Safety Glasses

What do you guys use for safety glasses? I’m so sick of having ones that are scratched to he** after what seems like a week of using them.

After work today I ran out and was grinding off some fence post ties and none of the about 8 pairs of glasses in my garage or truck were in decent shape. I’ve long been running on free ones from contractor trainings at the lumberyard (my second job), or random ones I acquire along the way. I’d be more than willing to spend on some that don’t scratch so fast and take a beating.

Side note and PSA, I never used to wear them. Now I wear them mowing grass, brush, ditches, any type of grinding or sawing, or working on things in dusty areas. 2 years ago a close family friend of ours was on a brand new mower with all guards in place in the middle of his lawn with no gravel on the property, and somehow a small pea sized rock hit his eye off something and he’s now blind in one eye forever. I was doing far dumber things without them every day without thinking twice until this happened. He literally had to relearn to drive, play simple catch, shoot his bow and guns, read differently, etc in his early 40s.

Following. I’m right there with ya having a pile of them scratched to hell. I also experienced a freak accident when I was younger from a lawn mower rock incident and nearly lost my eye.

Best ones at big box stores still fog up on me, which is my biggest beef.

I usually opt out for the all clear ones, #1 they’re cheap and replaceable, #2 they make me feel as if I’m Dennis Rafkin from the 2000s banger 13 Ghosts.

I go to the rack of shooting glasses at Fleet Farm. Usually when the Igoggs are 20% off, which is a few times a year. I feel like those last longer and are more comfortable.

First off, thanks for the post. I am safety director at large company and will share your experience as a learning tool. Struggle to get staff to utilize the provided eye protection. Safety glasses as a rule are fairly cheap items and nothing will be scratch “proof”. Even scratch resistant will fail. The biggest enemy is dust. Glasses sit on shelves when not used and most, myself included and being an eyeglass wearer for 40 years, I used to just wipe with cloth or t shirt when they are dirty/dusty. Bad move. Run water over them and wipe dry with eyeglass cleaning cloths. This is the only way to prevent buildup of thin scratches. Also, you get what you pay for, buy the more expensive ones you can find, make sure they are ansi z87+ (labeled on the inside of the bow) for added protection. Most manufacturers are going the z87 or z87+ way anyway.

On a side note, be sure to wear a face shield as well when using angle or bench grinders. Extremely dangerous operations and again, a struggle to get our staff to wear these as well. They have the mindset, “It will never happen to me”…….until it does. Then it’s too late and you can’t undo the permenent damage that you have done.

Thanks for sharing your story.

What Curt said plus.
Never clean your safety glasses wit window cleaner. Window cleaner has ammonia in it, not much but a lttle,, it will etch plastic.
Glass glasses are more scratch resistant, but weight more and are expensive.
Get a glasses case for when you aren’t wearing them, they always seem to roll over stopping on the lense.

I like these for work. Fog resistant inside and out and scratch resistant.

Beware, these with the fog resistant coating can be much less scratch resistant though. They have a ton of models and different fog/scratch resistant coatings.

https://www.hexarmor.com/products/vs250?sku=11-15001-04

Nemesis. I wear the tinted ones everyday as sunglasses

I wish when I was younger I would have made a better effort with PPE, especially gloves.

Glass lens are WAY more scratch resistant. Disposable plastic glasses/goggles are lighter and adequate for light debris and defense against spray paint, etc. but buy several and view them as throw aways.

NEVER use paper towels or tissues to wipe any lens – it will scratch the lens. Like has been said, clean them under water and add a drop of dish soap if they’re greasy then wipe with a cloth.

Get different glasses for different uses. Wrap-around polycarb sunglasses are fine for mowing, but get dedicated safety glasses for grinding, using wire brush wheels, and drilling, etc. Sparks and broken wheels from grinding, wire that sheds from wire wheels, and drill chips or broken drill bits all can make for a very bad day…

I get prescription safety glasses from Sam’s optical dept.

Here’s 2 examples of how quickly unexpected things can happen.

A fellow that I know was putting the cover back on his boat in about 1999 and while stretching one of the tie down bungie cords, one of the hook ends broke and the cord snapped back right into his eye. It hit him so hard he lost the vision in that eye.

About 5 years ago a guy I know had an accident with a gallon jug of rather strong HCL acid. He was wearing safety glasses (instead of goggles) and a face shield, along with an apron & gloves. Anyway, the jug slipped out of his hand. When the jug hit the floor, the conical shape of the top of the jug acted like a super soaker and shot a stream of acid up under his face shield. It got in his eyes nose and mouth. He felt his way to a nearby emergency eyewash station and called on his work radio for help. On the way to the hospital he started having difficulty breathing, so the ambulance crew had to sedate and intubate him. The level 1 trauma center hospital had him transported 100 miles to the largest hospital in the state. He spent about 2 months in the hospital. Thankfully he has fully recovered without any lasting damage and is back at work.