Up next in 10
DO NOT BUY A HOME LASER! - Before watching this video - Best Home Laser Safety Glasses?
Sep 16, 2025
🎯Check out The Glasses I Chose Below:
Dual Diode IR OD6+ https://geni.us/FreemascotDualOD6
Dual Diode IR OD7+ https://geni.us/FreeMascotDualDiodeIR
CO2: https://geni.us/FreemascotCO2
*Other Products Used & Recomended in this video*
Fire Extinguisher: https://geni.us/CO2FireExtinguisher
🧠 Related Videos – Resin Exposure & Safety: https://youtu.be/Gm0-z971tgY
Resin Safety: https://youtu.be/IAf-Z-9_U64
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
🚀I was one click away from blinding myself without even knowing it. If you’re getting into laser engravers, whether diode lasers, IR fiber lasers, or CO₂ cutters, you need to know the risks before you fire one up. This video is your complete guide to laser safety: eye protection, OD ratings and wavelengths, fire hazards, fumes, and ventilation. These are the basics you must follow if you care about your vision, your lungs, and your house.
Even a 10W diode laser can start fires in wood or acrylic. A 1064nm IR laser on reflective metal can blind you in under a millisecond from a reflection. CO₂ lasers (≈ 10,600nm) throw off fumes you can smell—and you don’t want to breathe that. Most “free goggles” or the orange shields vendors include? Useless. No proper OD rating. Often no CE or verified certification. Often only effective for the easiest (lowest power / safest wavelength) case—but that’s not how accidents happen.
That’s why I believe Freemascot are the best safety glasses for hobbyists right now. CE-certified, independent test reports, and available in OD6+ (and greater) for both diode & IR laser wavelengths. They’re the best choice I’ve found for real protection without spending crazy industrial lab prices.
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0:00
Right. Then I've started doing laser
0:02
reviews. Don't blame me. It was never
0:03
something I was interested in until
0:05
Bamboo released a H2D and that has a
0:08
laser option. So I started doing laser
0:10
reviews as no more than a comparator and
0:13
a way I can say, "Hey, Bamboo, I know
0:15
lasers. Can I have a free expensive 3D
0:17
printer, but then something happened. I
0:20
started to enjoy them." But then
0:21
something else happened. Dozens of
0:23
people warned me about optical safety
0:25
and just how dangerous these things are.
0:28
And it got to the point where I became
0:29
so paranoid that where I started to get
0:31
blurry vision one day after using the
0:33
Falcon's IR laser, I got worried it had
0:36
potentially blinded me. Now, thankfully,
0:38
my optitian confirmed I was no more than
0:40
overcaffeinated and proved I had no
0:42
laser damage. But it left me cautious
0:44
enough to consider this as a lucky free
0:46
pass. And going forward, I will never
0:49
operate any laser device without the
0:52
correct certified safety glasses,
0:55
whether the device comes sealed by
0:56
windows or otherwise. And since this is
0:59
in my home, I'll also never allow anyone
1:01
to enter my office when I'm using a
1:04
laser. But above all, I just don't want
1:06
to do any more laser reviews without
1:08
having this video live that I can refer
1:10
people to as a very clear warning not to
1:14
take the piss with this stuff. So, hi.
1:16
I'm Ross and this is Fauxham Hammer
1:18
Videos. So, first up, before optical
1:20
safety, actually, first I need to say
1:23
I'm not a laser safety expert. Don't
1:25
take this as professional advice. This
1:27
is more me covering my ass before giving
1:30
you a starting point to do your own
1:33
safety research before bringing one of
1:35
these devices into your home, especially
1:37
now that so many brands are advertising
1:39
them like everyday consumer products.
