Magnets can be very useful and a lot of fun, so long as a few basic precautions are kept in mind at all time. Do watch those fingers (and other appendages): attracting magnets can slam together quicker than you can say ‘ouch'. This can result in severe pinching, blood blisters and other nasties which you may want to steer well clear off. The bigger the magnet, the more serious potential injuries: sizeable magnets need to be handled with extreme caution.

Magnets can damage each other: neodymium magnets are brittle and can shatter, crack or peel if they slam together. For this reason you should always wear safety goggles or other suitable eye protection when handling the beasts to avoid pieces of shattering magnets getting into your eyes.

You're unlikely to still own video and cassette tapes but it is worth noting that magnetic media can suffer from exposure to a magnetic field. This means that a number of today's essentials could be wiped / damaged if care is not taken: avoid placing magnets near your wallet (credit cards, work pass, oyster card etc.) and electronic appliances including TVs, monitors, DVD players etc.

Kids and magnets don't mix: in addition to the injury risks detailed above magnets can also pose a choking hazard for children. Even the smallest magnets can be highly dangerous if swallowed or inserted in any part of the body, so don't!

Another big No-No is the proximity of medical equipment. Pacemakers in particular can be affected by magnetic fields.

As mentioned further up rare-earth magnets are brittle. They can crack or shatter so attempting to put them through any kind of tooling / machining is not advised.

It is worth noting that normal neodymium magnets start to cease to be magnetic if subjected to temperatures over 80ºC (175° F), and can emit toxic fumes if subjected to extremely high heat so please dispose of them carefully. We do carry some neodymium magnets which are specially made to be subjected to temperatures up to 150ºC (302º F).