Vintage Safety Glasses

bbcc · Jan 11, 2017

About a year ago now my roommate was helping his pops clean out an old shed and he found a nice stash of safety glasses from the 70's and 80's. They were used but in pretty decent condition! He gave me a pair and I've quite seriously not had a better fitting pair on my goofy shaped face.

Now the inevitable is happening. They're wearing out :shocking:

I've been scouring the web looking for some similar pairs. There's some close misses but no perfect matches.

Let's see those cool old safety specs you have kickin around!

kansei · Jan 11, 2017

I've been an industrial safety sales rep for 18+ years, my father more than twice that. We've worked for several safety glass manufacturers over the years. Hard to believe, but that type of style was once considered popular- a real step up from the 'lab greens' direct-vent goggles and dual cup safety glasses (technically dual monocle) derived from welding goggles. Those look almost like an old pair of Willsons...possibly with the optional ribbed/vented clear side guards?

bbcc · Jan 13, 2017

That's quite the lineage in industrial safety! And I can see how the glasses became so popular over the goggles. Talk about uncomfortable.

I couldn't find any markings on this pair. Not a single one. So really I'm at a loss for identifying them. I have seen some similar pairs on Amazon that fall into the Engineer Aviator classification. Now just finding a way to get them across the snow mexican wall....

Here's a couple I found:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002ATELYU/?tag=atomicindus04-20

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0042T45YC/?tag=atomicindus04-20

Maybe I just have too firm of a grip on the nostalgia bug. Seems like everyone else just moved on to the new styles.

SweetD · Jan 13, 2017

bbcc - cool topic!

kansei - what's the deal with the model of safety glasses that split (magnetically) right in the middle at the nose? I've seen them on TV shows (that guy Mike Wolf has a pair on American Pickers for example), but I can't really find any for sale online...I assume they are fairly high quality and one can put Rx lenses in them if desired...

...are they vintage-only, or can a person find them in decent quality as new?

Thanks!

Dave

DuroChrome · Jan 14, 2017

I love these old sellstroms. They have adjustable sides and fit really close on my face.

OccupantRJ · Jan 14, 2017

SweetD said:
bbcc - cool topic!

kansei - what's the deal with the model of safety glasses that split (magnetically) right in the middle at the nose? I've seen them on TV shows (that guy Mike Wolf has a pair on American Pickers for example), but I can't really find any for sale online...I assume they are fairly high quality and one can put Rx lenses in them if desired...

...are they vintage-only, or can a person find them in decent quality as new?

Thanks!

Dave

I went to a new Dr yesterday and he was wearing a prescription pair of the magnetic glasses.

johninct · Jan 14, 2017

DuroChrome said:
I love these old sellstroms. They have adjustable sides and fit really close on my face.

Where can I get new lenses for mine like that??

bbcc · Jan 17, 2017

DuroChrome said:
I love these old sellstroms. They have adjustable sides and fit really close on my face.

Those are wicked! Have a sort of Ray Ban style to them. I've been seeing a few pairs out there with the chainmaille style sheilds. What's your experience for keeping sparks and chips at bay?

DuroChrome · Jan 17, 2017

The mesh works great and helps keep them from fogging up.

nine4gmc · Jan 17, 2017

Search "American Optical Safety Glasses", they have lots of vintage style safety glasses.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk..._nkw=american+optical+safety+glasses&_sacat=0

tym · Jan 17, 2017

nine4gmc said:
Search "American Optical Safety Glasses", they have lots of vintage style safety glasses.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk..._nkw=american+optical+safety+glasses&_sacat=0

I just picked up two pair of NIB American Optical safety glasses (clear lenses with side shields) for $10 each with free shipping! They should arrive next week; look way better than those cheapo acrylic things they carry at the big box store.

Plombob · Jan 19, 2017

DuroChrome said:
The mesh works great and helps keep them from fogging up.

Yep. Those are my favorite type. I'm looking for a new pair. Any recommendations?

nine4gmc · Jan 19, 2017

bbcc said:
About a year ago now my roommate was helping his pops clean out an old shed and he found a nice stash of safety glasses from the 70's and 80's. They were used but in pretty decent condition! He gave me a pair and I've quite seriously not had a better fitting pair on my goofy shaped face.

