Avadon Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 No gloves for me. Sure my hands have been charred, singed, stabbed and lacerated but my work suffers with gloves. Sometimes if i'm working in a larger fire forge like outside i'll use a glove on my left tong hand. But to each their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old South Creations Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I actually do a little of "all of the above". I prefer no gloves. I tend to burn my hand less often without gloves because I'm more careful and more aware of the heat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 (edited) I find that I fall into the school of thought of wearing a glove on my holding hand. I like the feel of the hammer in my bare hand. The new work gloves that are sold for working on cars and general repair do not have leather in them and they melt fast. Save hammering no glove no love.:cool: Edited March 24, 2009 by Francis Cole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 most of the time due to radiant heat and forge fleas "forge fleas"???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil shelton Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 the little red and yellow glowing fire bug flying off of forge:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avadon Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 the little red and yellow glowing fire bug flying off of forge:) They are less painful then forge ticks, which land on your skin, bite and then are fun to pick off. ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Leppo Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 glove left hand when holding short punch ONLY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayco Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I use gloves when using welders and A/O torch. I keep a pair of gloves in the blacksmith shop, but use them only as a last resort. For general forging I work bare handed. Rarely , I heat something in the forge that is too oddly shaped or heavy to be gripped with tongs.....after it has become too warm to handle barehanded, I will reluctantly use the gloves. Sometimes I wear a glove on the holding hand when punching a hole in a large piece I have noticed that when punching a hole, barehanded, it is not quite so uncomfortable to face the palm of the hand toward the hot work instead of the back of the hand. My palm is less sensitive to the heat. When I have a piece in the fire for a while and the 'holding ' end is beginning to be to hot to handle, I sprinkle water on the 'holding' end of the work. This will often cool the metal enough you can grab it comfortably..........BUT!, if the piece is larger than, say, 1/2 in. round.........the water may only cool it on the outside, allowing the heat in the middle of the iron to soak back to the outside (where your hand is)very quickly. So that is definatly something to be careful about. Worst of all, in my opinion, is to be wearing a wet glove, due to quenching or where you have been cooling metal with water........and be lulled into a false sense of security.........then you grab a piece of too hot metal with your wet glove and discover how quickly the wet glove will conduct the heat to your hand. This is both quick and painful! I've been burnt a few times.........thought I'd share... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnie Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Gloves are for sissies....Just kidding....couldn't help it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribal forge Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Depends, on which forge I am using! Gas forge, I use a heat resistant glove on my holding hand, coal, i usually don't wear a glove at all, don't wear a glove on my hammer hand as I end up with a lose of hammer control(And Blisters!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Tribal brings up an interesting point. That is blister formation when wearing gloves. I have found that when I wear gloves my hands perspire and the glove rubs on them sometimes forming blisters. Without gloves my hands stay dry and they develop that good oll' layer of hard skin. Deer skin leather gloves are my favorite when I must wear them, such as when grinding etc. My main hammer has a steel handle, I beam shaped, thin and wraped with about on inch of twine all around. It makes an oblong shape, which fits the hand rather well. The twine absorbs the moisture, and becomes loose with use, which makes it sort of shift during the swing and absorb almost all of the shock. No issues with loss of hammer control, just a loose grip, more guiding the hammer through the stroke then forcing it or holdin it tight. I can't wait to see the final tally on this poll. It is turning out to be much more interesting then I had imagined it would be, and thats saying something! Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merl Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 "Twine wrapt around the hammer handle" That is a very interesting idea Caleb, I may have to try that. Anyway, I use a lite weight leather glove, like you might use for TIG welding, on my holding hand most of the time. I never use or, I should say, carple tunnle prevents me from ever useing a glove on my hammer hand. My hammer handels are all taken on the belt sander to shape them down to fit my hand just right and prevent the pain and numbness of CT. A blacksmith mentor of mine showd me that when a hammer handle fits your hand correctly you should be able to wrap your second and third fingers around it and just be able to touch the base of your thumb without strain. If the handle feels too thick then I keep taking some off the sides untill it's right. No room for a glove in there I find too if I try to use a glove on my hammer hand I have to grip the hammer much tighter and my hand and arm get tired faster. I want to add that I always use a pair of clip on sunglasses of my safety glasses for looking into the fire, and just quickly flip them up out of the way when not needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Y Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Being