I grew up with one parent totally blind, from childhood. It was only when I started school that I discovered that more folks weren't blind. Until then, I thought that some people could see and some couldn't and that was the normal state of affairs. It has made me very aware of my own vision. Safety glasses have been on my list even before I enlisted.
When I started wearing prescription safety glasses in the steel mill, one pair of bifocals became very dear to me. They got "welding spatter" on them and I continued to use them until they were no longer strong enough. There was the normal "bifocal" setup where distance was on top and reading below. Along the very top edge was also a sliver of the reading lens. It was for reading when I was lying on my back under a control panel. I had a narrow vertical field of clear vision for reading wire numbers. Since leaving the mill, I have tried to have them replaced with my stronger prescription. To no avail; the grinders persist in putting the entire reading lens on top, effectively making them useless. Eventually I gave up and found what would work.
I generally wear my street glasses while working. The "safety" glasses tend to be excessively heavy. I have a narrow nose, some would call it "sharp". In hot environments, the glasses are constantly sliding down my nose from sweat. A "torch goggle" serves quite well with a clear lens. Not the sort where a separate shield is over each eye. They are a large rectangular shape with a 2x4 inch lens. They fit over my street glasses and although heavy, are wide enough to stay in place.
A welding hood is self explanatory, the torch goggles are often worn in place of a hood for casual use of a welder. Just a darker lens for welding. I had "blue" glasses on my hard hat, for working around the electric furnaces. I've found the torch goggles with a welding lens to be more effective there. The side and bottom shields are far better than the typical side shields on safety glasses. Under OSHA regulations, a piece of plastic slid unto the ear pieces is all that they require. When some office dweeb comes out on the mill floor, that is often what they wear. They meet OSHA standards, but that's all. Around hot metal, such a shield will melt off in a couple of days. Hot metal spatters are more like welding than grinding. The hot metal will often bounce off what it first hits. The underside needs protection just like the sides.
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