From bushcraft to the e.r.

[PDE]

Well, last night I was in the woods on my property and was practicing a little bushcraft and I was making a fire to warm up a bit. I was with one of my dogs and after we heard some raccoons fighting, he ran off for them. He is getting pretty old and last time he attacked a raccoon, he got chewed up pretty bad. So, I took off after him and while I was running down a trail through the woods, my Bark River Aurora slipped out of it's sheath and fell towards my leg. Simultaneously, my leg was moving up and kicked the knife. I did not stop to look for my knife, I just limped for my house. Ten minutes later I am to the car and on my way to the emergency room, thirty minutes away. I get there and wait an hour before they can see me.
The thing that gets me is that none of the nurses could figure out why I had a knife, they thought I was crazy. They kept asking if I was stabbed, by someone else. No one these days is a fan of knives, until they need one. I leave with three stitches and a 150 dollar bill. Still do not have a clue as to where my knife went.

Do any of you have a story about when you got hurt by a knife?

 

[PropThePolecat]

Whoah man! Glad to hear it wasnt more serious than that. Forget about the knife, you could have sliced a tendon or something serious. How did it slip out of its sheath? Wasnt it fastned in any ways with a snap button or something else? Or was it one of those deep carry leather sheaths?

 

[foxx]

Sorry to hear about your injury, and hope you find your Barkie.
I've gotten a few cuts over the years, 12 in the culinary industry. Lost a couple finger tips, but never a trip to the ER for a knife injury.

 

[PDE]

Whoah man! Glad to hear it wasnt more serious than that. Forget about the knife, you could have sliced a tendon or something serious. How did it slip out of its sheath? Wasnt it fastned in any ways with a snap button or something else? Or was it one of those deep carry leather sheaths?

It is a deep leather one, not my favorite design. I recently ordered some more Kydex, probably first sheath I make will be for my Aurora. The knife went in about four inches from the tendon behind my knee and several inches from my femoral artery.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Glad you were not hurt worse

Now go find that knife

 

[PropThePolecat]

My nastiest cut was when about 10 years ago and involved a stanley knife I sliced my left palm clean open. Took about 10 stitches to close it, and i couldnt use my hand for about a month.

Other than that, just the regular nicks here and there. Some of them were deep and bled profusely, but nothing that required ER treatment.

But with solo outings far away from other people, where i use an axe and knife i thought it would be prudent to invest in something to stop some serious bleeding. I bought something called Quikclot, which is a hemostatic agent, made up of a chemically inert material in a mesh bag that speeds coagulation of blood, resulting in a stable clot that stops severe bleeding quickly.

Might just be the thing that tips the balance and saves my life, should i ever swing my axe into my leg or something.

PDE, were you carrying a first aid kit?

 

[hollowdweller]

I love that type sheath.

How did it come out? Did you have a lanyard on it that got caught on something??

If you PM me your address I will send you one of our famous "cut yourself" merit badges we all got a few years ago.:thumbup:

 

[PDE]

My nastiest cut was when about 10 years ago and involved a stanley knife I sliced my left palm clean open. Took about 10 stitches to close it, and i couldnt use my hand for about a month.

Other than that, just the regular nicks here and there. Some of them were deep and bled profusely, but nothing that required ER treatment.

But with solo outings far away from other people, where i use an axe and knife i thought it would be prudent to invest in something to stop some serious bleeding. I bought something called Quikclot, which is a hemostatic agent, made up of a chemically inert material in a mesh bag that speeds coagulation of blood, resulting in a stable clot that stops severe bleeding quickly.

Might just be the thing that tips the balance and saves my life, should i ever swing my axe into my leg or something.

PDE, were you carrying a first aid kit?

No, but it probably would not of been a bad idea. It is funny, you always need what you don't have.

 

[tholiver]

Ouch! Hope it heals fast!
How deep does the Aurora ride in the sheath?

 

[Farnsrocket]

Glad you're OK!

The thing that gets me is that none of the nurses could figure out why I had a knife, they thought I was crazy. They kept asking if I was stabbed, by someone else. No one these days is a fan of knives, until they need one.

Isn't it wild? I remember taking a pocket knife to school.......not anymore!!

 

[PDE]

I love that type sheath.

How did it come out? Did you have a lanyard on it that got caught on something??

If you PM me your address I will send you one of our famous "cut yourself" merit badges we all got a few years ago.:thumbup:

I am still not sure exactly as to what happened, but I am starting to think the lanyard might of been snagged by a branch.

 

[unit]

1. I am glad this story ends with you typing here (instead of having trouble getting to transportation to the e.r. due to severed tendon/excessive blood loss/delirium/etc.)

2. I am truly sorry for your loss of the knife...perhaps someone will find if for you?

3. Do not get too down on the e.r. or the non-knife world in general. There are PLENTY of knife fans out there, but this time of year a guy walks into the e.r. with a stab wound and the general (and perhaps warranted) assumption is some act of violence and the stories do not always come out easy (thus questioning gets sort of intense at times). Also human nature seems to include disdain for whatever thing caused harm (try going in with road rash and hear how people down talk bikes...when my sister go kicked everyone wanted to mutilate the horse...it is not right, but it happens...)

