Gear Safety

Contents Safety & Quality Guide
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Tool Use

Tools can cause on-the-job injuries to both staff and students. Fortunately, OSHA has a fantastic set of standards for most tools. We always begin by following their standards. For more specifics, refer to the Woodcarving and Splitting section on page 65.

Tools can be used frequently in skills and craft-based programs. But there are other tools like paper laminators, coffee makers or ladders that we often use without thinking of safety. Remember, no tool is inherently safe.

About Tool Use

Wood and metal shops likely contain the greatest number of tools that can cause injury. Follow these steps to ensure anyone using tools is competent.

• Read and follow all OSHA rules and your specific shop safety standards.
• If OSHA has rules for it (especially power tools), print, laminate and post them near equipment.
• Get written permission from your Coordinator to use tools and tool shops. They should set a timeframe.
• Only use the tools they approve you for.
• Permission is revocable at any time.

New Tools

Teachers may bring in new tools for which the organization may not have an established policy. Before the tool is used, begin with OSHA regulations and follow steps above for Tool Use.

• Develop a safety policy for the tool before use. Send policy to Coordinator for review. Only use the tool once the safety policy is approved.
• Do not allow students or any unapproved staff to use the tool until your Coordinator approves it.

Blades: Wood Carving & Splitting

In outdoor programs, students often use woodcarving knives. It is an important part of skill-based learning. With proper monitoring and guidance you can avoid students cutting themselves. Cuts most often occur when staff get overly focused on one student and do not follow the “Stand and Scan” rule:

STAND & SCAN

When monitoring any craft, especially knives, it is important to be vigilant, like an onduty lifeguard— constantly watching and never taking your eyes off the group and the surroundings. If one student needs help or is doing something wrong, stop the entire group and demonstrate to everyone.

Prerequisites for Participants

• Age appropriate for dexterity.
• For inexperienced carvers, we recommend they be 6-years or older to begin carving.
• Younger is possible with experience and safer tools, such as a bone knife on soft wood.
• Participant must be able to follow directions.
• If a participant brings their own knife to camp, the teacher must examine it for safety and approve its use. When in doubt, ask a Coordinator.
• Discuss with students when it’s okay to bring your knife out.

Staff Qualification

All staff must complete Knife Safety Certification Instruction Level 1 in order to teach a carving class. Only teach the cuts you are certified to teach. See youth carving book “Trackers Earth Guide to Knives and Woodcarving” for additional instruction on woodcarving technique.

Material Selection for Safety

Softer, greener woods are often easier for beginners and younger kids. Choose wood relatively free of knots and branches, and with a straight grain (we recognize it is not always possible to use the perfect wood). This is an important safety issue, especially for beginning carvers. When students get frustrated working with knotty wood, they are more prone to break safety rules and risk getting hurt. Injuries occur when people attempt to aggressively remove knots.

Sustainable Harvesting

When collecting materials, consider safety and the environment. As you harvest branches or saplings do not leave anything that sticks out. Cuts that are not flush to the main stem risk impaling others and look like an ugly scar. Fade any sign of your harvest. Consider how your actions affect the long-term health of the area. Are you taking resources essential to wildlife? Is your impact too invasive? Always make your harvest healthy and helpful.

8 Blades of Knife Safety

Below are essential guidelines for knife safety and care. To facilitate learning them, they are organized by compass direction. Let participants know these guidelines ahead of time. Students who do not follow them should have their knives confiscated.

EAST: Pay Attention Stay alert. Injuries happen when you stop Paying Attention.

SOUTH: Guard Outer Blood Circle Imagine a circle as wide as you can reach in every direction with your sheathed blade. Don’t let anyone step into your Outer Blood Circle. If they do, stop and sheath your blade if necessary.

WEST: Use the Force More force in a cut often leads to less control. The less control, the greater the risk of injury.

NORTH: Guard Inner Blood Circle Imagine any potential path of the blade, keeping your own body, hands, and fingers out of the way of any cut.

SOUTHEAST: Stay Sharp A dull knife is a dangerous knife, requiring more force and potentially losing control. Keep all blades sharp.

SOUTHWEST: Harvest Thoughtfully Choose wood that closely resembles your finished project. Wood that is straight and free of knots requires less effort to carve.

NORTHWEST: Practice Blade Discipline Keep it clean and sheath it when not in use. If you must set down a live (unsheathed) blade, treat it like it could cut at any moment—maintain both Inner and Outer Blood Circles. Sheath or close your knife when not in use. Avoid leaving it on the ground. Students may only unsheath and use knives with teacher permission.

NORTHEAST: Protect the Village Do not show off your blade. Use it only as a tool. Threats or jokes with a blade should not be tolerated. Know when carrying and using a knife is appropriate.