right handed, I wear a glove on my left hand for holding iron/tongs when forging. My wife works with a gentleman who lost his left arm to a PTO shaft when a small boy. He is a steady supply of left handed gloves for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Merl, A bit more about the hammer. The head is from my great-grandfathers blacksmith shop, about 3 lbs. My grandfather brazed a metal handle into the head. The metal handle had leather rings on it that were falling apart when he gaze it to me. I cut off the leather rings and had to anneal, profile and harden etc. the head back into shape. The brazing had taken the temper out of it and it was mushroomed. It is a machine type hammer. I wraped it with jute twine, although I think that hemp would work better, to 1 5/8 X 1 3/8". I use a "Hofi" type of hand grip. Thumb on side of hammer, fingers curled around and a very loose grip. The twine shifts back and forth through the swing, which I thought would ruin the accuracy, but it hasn't at all. The longer I have used it the better it feels, especially once it gets dirty. Not for everyone I am sure, but I like it. Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billp Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 OK hears the comments of a newbie. Now I'm still old school and stick weld and always use gloves when doing that. On the other hand the main book I'm using as a guide I was advised to use a glove on my holding hand. I started out without but heat and sparks from my charcoal fire helped change my mind. BUT, I did find when needing to turn and manipulate the piece I'm holding the glove is a disadvantage. I found some cheap welding leather gloves at $5.00 a pair and after a slight brake in time don't do to bad. Not sure if I would stick weld with them but working the forge do fine to a point. As my skills develop I may change my mind though I do like to be able to feel the piece I'm working on, again to a point. Bill P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makoz Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I usually wear a light leather glove, called rigger's gloves here, on my left (holding) hand only, none on my hammer hand for reason's pointed out by others. When welding I put a standard Kevlar gauntlet on my left to protect it from direct heat, and a rigger's glove on my right because I have more feel on the trigger....and don't flash myself as much! Cheers Makoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsberg Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 I don't know if this has been mentioned before but I feel I should warn others about using a kevlar glove when using something that spins with power. That is, kevlar does not tear! I know of a worker that was using a drill press and caught their glove in the bit, it broke their hand to bits! For heat resistance they are great, I always wear kevlar gloves when working with wire, they last a long time in that abrasive use, just watch out around powered spinning things! Caleb Ramsby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holzkohle Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 I usually wear a thin kevlar glove inside of the least expensive leather palm gloves I can find. Also use these when seasoning cast iron cookwear-after a while they soak up a bit of Crisco then a more rapid transfer of heat. Then new gloves. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBrann Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Heres my thoughts.... I have about 8 pairs of gloves in my shop... mostly cheap leather for grinding, polishing.. etc, 1 pair long welding gloves, forging a glove on the holding hand, usually light leather.... with big stuff a long glove... machine work heavy gloves on both, handling stock and cutting, moving a lot of stuff both, light leather forge and arc O/A welding, both... looks funny long welding gauntlets for arc, with a short sleeved shirt and apron... had along sleeved shirt sucked off me by a lathe years ago.. I refuse to wear l/sleeved shirts... also full osha gear when dealing with grinders, wire wheels, abrasive saws etc I am always amazed as to the shortening of life a wire wheel gives to leather gloves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtforge Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 No gloves when blacksmithing unless it's cold out. Then I wear insulated stretch gloves that I can still pick up small rivets and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmercier Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I tend to wear a glove just on my tong hand. Particularly because I mostly use gas forges, and the blast infront of the forge makes getting items in and out without a glove much more of a pain (sometimes literally) You'll never find me with gloves near one of my grinders or buffers or anything that spins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgarrison30 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Tech413 I need right handed gloves so maybe we could work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I now try (sometimes I forget or don't have rubber gloves) to were not only leather gloves on both hands but also commercial latex gloves under the leather gloves to keep dirt & grease off my hands. It works well to keep hands clean & soft but your hands get extremely sweaty inside the latex. Also the rubber can compound a burn if you don't get them off quick enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuk Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 never wear gloves when forging or welding, my dad was taught gloves can make you forget one day that your not wearing them when you go to pick something up. and i just sort of picked that line of thinking up too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerkid Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 It really depends on the lenght of the stock. If I do wear a gloves I only wera one on my tong or stock holding hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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