Safe Blades, Safer Hands
Safe Blades, Safer Hands
Driving between jobs one morning, I found myself thinking about something most people never give a second thought to — how we dispose of our blades. Growing up with a nurse for a mother, I spent enough time around hospitals to notice one thing: they always had a sharps container. Every used needle, every open blade went into it. It was second nature to them, but out here in the trades, it’s not something we talk about much.
See, a lot of guys will toss their blades straight into the trash. Used, unused — doesn’t matter. But that’s dangerous, not just for us, but for anyone who handles that bag later. Imagine a blade cutting through the liner, catching someone on the arm or hand. One careless habit can hurt someone who never saw it coming.
For years, I’d wedge my dull blades into a piece of cardboard. You know, the corrugated kind that looks like a sandwich of layers? I’d just slide the blade right in between the ‘slices.’ It worked, sort of. But one day I realized it wasn’t enough. Blades can shift. Boxes get moved. And cardboard doesn’t last forever.
That’s when I borrowed an idea from the medical field — containment. I started using a small drywall putty container with a red lid. Solid, compact, and puncture-proof. I cut a slit in the top just wide enough for the blade to drop in vertically. Now every dull or damaged blade has a safe home right in my tool bag.
It’s a small change, but it made a big difference. No more wondering where that last blade went. No more near misses reaching into a pouch I ‘swore I’d remember’ had one sitting in it. And most importantly, it protects the people and equipment that come after me. Because safety doesn’t end when the job does.
When it comes to habits like this, accessibility matters. If it’s easy to do, you’ll actually do it. So, I keep my little red container tucked at the bottom of my tool bag — out of the way, but easy to reach. It’s one of those things that once you start, you’ll never go back. Safe blades, safer hands — it’s that simple.
