Demining shears
Several accidents have occurred while people cut undergrowth. The worst examples occur when the shear blades hit the tilt sensitive fuze of a bounding fragmentation mine concealed in the grass being cut.
As
part of the SD manual demining tool-bag, shears were adapted to
begin to meet the needs of demining rather than those of the gardener.
They are comfortable to use with hands at a distance from the
blades and do not separate or shatter in a small anti-personnel mine blast.
The
SD shears have longer than usual handles in a fixed position and the blades are shorter than usual, so making it less likely that the user will cut beyond the area searched for tripwires.
The angle of the handles is narrower than on conventional shears, so encouraging
the user to hold the handles near the ends. The bend to the blades
is also shallow, encouraging users to have their hands close
to the ground.
With
the exception of three nuts and one bolt, the SD shears are in
four parts, two of which are the polyethylene handles. The blades
are made of a high grade but still ductile steel that extends
through the handles.
In
tests, the shears were placed with the blades on top of a blast
mine. The shears bent but did not separate and were readily repaired.
All SD tools can be adjusted to meet your requirements
but significant changes should always be blast tested
to ensure that safety has not been compromised.
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