Anyway, thanks for sharing the story, and I am sure we ALL are wishing for a speedy recovery for you!

Another thought for you is regarding political correctness. Even if people are knife fans...they generally will stay quiet in a setting like the e.r....so the appearance is skewed even further.

Regarding stories about being hurt by a knife...lord, I do not think there is enough electrons here for me to type them all. Lets just say that I can go to any hospital in this town, and at least half of the e.r. attendees will know me on sight and by name!

 

[Jeff H]

Loose, sloppy sheath + BRKT Candadian Camp (JUST sharpened).
It was a deep pouch JRE, but someone had been experimenting with hot waxing and pretty much turned it into a portable hole to chunk the knife into.
Still having trouble with a tendon.
The nurses complimented my sharpening skills several times though.

I was in the house - you were in the woods.
Yours could have been a much unhappier outcome.
My usurance sucked, so my bill was about 10x yours.:grumpy:
Kydex is great for retention, but I still like leather, so I make my leather sheaths quite snug. Your episode reinforces that line of thought - I will keep making mine tight.

Glad you're OK!!:thumbup::thumbup:
Hope you find your knife.

 

[sherlockbonez]

Cut both the flexor tendons. Was a fun 2 months packing skids in the factory with a cast on my hand and a fishing line holding the pinky in place.

 

[raylaconico]

I make knives so I'm working with knives all day. I also use knives as much as anyone, but I've never gotten a bad cut from a knife. I've only gotten hurt by shop tools. Once by the bandsaw and a few times with the grinder.

 

[Cougar Allen]

They kept asking if I was stabbed, by someone else.

A lot of times an ER patient will deny it over and over and then finally admit, "Joe Blow stabbed me." That's why they keep asking. They'd rather not have Joe Blow running around loose stabbing people.

Of course some of the cockamamie stories people tell about how the knife fell out of the sheath and stabbed me all by itself are perfectly true, too, and they know that. But they have to ask.

 

[hollowdweller]

Whoah man! Glad to hear it wasnt more serious than that. Forget about the knife, you could have sliced a tendon or something serious. How did it slip out of its sheath? Wasnt it fastned in any ways with a snap button or something else? Or was it one of those deep carry leather sheaths?

Prop? Is that an albino ferret in your avatar pic?

 

[PropThePolecat]

Prop? Is that an albino ferret in your avatar pic?

Yes it is. Thats Prop himself.

 

[barrabas74]

I was splitting wood with one of my choppers about two years ago, simple splits on flat boards and I was sitting on a little chair just getting kindling made for a fire that afternoon behind my parents house. I split a piece with a knot in it and istead of stopping the blade goes out the left side and into my leg above the ankle. I feel the pressure of the blade but it didnt feel like a cut, I saw blood squirt into the air. It all happened in slow motion I tried to get to the house but my left leg was limp from the ankle down. I get to the kitchen and I am holding my ankle squeezing as hard as I can. My grandmother (visiting) comes up the stairs and I yell to call an ambulance she says why? Sees the blood all over the floor and coming through my fingertips and screams lol.

My cousin is an eagle scout and has LOTS of first aid training to boot, so does my father. They get my leg elevated and add pressure till the amublance arrives. I start feeling light headed and comment on how beautiful one of the workers is she proceeded to tell me I lost too much blood to acuratley gauge her . In the ambulance the lights get blurry, I feel sick and start blacking out. She saw this and kept me awake.

A bit of blood and some stiches and cookies and I was back to limping. The nurses at the hospitol were all perplexed about me using a knife and why I was making a fire in the summer. Actually as the nurses were all young and hot and working the night shift I made out pretty good. I still dont have feeling in the left side of my foot and if you poke the scar I feel wierd sensations from the nerves. They said I was lucky I didnt bleed to death, which if I had been by myself I just might have.

On another story I cut my finger to the bone badly one time, they got me into a room quickly but forgot about me apparently as I waited 3hours by myself until my g/f at the time arrived. She reminded them of my situation and I got stiches not 10 min later.


I have had many such trips to the hospitol from cuts but the leg one was the scariest I think.

 

[Jeff H]

A lot of times an ER patient will deny it over and over and then finally admit, "Joe Blow stabbed me." That's why they keep asking. They'd rather not have Joe Blow running around loose stabbing people.

Of course some of the cockamamie stories people tell about how the knife fell out of the sheath and stabbed me all by itself are perfectly true, too, and they know that. But they have to ask.

Makes me feel good about where I live.
There was no question about what happened and I was in and out in an hour.
Had I driven in theother direction to the hospital that accepted my insurance (same coverage regardless of what ER you went to though, as long as it was the closetst), I would have had a long wait behind a line of "questionable" injuries.