Look closely at a GRAFT lens and you will find it, small, near the edge: Z87+. It is the most important thing printed on the pair, and the least understood.
What the mark says
Z87 refers to ANSI Z87.1, the American standard for eye and face protection at work. It is the standard most US sites and safety plans mean when they say safety glasses. Eyewear that meets the basic requirements can carry Z87. The plus sign means it has also passed the high impact tests: a steel ball fired at speed, and a heavy pointed weight dropped onto the lens. A pair without the plus is not rated for high impact.
Every GRAFT lens and frame is ANSI Z87+ impact rated. Both matter. A lens that holds while the frame gives way still ends up in your eye.
What it does not say
- It is not a seal. A wraparound frame covers the sides, but fine dust and liquid splash call for goggles.
- It is not an arc filter. Our Welding lens is shade 5, for gas cutting and brazing. Not for arc welding.
- It is not forever. A cracked or badly scratched lens is finished, whatever is printed on it.
What to do with it
Check for the mark on anything you buy. If it is not on the lens and the frame, treat the pair as sunglasses.
Keep the paperwork. The certificate ships in the box, so it can go straight into the site file the day someone asks what the crew is wearing.
Look after the lens, because a scratched lens gets taken off. Rinse it under a tap before wiping, so grit does not drag across the coating. Microfiber only, never a sleeve. Store the pair in its case. The lens is replaceable, so a scratch does not have to mean a new pair: the recycled nylon frame has plenty of life left in it.
And remember where the rating stops counting. The best Z87+ pair on site is the one that never goes up on the hat.
