Freakin' punctured myself...

I watched a carpenter boss of mine shoot himself in the hand with a finish nail trying to put some trim together. He pulled it out, tried it again and shot himself AGAIN in the same place!
 
A few years back I was doing the final polish on a 4" sabre ( mini). It was fully sharp and the point was like a needle. I poked it in my thumb when the tip cleared the folded paper. It bled like crazy. I quickly went to stop the bleeding and apply cyanoacrylic to the tiny puncture. I dried it off, and couldn't seem to get all the blood off. I turned my thumb over and saw that the sword had gone all the way through....and there was a hole on the other side of my thumb.
 
Stacy, istn't cyanoacrylic very toxic?

And salem, I know what it is like to nonchalantly ask the shopgirl if she can point out where they have the bandages, pressing paper towels on your strongly bleeding hand.
But the look on the sales girls face is all worth it :D
"No I'm fine, thank you, don't need any help"
 
woodwrkr221 said:
The only way we ever seem to learn is through failure or pain, I guess we just gotta take our lumps for it to sink in.
Click to expand...
I respectfully disagree.;)

I have never had any debris in my eye, never cut my hand on a bandsaw, scrubbed a finger on a grinder belt, caught an edge on a buffer, never drilled into myself or had a piece helicopter and injure me, never hit my thumb with a hammer, burned myself on hot steel, dropped something heavy on my toe, etc...

I have been working professionally in shop environments for 20+years and aside from a few isolated incidents(messed up my back sledding with the kids.. lol), have had a clean safety record. Those who have worked along side me know I'm a stickler for safety. I wear safety glasses when I hike in the woods and steel toed boots when I cut the grass! I heed warnings and remember them because my health is more important than the task I am doing. I'm not afraid to say it for fear of jinx or insulting those who experience accidents. Things will happen purely based on odds and my odds have been good... because I do everything I can to put them in my favor.:thumbup:
 
Last edited:
Reminds me of the time I tried to open a Hickory nut with my slippie, severed a tendon in my left hand. The hand doctor said I'd be just as well off not to have it fixed (I waited too long before going to see him). Left middle finger hasn't worked quite right for years, never will.

Does your thumb seem to work correctly now?
 
Last edited:
My new spydie Superhawk just bit me the other day. Just a half inch cut, so no big deal. But with a puncture as in your case, even if you're up to date with your tetanus boosters, you should talk to your physician right now to get another one, just in case. Deep cuts and bites are the ones to really worry about. Just saying.
 
Salem Straub said:
Retail therapy this morning included bandages, a cigar, a new bottle of soluble cutting oil, and some grade 8 bolts for my press slide.
Click to expand...

Bandages are good. The cigar is optional. The cutting oil is useless in this case... you need plenty hydrogen peroxide for the wound and plenty bourbon for your brain. I'm not sure if the bolts will help or not... it's too early to tell.

Patrice Lemée;10908176 said:
I am glad it wasn't worst Salem. Sympathy time is over, now you get a slap behind the head for not having a proper medical kit on hand.
Click to expand...

True. We surround ourselves with powerful machinery that cuts steel... it's freaking dumb to not have a good 1st aid kit on hand.
 
Last edited:
james terrio said:
+ a whole bunch on getting and keeping it CLEAN, and well-bandaged in-between cleanings. If there's even a speck of organic matter or bacteria buried down in that hole, it's gonna cause problems.

The pain and discomfort that comes from frequently and thoroughly disinfecting a puncture- or bite-wounds sucks big time, but it sure beats having a digit or hand rot off :eek: If it continues to be badly swollen, red, bruised looking and/or oozing gross fluids for more than a day, please seek professional attention. Antibiotics may be needed. (smart folks would say "go see a doctor RIGHT NOW"... but I know how knifemakers and other shop-rats are... you're gonna try and treat it yourself and save a couple hundred bucks.)
Click to expand...

I had a finger cut that educated me.
It was really minor not much more than a pin prick, but was infected with something nasty.
It was a little swollen, but not too bothersome.
My arms were either covered with sleeves or dirty so I didn't see anything wrong until someone else noticed red streaks in my skin.


I find we are pretty proud and quick to use the superglue to shut up a wound, but deep cuts and punctures are best left open to drain
and really important to get clean first.

Some bacteria will live in the absence of oxygen in the closed wound.

The deep wounds that are swollen sore and red, but not producing pus Even more dangerous then the shallow cuts.
If you see red streaks travelling up your arm along the tendons and blood vessels it's time to get it doctored and medicated immediately or they will have to cut off the whole arm.