1:42
So, here's some stuff to know. First,
1:44
lasers can and often do cause materials
1:47
to catch fire. In many cases, these
1:49
should self-extinguish, or you can blow
1:52
them out. Some high-end lasers even have
1:54
the option for CO2 extinguisher add-ons
1:56
and sensors to handle all of this
1:58
manually. But all laser devices, or at
2:01
least the ones you consider, should have
2:03
working emergency stop buttons. And
2:05
another thing you should know is if
2:07
you're using a laser, you should never
2:09
leave it unattended. You don't need to
2:10
stare at the whole job. In fact, you
2:12
probably shouldn't. Just stay within
2:15
actionable distance. But without a
2:17
doubt, have a CO2 fire extinguisher on
2:20
hand and learn how to use it because,
2:22
well, you can't breathe CO2. And if you
2:24
try and extinguish flames in a really
2:26
small room with the door shut, think
2:28
about it. But let's talk about what you
2:30
can breathe. Not the given off by many
2:33
materials you'll be marking, engraving,
2:35
or cutting. So, here's a list of
2:37
dangers. You can pause and read through
2:39
them whilst I'm talking. And this list
2:41
isn't everything. And if you're new to
2:43
lasers, the chances are you probably
2:45
won't know what half of the stuff you're
2:47
cutting is actually defined as. So the
2:50
TLDDR is you shouldn't be breathing this
2:52
stuff. Most home lasers come with
2:54
enclosures and extraction hoses, and you
2:57
really want to be chucking all of those
2:59
fumes outside. Now, in lie of that, some
3:01
brands do offer indoor filters of
3:03
varying qualities, but I'm yet to see a
3:05
brand directly confirm what any of these
3:08
actively block or how much of it. What I
3:11
do know is that with all of these
3:12
filters, I can still smell burning wood
3:14
every time I laser wood. So, I have to
3:17
wonder what else could be getting
3:19
through. And I probably won't know for
3:20
about a decade if I'm sat here smelling
3:23
regret. So, ideally, get this stuff out
3:26
of your work environment. I've got a
3:28
separate video about using resin printer
3:29
enclosures and using aircon window
3:32
socks. Now, personally, I had a plumber
3:34
mate drill a 100 mm hole in my garage
3:36
wall, and I'll be having proper direct
3:38
ventilation installed soon. That might
3:40
be a future video. Is it something you'd
3:42
be interested in? Anyway, let's get on
3:44
to the meat of the video. Optical
3:46
safety. And this one took me days to
3:49
work out using YouTube videos, Google,
3:51
and getting misled by chat GPT several
3:54
times. If anyone's used Chat GPT5, I
3:58
personally I think it's absolute
4:00
bollocks at the moment. Anyway, laser
4:02
light is incredibly strong. Just 1 matt
4:05
of laser energy directed into your eye
4:07
is enough to cause irreversible damage.
4:10
And for those of us who forgot most of
4:12
what we learned in elementary school,
4:14
don't feel bad. I had to double check
4:15
this, too. There are a,000 matt in a
4:18
watt. And the lowest power laser I've
4:20
used so far is 10 watt. So, think of
4:23
that as 10,000 opportunities to blind
4:26
you every fraction of a millisecond that
4:28
a laser is on. And it's not just staring
4:31
at the laser either. Laser light can
4:33
reflect off anything. I've had people in
4:35
my comments tell me they've damaged
4:36
their eyes because all of the walls in
4:38
the room were white and it reflected and
4:40
bounced off the walls in the room. The
4:42
point is wear glasses, but we'll get to
4:44
that. In fairness, the light would need
4:47
to reflect into your eyes to cause the
4:49
damage, and the chance of that happening
4:51
might be small. But let's say even if
4:54
it's only a 0.1% chance, and I'll bet
4:58
it's actually much higher than that,
5:00
that's still a 0.1% chance of 100%
5:04
causing irreversible eye damage. Or for
5:07
a more amusing way to put it, 0.1% of
5:10
the time it'll blind you every time. And
5:12
maybe to more experienced laser users, I
5:15
could come across as fear-mongering.
5:17
Please know that's not my intent. I said
5:19
in the intro, I'm no expert. So, please
5:22
feel free to correct me or validate me
5:23
in the comments and I'll update the
5:25
video description. So, if you're
5:26
watching this, check the video
5:28
description for updates. What I do know
5:30
is that as an absolute beginner, I had
5:33
no idea about this stuff. And Lumi Tool
5:36
sent me their machine knowing I had no
5:38
idea about this stuff. I remember
5:40
staring at a piece of material as I was
5:42
trying to engrave it using the infrared
5:44
laser without glasses on, wondering why
5:47
couldn't I see it marking anything.
5:49
Yeah, that's exactly the sort of dumb
5:52
that beginners would do. And do you guys
5:54
realize how close I was to shouting,
5:56
"Hey kids, come and check this cool
5:58
device out." Now, for those of you who
6:00
are beginners, infrared light is
6:02
invisible. Stainless steel, which I was
6:04
engraving, is incredibly reflective, and
6:07
the lens of your eye does an incredible
6:09
job of focusing light onto the retina.
6:12
So, infrared can blind you faster than
6:15
your brain can even register pain. And
6:18
because it's invisible, you don't even
6:20
have the luxury of a blink reflex to
6:22
marginally reduce the damage. Now, I
6:24
know I was harsh on Lumi Tool for their
6:26
lack of user guides, but in reflection,
6:28
pun intended, with their absolute lack
6:31
of any safety warnings for me or any
6:33
user, if these guys operated in the
6:36
Western world, they'd probably be locked
6:38
up if they managed to get this thing on
6:39
the market. And for those of you
6:41
watching, you'll probably think, "But
6:42
they sent you safety glasses. Yeah, I
6:45
can hear the winge." Well, two things.
6:47
One, I was a complete beginner, as I
6:49
said, and yes, an idiot one at that.
6:51
I'll admit it. But I'm not alone in
6:53
this. Lasers are being pushed to
6:55
consumers. There will probably be more
6:57
people like me and people doing stupider
7:00
things than me who might actually look
7:02
straight down an active beam to see if
7:05
it's working. So yeah, I'd rather scare
7:07
people a little if it makes them take
7:09
safety precautions. But the other call
7:11
out here is what a lot of people have
7:13
said on my videos. With a lot of these
7:15
brands, the glasses they send you are
7:17
absolute crap. They are cheap shite and
7:20
do not offer adequate protection. So
7:22
this is where we come to the real meat
7:24
of the video. Choosing the right
7:26
glasses. And no, a welding mask is not
7:28
adequate safety. Yes, it blocks light,
7:31
but we need glasses that block specific
7:34
wavelengths of light. Now, in the home
7:36
market, there are typically three types
7:38
of laser. Diode lasers with a wavelength
7:40
in the 450 nm range. Infrared lasers are
7:44
becoming more popular for engraving
7:46
metals and they're in the 1,64 nanometer
7:49
range and even CO2 lasers because, well,
7:52
they're freaking awesome. And they
7:54
operate in the 10,600 nanometer range.
7:58
And you need glasses that protect
8:00
against those specific wavelengths. It's
8:02
not a case of just get the CO2 lasers
8:05
glasses because they'll cover everything
8:07
below 10,600.
8:09
No, it's glasses per wavelength. Now,
8:12
you can sometimes get dual wavelength
8:14
glasses. For example, X Tool sent me
8:16
glasses that cover both diode and IR,
8:18
but they've got different optical
8:20
density ratings for each. And that's
8:23
another important value depending on how
8:25
strong your laser devices. So, here's a
8:28
table I put together from various
8:29
sources online that suggest a minimum OD
8:32
value for glasses at each laser
8:34
strength. Once again, this isn't gospel.
8:37
It's based on what I learned online. And
8:39
if there are any recommended changes to
8:41
this, I'll update my video description.
8:43
So, go check there first before you buy
8:46
anything. But even then, this video
8:48
should only serve as the start of your
8:51
research. Go and verify it. And yes,
8:54
bear in mind that the recommendations
8:55
you see in most places are potentially
8:58
overkill. I mean, a lot of these lasers
9:00
already have shielding on, right? But
9:02
safety experts being what they are seem
9:04
to always base their advice on
9:06
preventing the worst case scenario, like
9:08
your device giving you a full-on Cyclops
9:10
level blast to the eyes rather than just
9:13
an errant reflection. So, personally,
9:15
I'm going to get glasses with that in
9:16
mind because I don't know when or if
9:19
I'll ever need to perform maintenance or
9:21
if there's some circuitry in these
9:23
machines that could short and fire a
9:25
laser at the wrong time. So, I went
9:28
looking for safety glasses. One thing
9:29
stood out. They're all bloody expensive.
9:32
And when it comes to cheaper
9:33
alternatives, I stumbled across a brand
9:35
on Amazon called Free Mascot or Free
9:37
Mascot or Free Mascot, whatever. So,
9:40
after a bit more research and binging
9:42
some great videos by the channel Laser
9:44
Everything, someone who actually blasted
9:47
a laser at paper through these glasses
9:49
to show the marks, or lack thereof, I
9:52
still wasn't totally sold. No marks on
9:54
printer paper doesn't necessarily mean
9:56
no damage to your retina. Even though
9:59
apparently the thickness is about the
10:00
same. That's a fun fact I learned on
10:02
this little safety journey. So now you
10:04
know it too. Might be handy for a future
10:06
pub quiz night. Anyway, I emailed Free
10:08
Mascar and asked them to show me their
10:10
CE certificates and they happily
10:12
obliged. For those who don't know, the
10:15
CE marking and certificate means that
10:17
they meet EU standards for laser safety.
10:19
And the test report they sent was from a
10:21
third party certifier rather than just
10:24
something they knocked up in Photoshop.