Now the inevitable is happening. They're wearing out I've been scouring the web looking for some similar pairs. There's some close misses but no perfect matches.

Let's see those cool old safety specs you have kickin around!

I think these are exact matches:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...w=vintage+crews+safety+glasses+black&_sacat=0

DuroChrome · Jan 19, 2017

Plombob said:
Yep. Those are my favorite type. I'm looking for a new pair. Any recommendations?

There are these used ones: Sellstroms

New ones in a wayfarer style: Retro Style

Some glasses similar to the OP: Old style glasses

Revelations · Jan 19, 2017

nine4gmc said:
I think these are exact matches:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...w=vintage+crews+safety+glasses+black&_sacat=0

Couldn't figure out why those glasses gave me the willies. [emoji33]

Sent from a Galaxy far far away.

kansei · Jan 19, 2017

SweetD said:
bbcc - cool topic!

kansei - what's the deal with the model of safety glasses that split (magnetically) right in the middle at the nose? I've seen them on TV shows (that guy Mike Wolf has a pair on American Pickers for example), but I can't really find any for sale online...I assume they are fairly high quality and one can put Rx lenses in them if desired...

...are they vintage-only, or can a person find them in decent quality as new?

Thanks!

Dave

Sorry, Dave, just seeing this this morning. I honestly don't know how 'old' that style is, but I doubt they would have any safety ratings. They would never pass the drop tests. Pretty sure they come in reading glasses styles (maybe +1.0 to 3.0), and since I have heard Mike on AP say his are Rx as well, obviously they are also available with specially ground lenses. I think I saw the reading glass variety at one of the larger retailers.... maybe Target?

kansei · Jan 19, 2017

DuroChrome said:
I love these old sellstroms. They have adjustable sides and fit really close on my face.

I work for Sellstrom! And we still have a basic derivative of these in the line... the B5. Comes in clear or 5IR "welder's helper" shade. I actually like them too, except they are a bit too wide at the temples for me.

http://www.sellstrom.com/store/B5™-...FA?category=safety&subcategory=eye protection

kansei · Jan 19, 2017

Revelations said:
Couldn't figure out why those glasses gave me the willies. [emoji33]

.

Try going to the same high school as him and growing up all of a mile or two from his childhood home!

gungatim · Jan 19, 2017

kansei said:
I've been an industrial safety sales rep for 18+ years, my father more than twice that. We've worked for several safety glass manufacturers over the years. Hard to believe, but that type of style was once considered popular- a real step up from the 'lab greens' direct-vent goggles and dual cup safety glasses (technically dual monocle) derived from welding goggles. Those look almost like an old pair of Willsons...possibly with the optional ribbed/vented clear side guards?

Did you work for Jackson/Aiden/Allsafe? I still have boxes of old safety glasses from when I was there...the camo and multi-colored frames, puke!

kansei · Jan 19, 2017

gungatim said:
Did you work for Jackson/Aiden/Allsafe? I still have boxes of old safety glasses from when I was there...the camo and multi-colored frames, puke!

Tim- Yes, but no. We (our rep group) were among the first reps to take on the Smith & Wesson safety glass line. All of the other groups that were interviewed for the line supposedly didn't want it, said it would never sell, etc. We loved the line, and had a blast with it. Soon after we were hired, they added the Remington products. The glasses were made by a company called Olympic Optical that was based in Memphis. Olympic held the licensing rights to Smith & Wesson and Remington for safety glasses (the Remington ones may be your camo ones, yes?). Once we got the line 'out there', it went to the top... FAST. The line displaced a lot of other safety glasses, and eventually, Jackson had had enough and offered the owner of Olympic Optical enough money to sell. We worked for Jackson for a brief time, until they got all the info they needed out of the S&W reps, let us all go, and then (IMHO) proceeded to bury the line within two years. Soon afterwards, we were approached by Sellstrom, and we've had a blast working for them ever since. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise. We knew we were never going to get the Jackson rep job, since they had direct salespeople, and Sellstrom has a much broader product offering (than Olympic did pre-buyout), which allows us to try to solve more workplace issues. I hate selling, but love problem solving, so the job is never boring. Aside from Olympic Optical and Sellstrom, we have worked for some companies that had a few safety glasses offered as a side item as a courtesy to distributor requests, though no other "big" names you would be familiar with. As a useless bit of info, 95% of the safety glasses out today are made overseas, and if you look closely at them, there's a handful of basic designs that everyone alters ever so slightly to make it different enough to legally be their own design.

