Sharp Things Are Dangerous — Dispose Of Them Properly!
By Eric Dykstra
Though handy to have around the shop, disposable blades present a danger long after they’re useful. If you’ve ever found out the hard way that someone tossed out a used razor blade, you know what I mean. Instead of tossing sharps out in the normal trash, you can store ‘em safely in OLFA’s DC-4 Blade Safety Case until they can be properly disposed of.
You open the DC-4’s blade slot by pressing down on the case. After you’ve placed or snapped off a blade in the slot, the slot closes automatically, so you can keep the case in a pocket or toolbox without fear of loose blades. When it’s time to dispose of the blades, you just separate the two halves of the case by removing a single screw. Street pricing is about $5.
DC-4 Blade Disposal Case [OLFA]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
February 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I just use old prescription bottles. The child proof caps prevent them from accidentally opening — or from curious little hands.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I fold a bit of tape over the whole thing, and that seems to work pretty well.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Seems like a good use for an empty Altoids tin, and maybe some safety orange spray paint.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I’m with Benjamen on the prescription bottles. In most places they can’t be recycled because of the possibility of added chemicals to the water supply. I just make sure I color the bottle with a shot of fluorescent paint and keep them away from the medicines “in use”. Oh… I’ll add this must be the good thing about getting older; more prescriptions, more empty bottles.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
If you go through blades so fast that you have a need to store the used ones, simply keeping the old 5/25/50/100/200 pack plastic blade dispenser they come in works great. They make these for all types of blades, so putting the used ones in a dispenser lets you just mark it with a sharpie as “old”, then throw it in a can, or even the garbage.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:31 am
I store used blades in a clear 2L pop bottle. I cut a 1″ slot in the bottle near the top to drop the blades in. And then I screwed right thru the bottle and into the wall next to my first aid kit with a couple wood screws. I figure by the time I get the bottle filled up my kids can just pull it off the wall and then remove the screws.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I would make one of the user recommended canisters before I bought this doohickey. I do not go through blades very quickly so I either throw the blade directly into the dumpster or I hammer and embed it completely into a truss or scrap peice of lumber I know for a fact is not going to get sawn or nailed.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 am
If you guys are going through blades pretty quickly, I’d be curious to know whether you’re using American-made blades from American steel or cheapo imports? I ask because I just switched to American-made blades (Master Mechanic brand) in my shop, because all my people were going through blades quicker than I wanted to pay to buy more. We’ll see if it makes a difference.