10:26
I hope. Now, I didn't go as far as
10:28
contacting that certifier for
10:29
verication, and the skeptic in me
10:32
wonders, what if the testing company is
10:34
just their mate down the road handing
10:36
out gold stars for cash? Now, I'm sure
10:39
I'm not the only one thinking that, but
10:41
personally, there was enough for me to
10:44
make my own decision to trust them. And
10:47
if you do the same, then it comes to
10:49
buying them. And when buying, you do
10:51
still need to be careful. I bought a
10:53
load of pairs just to make sure they
10:55
were all actually CE branded and they
10:58
were. But I also wanted to check the
11:00
fit. Amazon listings are a bit of a
11:03
mess. There's a ton of different lens
11:04
types and styles and they're not easy to
11:07
sort. Now thankfully on many of the
11:09
product pages there's a grid at the
11:11
bottom separating them by lens type and
11:13
then on each listing you can choose the
11:15
glasses style. But here's the trap.
11:17
Whilst the title might scream OD6 or
11:20
OD8, the product graphs and detailed
11:23
descriptions often reveal that the
11:24
ratings only apply to specific
11:26
wavelengths, which is why I now keep
11:29
separate pairs for both diode and
11:31
infrared, and why I actually have to
11:34
remember which bloody laser I'm using
11:36
before putting the right ones on. A good
11:38
example is glasses that say they are OD8
11:41
in the title are only OD8 for the
11:44
infrared laser. For a diode laser,
11:47
they're only OD6.
11:49
So, read the descriptions carefully.
11:52
Now, when you're looking at these,
11:53
there's also something called
11:54
transmittance, which basically means how
11:56
much normal light gets through. The
11:58
lower the percentage, the more it's
11:59
going to feel like wearing sunglasses
12:01
indoors. And as for styles, some look
12:04
cooler than others. Some have extendable
12:05
arms, some have silicon straps. All of
12:08
them come with surprisingly nice
12:10
protective cases. Now, since I already
12:12
wear glasses, I found a lot of these
12:14
left gaps around my eyes that I could
12:17
still clearly see through. And some of
12:19
the pairs did this even without my
12:21
regular glasses on. So, in the end, I
12:23
went for the incredibly large ski goggle
12:25
style because they fit over my glasses
12:28
and actually cover my eyes properly. And
12:30
no, they don't look cool. But who's
12:32
going to see me wearing them? Apart from
12:34
my own family members occasionally and
12:36
the tens of thousands of people watching
12:38
this video, but they won't see you. So,
12:40
if you want them, wear them. But that's
12:43
it. By all means, get a laser. I don't
12:45
want to scare people out of not getting
12:47
lasers. They're incredibly fun. Just as
12:50
I said in the intro, do not take the
12:52
piss with safety. And for video
12:54
skippers, this is not professional
12:56
advice. Check the description for
12:58
updates and let this be the start of
13:00
your laser safety research. Get a fire
13:03
extinguisher, vent your fumes outside if
13:05
you can, or at least have a smoke
13:07
filter. And always, always wear safety
13:10
glasses when using lasers. Wear
13:12
sunscreen, too. That was good advice,
13:14
Baz. I will put affiliate links for free
13:16
mascot and the fire extinguisher in the
13:19
description. These are the ones I
13:20
personally chose to trust. Whether you
13:23
use these links after making your own
13:25
personal choice to trust them, or you
13:27
buy an ebook or some random kitchen
13:29
gadget you don't really need from
13:30
Amazon, if you click that link
13:32
beforehand, I'll make a commission and
13:34
that's at no cost to you. but it's how I
13:36
keep the channel running. And if I've
13:38
scared you, educated you, or entertained
13:40
you, or completely pissed you off, let
13:42
me know that in the comments and hit the
13:44
like button. All of this helps
13:46
engagement. Engagement helps reach.
13:48
Reach gets views, and views build the
13:50
channel. We're so close to 500,000
13:52
subscribers now, at least compared to 3
13:54
years ago. But tell me, tell me your
13:56
laser experiences, too. I want to make
13:58
sure that I stay relevant for future
14:00
videos. I want to say thanks for
14:02
watching and a huge thanks to our
14:03
members who keep this channel going by
14:05
literally paying me. They get early
14:08
access, their names on screen, Discord
14:10
rolls, and exclusive videos. So, please
14:12
consider joining up or dropping a super.
14:14
Thanks. Anyway, I hear you. Shut up,
14:16
Ross. That's enough now. All right, I
14:18
will. Until next time, I've set my laser
14:20
from stun to kill. Fammer out.
14:28
[Music]
14:33
Hey.
14:38
[Music]