When to replace safety glasses: bin a scratched lens

You hold the pair up to the workshop lamp and the filament breaks into a star. A clear patch, if you tilt your head, makes the cut feel like a minute. That minute is when the blade or the disc is moving. When to replace safety glasses is that moment.

HSE's L25 guidance says to replace eye protection when the lens is deeply scratched, or when the frame or the headband is deformed. Anti-scratch in a title is a claim, not the optional K test on the lens.

Products Compared read the twelve amazon.co.uk listings in the safety glasses comparison, captured on 19 October 2026, plus JSP's notes on markings and HSE's PPE overview. We did not run a scratch test. Links use the tag pcuk26-21. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. ErShiPing reviews say a lens scratched after one use, NoCry reviews say the lens is plain plastic, and DTD buyers describe a carton they can swap from. Fit and the shorter bin rule are on how to wear safety glasses.

In short

When to replace safety glasses is a visibility test. L25 bins a deeply scratched lens and a deformed frame or headband, with no month count. Anti-scratch in a title is not the optional K mark. A spare you can count is the practical answer.

The line L25 draws

L25 is a condition, not a calendar. Throw the protector away when the lens is deeply scratched or the frame is bent. A deformed headband counts if the protector uses a strap. A pair that hazes in February is finished in February. Issuing one pair a year, and never looking at the lens, is a diary.

Hold the glasses toward a lamp, with the tool off. A hairline that misses the work is not a field of scuffs. Hunting a clear patch, or pushing the glasses down your nose, opens the chip path. A bent frame fails on new plastic: uneven arms, a torn nose pad, or a brow that gapes. One Honeywell reviewer reported a rubber insert that fell out on first use.

Scratches in this set's reviews

ErShiPing, model 20-ESP-Y-059-117, was £13.88 on 19 October 2026, with 4.2 from 33 reviews. The title says anti-scratch and welding spectacles, and the product is a clear pack. UK reviews say pairs break, the lens scratched after one use, and a multi-pack was cheap enough to replace. One reviewer price was £8.88 with ten included, which may be a different offer. The URL ASIN is B0FH9RX9KH and the details ASIN is B0H2HCNTFX.

NoCry is the comparison's top pick and it still draws the plain-plastic complaint. The black and green EyeArmor+, B01AWK1XAS, was £13.99, 28 g, polycarbonate, with matching ASINs and 4.4 from a 61,350 pool shared with the red pair. The bullets claim a coating. Reviews say the lens is not scratch resistant, just plastic. The table does not print K.

Honeywell's A800, model 1015370, was £4.13, with 4.5 from 4,256. The title says anti-scratch. UK reviews mention cold-day mist and that the pair does not scratch easily. URL ASIN B002C6FG8G and details ASIN B0H3WY1V8B, so the comment is not a K on one card. Lens material is absent. At £42.99, one DTD reviewer says the frames were marked EN166-F and the lenses were not, and a home check did not resemble the EN 166 ball test. The listing states no pair count, and the details ASIN does not match the URL. The checks sit on the buying guide.

K versus a title claim

K is a test mark, and JSP's UK guide puts that letter on the lens. It means resistance to surface damage by fine particles, and it is optional. A pair can carry F, the low-energy impact letter usual on side-arm glasses, and carry no K. Anti-scratch, anti-fog, and a brand coating name are title claims. No K means that scratch test was not claimed.

None of the twelve specification tables print K. Ansell lists visible light transmission at 50 per cent while the colour cell says clear: a darker lens, not a scratch mark. NoCry's care line is mild soap and air drying, away from high heat and harsh chemicals. Glass spray and a dry paper towel strip coatings, because grit becomes the abrasive. If the milk remains after a wash the maker allows, the pair is due out. Polishing will not restore a tested surface. The 11 November 2025 change to new EN 166 certification does not print a K onto a listing that never had one.

Spares versus one expensive pair

The shelf price is often not the price of one pair. DTD at £42.99 reads, in one UK review, as about 30 pairs at about £1.43. One reviewer found EN166-F on the frame and a blank lens, so count the pairs and read both before you call it a spare pool. The orange-grip line at £29.99 offers 12, 24, and 48 packs at 650 g, so the title gives no unit price. The blue three-pack at £9.99 says three pairs and the package cell says one.

NoCry black and green at £13.99, matching ASINs, is a second pair for a case by the saw. Ansell KleenGuard Nemesis was £8.14 for one pair, matching ASINs, and the table does not print EN 166. Honeywell at £4.13 has a clashing details ASIN. DeWalt at £24.99 carries 4.7 from 11,445, a clashing details ASIN, and one reviewer price of £3.48. Buy a marked single when the assessment needs the letter, or a carton you will open. An unmarked cheap pair does not put F on the lens for a grinding disc. Chips at a saw are on safety glasses for woodworking.

At work, report the defective pair

At work the scratched pair is not yours to nurse until Friday. When the risk assessment still needs eye protection, the employer provides suitable PPE free of charge and replaces it when it is defective. HSE's overview is that duty, and L25 is why a deeply scratched lens, a bent frame, or a deformed headband comes out. Those duties were extended to limb (b) workers from 6 April 2022. Tell the person who issued the pair and take it out of the pool the same day.

A warranty is a shop promise about a return. DeWalt's 11,445 and NoCry's shared 61,350 do not extend a lens you cannot see through. At home you buy the spare and bin the bad pair, in a case on the bench. A close NoCry-style wrap often will not clear ordinary glasses, and everyday glasses over the safety pair add an unmarked lens. The fit-over two-pack at £6.99 has five ratings and no written review. Prescription safety lenses are where this article stops. A seal is the split on safety glasses versus goggles.

What to check before you bin them

Work in this order, with the tool stopped. A dusty lens and a ruined lens look alike until you wash one of them.

1. Rinse grit off, wash with mild soap if the care line allows it, and air dry. Skip glass cleaner, a paper towel, and a disinfectant soak.
2. Hold the dry lens to a lamp. If you hunt for a clear patch, the pair is finished. A light mark you can see past can stay if a spare is in reach.
3. Bent arms, a torn nose pad, a missing insert, or a strap that no longer holds are L25's deformed frame and headband.
4. Read K on the lens and the same standard on the frame. If the marks differ, claim the lower one.
5. Count the pairs and put a spare on before you start. DTD's £42.99 shelf is not one pair until the box says so.
6. At work, take a hazed pair out of the pool the same day. A hammer blow is not the EN 166 ball test.

Chemical splash, molten metal, arc, laser, and a dust or gas hazard you cannot match are the moment to call a competent person. Use the lens in your hand for the decision today.