Pipe Tool Eye Hazard

[mso489]

My wife calls me the Safety Officer, which is a polite way of saying I am sometimes a nervous Nelly,

so take that under advisement. But I have always found the classic Czech pipe tool, which I love

dearly for it usefulness and simple design, as something of an eye hazard. The problem isn't with

the tamper or scoop, both of which are useful and harmless, but with the little straight poker/awl

thing. If you unfold this inadvertently or intentionally, and are working on a pipe that is in your

mouth, and you aren't wearing glasses, your eyes are within range of a nasty jab. I know this sounds

silly, like what kind of an uncoordinated doofus is this? But pipe smokers, myself included, often

smoke while doing one or two other things at the same time, like work at the computer, cook,

polish another pipe, read, etc. As a result, I've taken to mostly using a pipe nail, with no straight

awl feature, just the tamper and scoop, and using the Czech pipe tool only with the pipe out of my

mouth. Okay, the Safety Officer (Nervous Nelly) has spoken. Watch your eyes.

 

[dervis]

I decided one day to stop shoving things into my eyes, one of the best decisions I ever made.
Joking aside I can see what you are saying, and now that I made fun of it I am positive I will do this to myself within a week.

 

[numbersix]

I decided one day to stop shoving things into my eyes, one of the best decisions I ever made.

lol!
mso - good reminder, holding a sharp object in a pipe hand can lead to dire consequences if one is not paying attention.

 

[mso489]

dervis, I warned you I was having an anxiety attack, but I think preserving eyesight is a good thing.

Friend lost one of his eyes to someone else's fishing hook; I think he was in his teens, but it hasn't

kept him from buying and riding his Harley in retirement. Have another friend who is blind from

birth but hikes in the mountains, walks around Manhattan with those open trapdoor basement steps

they have -- but he's just superhuman in his way. As you age, the old geezer said, it helps to retain

both eyes since you lose some acuity in them. I still say, that little poker gizmo is a hazard. Good

health and good eyesight!

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I decided one day to stop shoving things into my eyes, one of the best decisions I ever made.

This killed me, lol

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Roth is pretty clumsy too and I understand he wears the shield below when he smokes:

 

[mso489]

The mask is good for tobacco smoke immersion too. Talk about inhale!

 

[jndyer]

Seems like overkill but pipe smoking is about relaxing. Smoke what you like in a way that allows you to relax. Of course, remember that the guy, me, who is saying this is overkill is also the guy who jokes that I need to write a book call What I Should Have Done: Tales From a do First Think Second Man

 

[latbomber]

Dont forget that if you use the poker tool in the burning tobacco it will not only be sharp but also HOT! :O Its best to wear a nomex fire suit have an extinguisher right beside you at all times.

 

[taerin]

Don't forget that when dumping out your tobacco at the end of a bowl, you should not hold it upside down, over your head, as you might put out an eye from the falling burning embers!
All kidding aside, I don't think it's possible to injure yourself in this way because if you hold the tool in your hand (from the middle) close it, and make a fist, the awl part is only 2 inches long, it would require you to put your hand so close to your eye that I could not imagine it being done by acident. You did give me a good laugh and I appreciate it The safety officer thing is a hoot, I'm gonna have to follow your posts more often.

 

[ssjones]

I think you are over thinking this. Over time, a pipe smoker actually has a finely attuned hand-to-eye coordination from years of sticking a pipe stem in his mouth and the lighting process (ok, some are cross-eyed). So we are in no danger of any type of accident. So I advocate, smoke a pipe and improve your eyesight.
I use a simple Brebbia pipe tool and keep it stored in the stem of my glasses. This means I'm frequently spotted at Lowes, grocery store, etc with ash marks on my right cheek and a pipe tool stuck on my glasses where I'd forgotten it was there......

 

[pipeastronomer]

Huh....when I smoke I always make sure I wear my goggles as well as my cup so when my wife sees me with the new pipe purchase I am fully protected..

 

[allan]

Pipeastronomer
That's funny!

 

[mso489]

Where do I get the fire suit? Just kidding.

 

[rigmedic1]

A reason not to switch to contacts...

 

[locopony]

I use my chech tool in my second job as an eye poker. Some times a double naught spy has use the guise of adjusting the embers in his foes pipe as a means of getting close enough to nab him. So with that a quick poke to the eye incapacitates the now victim of a clever and devious plot, and renders him captured.

 

[mso489]

This reminds me of the villain (Jud) in the musical Oklahoma who has the novelty viewer that pokes

the viewer in the eye with an ice pick. Pretty dark stuff for a fancy dancy musical, I'd say.

rigmedic1, the staff at the shooting range always accept eye glasses as safety glasses for

shooting purposes. No contact lenses here.

 

[philip]

But pipe smokers, myself included, often smoke while doing one or two other things at the same time...

Pipe tools aren't dangerous.
Multitasking, on the other hand, is a killer.

 

[lordnoble]

The real solution to this problem is to just smoke pipes with longer stems. You'll never have this concern with a churchwarden or a Savinelli Bing.
-Jason

 

[kcvet67]

Now you've done it! Michael Bloomberg is proposing a ban on the sale and use of ALL pipe tools in New York City.