gungatim · Jan 19, 2017

yeah, I was there and worked with the Asian suppliers. tweak the design a bit, buy a container load, and hope for the best...we did do some contract work for sellstrom, I believe we made some ADF lenses for the helmets for them, but it's been a while so I'm a bit foggy on the details...JPI ran themselves into the ground and luckily I got out just in time...

tombell572 · Jan 19, 2017

My first job after serving my country (1974) was at the old Sperry Rand plant in Lake Success (Long Island) NY. Anyone having a need to enter the manufacturing area was issued safety glasses by the in-house optometrist (free eye exam). Bausch & Lomb with a sort of gray frame and a small cross stamped into the tiny plates anchoring the hinges. The cross indicated safety lenses.

Tom B.

tym · Jan 19, 2017

Just got these in the mail today! For one pair, the temples are curved outwards (I think the plastic has aged as they don't look like they're supposed to be bendable). Gentle heat and try to persuade them back into shape?

nine4gmc · Jan 19, 2017

Those are awesome tym! I just ordered some of the Sellstrom safety glasses, can't wait for them to come in!

INSP380 · Jan 19, 2017

My AO Smith Flexi Fit and my John Lennon cutting glasses....Vintage!

Steve

4 FN 27 · Jan 19, 2017

A few months ago my Dad gave me my Grandpa's home made Tool Box. Not much in it but I did find these Safety Glasses. They are not in bad shape and the side Shields are missing. The rivets are there.

Not sure why Gramps would have had them. I don't recall him knowing what the business end of a screwdriver is. He owned his father's Café in a very small town in NE Iowa from 1945-1970.

Would like to know what year they might be from???

kansei · Jan 19, 2017

4 FN 27 said:
Would like to know what year they might be from???

Not sure you can pinpoint that exactly down, but you can start by looking for a manufacturer stamp. For I don't know how long, the manufacturer has had to have an identifying mark on at least one lens and/or a temple. Some are etched or embossed into the polycarb, some are inked. For example, Sellstrom uses "SM", Olympic Optical used "OO". Figure out who made them, and you can start narrowing it down from there.

Truly "old school" safety glasses are just that- glass. Yes, once upon a time they were made out of tempered glass. More useless info: it's why Cobalt Blue 6IR torching filters nowadays are referred to as "Cobalt Blue", but look green... way back when, when they were originally made out of glass, the manufacturing process resulted in the glass being blue. A beautiful deep (cobalt) blue. Getting the same properties and effects out of the lenses now that they are made of polycarbonate plastic yields the greenish color.

4xdog · Feb 10, 2017

I have are a couple of pairs of exactly the glasses the op shows in my box of PPE stuff. I got 'em when I was a supplier to a paper mill in Atlantic Canada in the mid 1990s. The maker ID is "LL" and they have a CSA mark. Likely a Canadian company, yes? I note the op's are in Western Canada.

Here's the pair I wear most days. I have a half dozen of them, from our lab safety catalog circa 2000-2005. They're good 'uns 'cause they look like normal glasses and have optically flat lenses with no distortion.

There are also a few pairs of vintage Sellstroms, which still get worn from time to time.

And the most vintage of the bunch is this pair of Willson glasses. Seriously old. Note the box has Chinese and Japanese printing -- export markets must have been important way back then.

Private Lugnutz · May 5, 2018

bbcc said:
Let's see those cool old safety specs you have kickin around!

Cool thread, bbcc!

Love the Willson's, 4xdog!

I’ve got a small vintage active eyewear collection going.

View media item 82909
I won’t spend too much time or bandwidth on the military models – so briefly, from top right moving counterclockwise, are 1951 U.S. Army clip-ons in an OD green leatherette snap-pouch, 1943 U.S. Army Air Corps aviator goggles, and 1944 U.S. Army Ordnance Dept winter driver’s glasses.

