On Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:41:36 -0800, marc rosen wrote:

He told me he had driven a brad through a piece
of wood and decided to cut off the exposed end with some diagonal
cutters.
As he snipped it the piece was propelled right into his eye.

Safety goggles are of course the proper answer. But I've been known to
just lay a scrap or a ruler or even another pair of pliers/cutters over
the top to deflect the snipped part. Or, where possible, turn the piece
upside down so the ejecta hits the floor or the bench.

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw