in a knife makers shop.

[@UKBladeshow]

Great question. I did put one up in the workshop I play around with. I'll let you know if it dies :D Cheers Keith!

[@kidkv]

Always keep your cooking knifes sharp, and other knifes. Always cut away from you. I know it's not co2 but it's a great safety tip.

[@UKBladeshow]

Thanks!

[@musikjunx]

I have a small and not so well ventilated workshop. I bought myself a used stage fan for a few bucks. Basically a big ventilator with more power than the usual ones. When working with the gas forge I let it run under the ceiling directed to an open window. I have at least a second window or door opened which creates an airflow in the workshop. Plus I wear a respirator.

[@UKBladeshow]

Cheers Honkytonk for the comment and well done for keeping yourself safe!

[@lasersailor184]

I don't think that a respirator will save you from CO. It's not a large pollutant to filter out, but an air molecule similar in size to O2.

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi! Thanks for the comment but certain respirators can protect from CO according to my research. It should never be used as a permanent protection against CO but if you had no choice (ie there was already CO in the air and you had to go in the enclosed room still to perhaps open the window or something). This was one of my sources: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/517443/ I hope that helps!

[@lasersailor184]

@@UKBladeshow Without being able to read the article, I'm pretty sure they are talking about respirators + oxygen tanks for firemen in a fire. There are CO masks, but they seem to be emergency equipment only, meant to get you through the exposure, but not stay there and deal with it.

[@realbroggo]

@@UKBladeshow 100%. Respirators for CO do exist. However, they don't 'filter' like a sieve based on particle size. They act like mini air scrubbers with compounds to attract/trap/react with CO molecules. Always get ones that comply with your local standards authority so you know that they will work (in Australia where I live it's 'Standards Australia'). Have a great day.

[@GemAppleTom]

Carbon monoxide is probably the most effective gas to do post-oxidation (to get that lovely matte dark grey look and also improve corrosion resistance). But nowhere I know uses it because… it’s bloody carbon monoxide. CO2 or steam is used because it’s so much safer. You also need to be careful about inert gases. They can collect in basements and push out oxygen. Argon can kill really fast. You can go from awake and active to unconscious and dying in literally seconds. An O2 monitor isn’t a bad call either if you’ve got gas tanks with N2 or Ar around.

[@UKBladeshow]

I didn’t know you could use CO for post-oxidation but it does make sense. It also makes sense why no one would use it hahaha Cheers Tom!

[@GemAppleTom]

@@UKBladeshow It’s a more efficient reaction splitting CO to deliver the Oxygen than splitting an O2, CO2 or H2O but it uses a dangerous gas. Pure oxygen is problematic because things can go BOOM. CO2 just about works but it’s slow. H2O (in the form of steam) works but there a fine line between not enough to make a difference and way too much and a rusty furnace. Just air works too but isn’t very controllable. It’s probably not all that relevant to blade making. It’s good for low alloy steels in general but no point for stainless. You’d need to remove the oxide (specifically magnetite, if memory serves…) to sharpen the edge so you’d lose the protection just where corrosion is most likely. It might make for a pretty blade with the dark grey contracting with the shiny edge, though.

[@RobanyBigjobz]

Huh. I thought you were going to say the buffer as they can grab and fling a knife across the room, through you if unlucky.

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi Rob. Another massive hazard for sure thanks for bringing that up mate. Buffers can be scary too. I have lots of experience in the polishing trade (midlands polishers, and chrome polishers etc) and I know that the biggest life saver is a wheel guard. I hope that helps!

[@willardjames2685]

Nice

[@UKBladeshow]

Thanks Willard!

[@DogsaladSalad]

Would have been nice to know that I was watching a long winded ad before several minutes had passed.

[@UKBladeshow]

Hi dogsaladsalad. Thanks for watching but that was not an ad. I was not paid to advertise or promote the product. I reached out to the company as I wanted to talk about this specific topic. Thanks for watching.

[@GemAppleTom]

@@UKBladeshow It did somewhat come across as an advert. Possibly saying you weren’t approached would have helped. It is an important topic though and fits with what you’ve been doing with the channel. (That said, I wouldn’t mind if it was an advert as long as you’re confident you were not promoting junk and you make it clear it is an ad - mentioning your sponsors is a perfectly valid way to fund the channel. We’ve all got bills to pay after all)

[@sheikyerbouty2926]

Video 'ok' until 1:25, after that it's utter BS. From that point they assume carbon dioxide is 'poisonous'!! And therefor ends up giving the bad advice which gonna make you spend a lot of money for nothing! CO2 is NOT poisonous! There is no poisoning happening. You die only of lack of oxygen, in other words asphyxiation like in drowning. No body says water is poisonous or 'he died of water poisoning'. Yet 'carbon monoxide poisoning' is the correct (confusing) way to say someone died due to CO2 asphyxiation. CO2 is NECESSARY Qoute: "The most important function of breathing is the supplying of oxygen to the body and balancing of the carbon dioxide levels. Under most conditions, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2), or concentration of carbon dioxide, controls the respiratory rate." CO2 is a trigger for respiratory process. With lack of CO2 you hyperventilate and have to breath in bag to rise the level concentration of CO2 to restore the balance. You can breath in an atmosphere of 100% oxygen, but is not recommended. Your body release enough CO2 to maintain the process. So, DON'T go for 0% CO2 as this video conveys, "you have to avoid CO2 as much as possible and buy a detector that can detect the smallest quantities." Don't buy an expensive detector, a cheap one to just give you an idea of the concentration of CO2 in the air is more than enough. And wherever you go, you always gonna have a CO2 generator, 'yourself'. CO2 is heavier than air. Because CO2 is heavier than air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen) they tend to separate with CO2 at the bottom, and that's why it's a 'sleeper killer'. This will affect your measurement and you might get the wrong conclusion. In a tight space without air movement, you want to place your detector as low as possible to get an early warning. In any other space, with air movement to prevent from CO2 to stagnate at the bottom, place your detector any where. The idea here is just mixing the CO2 with the rest of the air so it doesn't matter where we measure. In a closed room with no outside ventilation, a simple fan can do the trick for a correct measurement. Correct CO2 levels to maintain is 400-1,000 ppm. Enjoy your CO2.

[@UKBladeshow]

Fun fact. CO2 = carbon dioxide. CO is carbon monoxide. Sorry if we have wasted your time but you also wasted yours.

[@GemAppleTom]

Did you not notice that ^everyone^ else was talking about carbon monoxide? It’s in the video description, too. Even copying and pasting a prepared response would have taken longer than checking if it was even slightly relevant. >.

[@BlarglemanTheSkeptic2]

In addition to the episode being about carbon MONOXIDE, you are wrong about carbon dioxide not being toxic. At concentrations above 10% (and where there is still plenty of O2), CARBON DIOXIDE _POISONING_ can occur, leading directly to coma and death. Admittedly, this situation is very unlikely in a forge, where high levels of CO2 will be coming from having used up the O2, and it's the lack of oxygen that'll kill you first. But where CO2 is being added directly - say from dry ice, fire extinguishers, and volcanic and lake outgassing, then CO2 is DEFINITELY toxic in its own right.