- Joined
- Oct 19, 1998
- Messages
- 498
Here are the abstracts to a few knife-related articles I came across while at www.pubmed.org
Enjoy
Wounds inflicted by survival-knives.
Ciallella C, Caringi C, Aromatario M.
Institute of Forensic Medicine, Universita La Sapienza, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161, Rome, Italy. costantinociallella@hotmail.com
A homicidal fatality is presented to demonstrate that the pattern of injuries may suggest the use of an unusual sharp force, a survival-knife, the characteristics of which are in any case well defined. This knife has saw teeth along the back that can leave characteristic scrape marks on the skin.
PMID: 11955838 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Accidental sharp force fatalities--beware of architectural glass, not knives.
Karger B, Rothschild MA, Pfeiffer H.
Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Munster, Von-Esmarch-Strasse 62, 48149 Munster, Germany. brinkma@uni-muenster.de
In a retrospective evaluation of 799 consecutive autopsies of victims of sharp force performed between 1967 and 1996 in Munster and Berlin, only 18 cases (2.3%) were classified as accidents. A typical pattern was present in 15 cases: inebriated adults (1.4-3.6g/l BAC) fell into an architectural glass surface in the form of a door or window (12 cases), an aquarium, a mirrored wardrobe or a telephone cell. Another man fell into a large drinking glass. Many victims in this group showed multiple scratches, abrasions and superficial incisions as well as one or more deep tear/cut/puncture injury. The wound margins can be clean-cut or irregular and abraded. Death was mostly caused by exsanguination except for one case of air embolism and one case of cerebral injury. The fatal injuries were produced by large and dagger-like slivers of glass, by sharp-edged fragments of glass remaining inside the frame or by a portion of glass which fell down and acted in a way similar to a guillotine. Ordinary types of flat glass were involved in all cases and it is not until the impact that sharp fragments or cutting edges are produced. So the motion of the person commonly provides the force necessary for a fatal injury. This was also true for the remaining two cases not involving architectural glass. A farmer suffered cerebral injury from a fall into the long prong of a pitch fork, and the wounding agent was a knife in only one case. A man who stated that he had fallen into the knife in his hand died from pneumonia after inadequate therapy following a single stab injury to the periphery of the left lung and liver. Accidents where the victim is killed by his own knife therefore appear to be extremely rare.
PMID: 11728738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The influence of knife dullness on poultry processing operator exertions and the effectiveness of periodic knife steeling.
Szabo RL, Radwin RG, Henderson CJ.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706, USA.
A novel procedure is described to establish knife steeling schedules for poultry and meat- processing operations based on increased force due to knife dullness from repetitive use to minimize operator exertions and physical stress associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Knife dullness was quantified using a novel apparatus described in this article that measures the area cut by a knife into a carrageenan gel target for a controlled dynamic load at the knife handle. Two meat-cleaning jobs in a poultry-processing plant were studied. One job required significantly more force and a greater number of cuts than the other. Eight experienced operators participated in the study. Four freshly ground and honed knives were randomly used by each operator for 4, 45, 75, or 125 cutting cycles, measured for dullness and reconditioned by the operator using a steel sharpening rod. An empirical model for knife dulling and reconditioning was developed, and the corresponding increase in force was predicted for various cutting and reconditioning frequencies. The model showed that it took 57 and 125 cutting cycles for the high- and low-force jobs, respectively, to achieve a similar reduction in target surface area of 30%. This reduction in target surface area corresponded to a similar percentage increase in force needed for the same cut in carrageenan gel as compared to a freshly honed knife as measured using strain gages. This method may be used in meat processing plants for determining effective reconditioning schedules that reduce operator exertions with minimum effect on quality and productivity.
PMID: 11549136 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Enjoy
Wounds inflicted by survival-knives.
Ciallella C, Caringi C, Aromatario M.
Institute of Forensic Medicine, Universita La Sapienza, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161, Rome, Italy. costantinociallella@hotmail.com
A homicidal fatality is presented to demonstrate that the pattern of injuries may suggest the use of an unusual sharp force, a survival-knife, the characteristics of which are in any case well defined. This knife has saw teeth along the back that can leave characteristic scrape marks on the skin.
PMID: 11955838 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Accidental sharp force fatalities--beware of architectural glass, not knives.
Karger B, Rothschild MA, Pfeiffer H.
Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Munster, Von-Esmarch-Strasse 62, 48149 Munster, Germany. brinkma@uni-muenster.de
In a retrospective evaluation of 799 consecutive autopsies of victims of sharp force performed between 1967 and 1996 in Munster and Berlin, only 18 cases (2.3%) were classified as accidents. A typical pattern was present in 15 cases: inebriated adults (1.4-3.6g/l BAC) fell into an architectural glass surface in the form of a door or window (12 cases), an aquarium, a mirrored wardrobe or a telephone cell. Another man fell into a large drinking glass. Many victims in this group showed multiple scratches, abrasions and superficial incisions as well as one or more deep tear/cut/puncture injury. The wound margins can be clean-cut or irregular and abraded. Death was mostly caused by exsanguination except for one case of air embolism and one case of cerebral injury. The fatal injuries were produced by large and dagger-like slivers of glass, by sharp-edged fragments of glass remaining inside the frame or by a portion of glass which fell down and acted in a way similar to a guillotine. Ordinary types of flat glass were involved in all cases and it is not until the impact that sharp fragments or cutting edges are produced. So the motion of the person commonly provides the force necessary for a fatal injury. This was also true for the remaining two cases not involving architectural glass. A farmer suffered cerebral injury from a fall into the long prong of a pitch fork, and the wounding agent was a knife in only one case. A man who stated that he had fallen into the knife in his hand died from pneumonia after inadequate therapy following a single stab injury to the periphery of the left lung and liver. Accidents where the victim is killed by his own knife therefore appear to be extremely rare.
PMID: 11728738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The influence of knife dullness on poultry processing operator exertions and the effectiveness of periodic knife steeling.
Szabo RL, Radwin RG, Henderson CJ.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706, USA.
A novel procedure is described to establish knife steeling schedules for poultry and meat- processing operations based on increased force due to knife dullness from repetitive use to minimize operator exertions and physical stress associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Knife dullness was quantified using a novel apparatus described in this article that measures the area cut by a knife into a carrageenan gel target for a controlled dynamic load at the knife handle. Two meat-cleaning jobs in a poultry-processing plant were studied. One job required significantly more force and a greater number of cuts than the other. Eight experienced operators participated in the study. Four freshly ground and honed knives were randomly used by each operator for 4, 45, 75, or 125 cutting cycles, measured for dullness and reconditioned by the operator using a steel sharpening rod. An empirical model for knife dulling and reconditioning was developed, and the corresponding increase in force was predicted for various cutting and reconditioning frequencies. The model showed that it took 57 and 125 cutting cycles for the high- and low-force jobs, respectively, to achieve a similar reduction in target surface area of 30%. This reduction in target surface area corresponded to a similar percentage increase in force needed for the same cut in carrageenan gel as compared to a freshly honed knife as measured using strain gages. This method may be used in meat processing plants for determining effective reconditioning schedules that reduce operator exertions with minimum effect on quality and productivity.
PMID: 11549136 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