No Thumb Dies

• Beginners often make the mistake of extending their thumb or fingers to brace the wood while holding it. This can lead to carving off the tips of their digits. Follow these steps to stay safe:
• Hold the wood with a Fist Grip by wrapping your thumb over the top part of your fingers.
• Don’t tilt your wood hand knuckles. Keep them at right angles to the wood.
• Encourage breaks and stretching.

Sheathing & Unsheathing

One the most frequent carving injuries occurs when kids take their blade out of its cover (unsheathing) or put it back in (sheathing). Follow these steps to stay safe:

• Always hold the sheath near the end, not at the top where the blade comes out. Keep your hand away from the top of the sheath where the knife exits.
• Use your fingertips to pinch the flat part. Don’t wrap your hand around the edge of the sheath. This anticipates any flaws in a sheath where the knife could cut through.

Knife Maintenance

• Never put away a dirty blade.
• Store knives out of reach of students.
• Check knives and sheathes for damage daily/every day they are used.
• Keep knives sharp. All staff must be trained on how to sharpen with basic knife-sharpening tools or certified to teach it.
• After sharpening blades, students must wash hands to clean off any small bits of metal.

Knives, Axes, Hatchets & Other Tools For Splitting Wood

Students and staff lacking Coordinator approval should only split wood with knives and a baton after they have been shown the proper technique by an approved staff member. Students or staff lacking approval shall not bring or use any of the following tools unless they get written permission from the Coordinator:

• Axes & hatchets (acceptable only in specialized programs with Coordinator approval).
• Hatchets (throwing hatchets are acceptable only with approved staff and only for target training).
• Machetes, mauls, swords, or any large chopping blade (e.g. kukri).
• Oversized knives. Knives longer than four inches can be classified as a weapon. Local laws may differ.

Blades: Food Prep

It is easy to think of food preparation as less risky than woodcarving, yet the most serious knife wounds often happen in kitchens. Staff and students may feel overly confident in a food prep activity, leading to not Paying Attention. When using knives in the kitchen, you should follow the same safety policies as for woodcarving.

Staff Qualification

All staff must have a current food handler’s card when overseeing kitchen activities.

Safety Tips

When cutting:

• Use proper finger position on the food (a “claw” with curved fingers keeps digits out of harm’s way.)
• Use a smooth chopping motion.
• Stand in an upright posture.
• Gauge experience and comfort level carefully. For less experienced students, use a smaller staff-to-student ratio—1:2 or 1:3 ratio is appropriate.
• Choose your food thoughtfully. For example, a thick carrot may be easy for an adult to cut, but can be difficult and even dangerous for an inexperienced 6-year-old. Start with something simple like fruit or green beans.
• When staging at a table for food prep, consider putting all students on one side and stand on the opposite side to maintain the Stand and Scan position.
• If a child seems hesitant, offer one-on-one guidance. As with wood carving, if your attention goes to one student, ask the others to put down their knives and watch.
• Maintain a safe distance between each student handling a knife. Instruct students not to reach across someone else’s cutting area.
• Older students can be given slightly more freedom, but Pay Attention. Even adults make mistakes with kitchen knives and can seriously injure themselves. Watch out for students rushing, not focusing on their work, or using improper form.
• Avoid staging food prep near hot liquids or other hazards.
• Follow all local sanitation standards.

Propane & Stoves

We cook many camp meals on propane stoves. The stove is a potentially explosive tool and you should be proficient in its use.

Stove Set-up & Use

Inspect the propane cylinder and all gas lines for leaks before using them for the first time each season, and on a regular basis. This can be accomplished with a simple “bubble” test:

Apply thick soapy water to the connection(s) between the cylinder valve and the regulator outlet. Slowly open the cylinder valve and watch for bubbles. If bubbles appear, close the cylinder valve, tighten the connection, and repeat the process. If bubbles still appear, call your propane retailer immediately.

• Only trained and approved staff should set up and handle propane stoves.
• Make certain the propane tank valve is shut off completely before connecting to stove line.
• Check that all stove burners are turned off before opening propane valve.
• Turn valve off when finished cooking.
• Store propane stove in location that is outdoors and out of reach of participants. Transporting Propane & Stoves
• Transport and store cylinders in a secure and upright position so they will not fall, shift, or roll. Milk crates are good for this.
• Close the cylinder valve and, if required, seal with a plug, even if the cylinder is empty.
• Ask your propane retailer if a plug is required.
• Never keep a filled cylinder inside a hot vehicle (boom!).
• Place the cylinder in a well-ventilated area of the vehicle.
• Proceed directly to your destination and immediately remove the cylinder from your vehicle.

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