To the right of those are my dad’s safety glasses. They aren’t marked. He was a WWII vet, and when he died, seventeen years ago now, my brothers and I found out how it’s often the smallest, seemingly most innocuous things – like his shop glasses, that we amiably tussled over when it came time to divvy up the memorabilia.

Above those are a pair of 'Eastern Safety' safety goggles, also marked ‘N.Y.’ and ‘4-3/4’. I don't know anything about them, just liked the looks.

It’s the tin case (excuse the glare!) that I am posting about.

I found that, empty, last November at a flea market. It’s embossed BELL SYSTEM GOGGLES L on the top of the lid. I am guessing the “L” is for Large. See thumbnails for close-ups.

Private Lugnutz · May 5, 2018

Yesterday I found a pair of safety goggles at the same flea market that I just had to have. They are not marked Welsh, but they have all the distinctive features of classic Welsh Manufacturing safety goggles – including the thick maroon composite material, the black metallic non-folding mesh eyecups, and the rubber hose over the simple bubble chain for the bridge of the nose and holding the two independently swiveling goggles together. (See Thumbnails 1 and 2.)

As I was inspecting them closer again today under a magnifying glass, I was pleasantly surprised to find them marked BELL SYSTEM! (See Thumbnail 3.)

I don’t know if they are originally appropriate for the tin BELL SYSTEM GOGGLES L case, but historically accurate or not, that’s where they’re going to live from now on! (See Thumbnail 4.)

Private Lugnutz · May 6, 2018

Does anyone know what these etchings/inscriptions are on the lenses of these safety glasses? The first time I really noticed them was when looking for markings on the Welsh BELL SYSTEMS GOGGLES shown above. Initially I thought it might've been some kind of certification from a safety glass board or something like that, but these are older than most of those types of federal standards, and, I noticed a similar (but different) etching/inscription on my dad's old pair, and an "ESE" (Eastern Safety Eyewear) on the other pair. Are they logos/trademarks?

Pic 1 with the blue background (for contrast) is the etching on my dad's.

Pic 2 is from the Welsh BELL SYSTEMS goggles.

4xdog · May 6, 2018

I think safety glasses have had a makers mark on the lenses for MANY years, Lugz. There's some sort of secret decoder list out there on the 'net someplace, or at least there was a few years ago.

Private Lugnutz · May 7, 2018

Thanks. I tried to do some on-line research, but everything - and I mean everything - keeps coming up "steampunk." :lol:

4xdog · May 7, 2018

Here’s one item found quickly — I’ll do a bit more checking’cause the manufacturer codes are online somewhere.

http://blog.rx-safety.com/correct-markings-for-safety-glasses/

woodland_hank · May 7, 2018

These are mine! Still have the original box too! Dated 1987. I'm a high school shop teacher and wore these for my yearbook photo a couple years ago.

Private Lugnutz · May 7, 2018

4xdog said:
Here’s one item found quickly — I’ll do a bit more checking’cause the manufacturer codes are online somewhere.

Thanks. ANSI started those certification markings in 1968, which is too late for these marks, which also look more like monographs (mfgr's). I can't make heads or tails out of them though.

woodland_hank said:
I'm a high school shop teacher and wore these for my yearbook photo a couple years ago.

Oh, man, you're going to make me tell my 1975 shop class story. It involves a cross-bow.

930dreamer · May 7, 2018

A few years ago a member posted a pair for sale here, as I remembered the model was stunning.

4xdog · May 7, 2018

Private Lugnutz said:
Thanks. ANSI started those certification markings in 1968, which is too late for these marks, which also look more like monographs (mfgr's). I can't make heads or tails out of them though.

Yes, but note that pair of circa 1938 Willson glasses in my earlier post has a "W" etched in the glass.

ANSI marks aren't as old as maker's marks, IIRC, and as you noted.

Private Lugnutz · May 7, 2018

4xdog said:
Yes, but note that pair of circa 1938 Willson glasses in my earlier post has a "W" etched in the glass.

I didn't see that until you pointed it out. Thanks. What do you make of the etchings on my two glasses above being similar but different? Can you discern any letters in the squiggles? I can't see a "W" in the Welsh and I'm almost positive they're Welsh.

4xdog · May 7, 2018

On both pairs the engraving in the lens looks sort of like an “S”. Sellstrom, perhaps?

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