Alcohol is a really poor antiseptic, it only works on some bacteria
Pouring your favourite booze on it is manly but useless too unless it's 70%.
70% is most effective, even more so then 100% and especially more than the 50% they sell in the dollar store.


Soap, water and 3% hydrogen peroxide work well.
 
Last edited:
I will give it an eight--I didn't heave so no ten there. Nice symmetric design. I drilled through a finger with a drive screw once, it was ten. :barf::eek:
 
My thumb does work OK as far as I can tell, went back out and finished broaching the stag, fit alignment pins on the guard and stag, then drilled all the bolt holes in the slider plate for the press. Other than a kind of well, punctured/deep bruise feel, it's all good. Started bleeding through the bandage, so now I'm done for a while.

I'm just glad I don't have a gig this weekend. It would be very hard to drum with this.

Smack on the back of the head accepted. I felt pretty dumb having nothing better than bandaids on hand.

Good stories guys. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for infection.
 
Salem,
The little voice we hear just before we hurt ourselves, could be God, could be our sub-conscious,
could be the invisible elf on our shoulder, doesn't matter the source--PAY FREAKING
ATTENTION!!!!
Bill:D
 
Bill Hoffman said:
Salem,
The little voice we hear just before we hurt ourselves, could be God, could be our sub-conscious,
could be the invisible elf on our shoulder, doesn't matter the source--PAY FREAKING
ATTENTION!!!!
Bill:D
Click to expand...
Or... it could be an echo from a parallel universe, where the exact mistake you are about to make has already happened. Perhaps that "voice" is your alternate self thinking of what you should have done to avoid the injury and you are just picking up interdimensional frequencies. Tune in and PAY FREAKING ATTENTION!!!!
 
Rick Marchand said:
Tune in and PAY FREAKING ATTENTION!!!!
Click to expand...

Rick is 100% correct that safety gear and intelligent practices will prevent the huge majority of shop injuries. Fact is, most "accidents" are the direct result of carelessness.

12345678910 said:
I find we are pretty proud and quick to use the superglue to shut up a wound, but deep cuts and punctures are best left open to drain and really important to get clean first.
Click to expand...

True! When I say well-bandaged, I only meant protected from further filth/infection, not waterproofed... completely sealing off healthy flesh will result in bad news. I would never choose CA to close a puncture, unless I was bleeding badly knew and I was going to be medevaced to the care of skilled professionals very soon.

12345678910 said:
Alcohol is a really poor antiseptic, it only works on some bacteria...soap, water and 3% hydrogen peroxide work well.
Click to expand...

Also true. Hydrogen peroxide is for cleaning your wounds. Isopropyl alcohol is for cleaning surfaces prior to epoxying them together. Booze is for other purposes.
 
Last edited:
Hengelo_77 said:
Stacy, isn't cyanoacrylic very toxic?
Click to expand...

No, the "Cyano" in the name is from the same molecular group as "Cyanide" but cyanoacrylate is not particularly toxic.

Cyano means that one nitrogen atom is triple bonded to one carbon atom. This leaves one open bond, which can join in many other compounds - some deadly, some not. If it joins with hydrogen, it becomes hydrogen cyanide gas - which kills quickly. Joined to an active metal, like sodium or potassium, and you get sodium/potassium cyanide. This breaks down easily when dissolved and releases deadly cyanide. When joined with an acrylate, it becomes super glue ( cyanoacrylate). Join it to iron, and you get Prussian Blue pigment for paint ( ferrocyanide).

Many countries use a medical grade super glue for surgery, but ( despite the stories to the contrary) in the USA, only Veterinarians are allowed to close wounds with super glue. The Army used to use it for closing field wounds , but modern clotting agents plus rapid medivac has made that use unnecessary today.
I keep thin Aron Alpha ( industrial grade cyanoacrylate) for closing wounds.


In the shop, closing a well cleaned shallow cut with thin good grade super glue is OK. Deep cuts and punctures need to be throughly cleaned and require medical knowledge before sealing up.


A note to all who make knives:
No one who does our type of work should ever go without a tetanus booster shot ( unless you are the rare person who is allergic to the vaccine) . Ask your doctor, or the doc at the ER next visit to give you one.
 
Thnx Stacy. It was the Cyanide I was worried about.
And I got my tetanus shot after spine whacking a liner lock knife kit :D
 
Quick Clot Sport Advanced has been recommended to me and I have a pad of it in my first aid kit. And +1 on keeping up with your tetanus shot boosters.
 
No first hand knowledge but I've heard that Quick Clot burned like the dickens and that Celox was not as bad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top