Kershaw / SpeedSafe Accident

J

JNieporte

Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
3,352
Well, there I am, minding my own business. My full-sized Cyclone (in SpeedSafe mode) is in my left pocket, tip up (I'm left-handed and this has always worked for my other Kershaws). I need some pocket change, so I reach into the pocket and open a nice 4" gash on my little finger. Damn knife came open in my pocket! I didn't even hear it open! My finger didn't hurt until the air hit it. You all know that feeling ;)

I've owned SpeedSafe knives for a long time and never had a problem with them opening without me making them open, so I'm perplexed.

{It's actually squirting blood. Umm, it's numb. Numb equals nerve damage. Sh*t. Better call for an ambulance. I wonder if those guys have any Kershaws themsel.... f**k, I should call them.}

Eleven stitches later and news that I have some bad nerve damage, and I go back home. I tried for about two hours re-creating what might have opened the knife in my pocket. I nudged it from all angles; I checked the knife for malfunctions; I even thumbed the flipper with the knife in my pocket, but nothing could explain how it opened. I've never had a problem like this.

Why did the knife open in my pocket?! This doesn't make any sense. Yes, I'm POSITIVE it was in SpeedSafe mode. So, how did it happen?
Well, my theory is that the knife was mad. I review every new knife model I get, and I've had the Cyclone for about a week now and I haven't reviewed it. It got mad and jealous, so the summbitch bit me. Mark my word, as soon as I'm done typing this and checking my wound, I'll be writing up a review so I don't get bitten again.

EDIT: Here's the review so I don't get injured by this angry fellow again... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6090506#post6090506
 
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Lefty tip up leaves room for the knife to open in your pocket.... (righty tip up would place the spine of the blade in the seam of your pocket)..... From what I can tell you were doing one of 2 things wrong. Either you shouldn't have been born left handed (I suspent there is nothing you can do about this) or you should have been carrying tip down....... this is obviously your fault one way or the other ;):p

Seriously, I'd have to say it is a freak thing. I put myself in a similar jam, but, to a lesser degree as I like to carry righty tip down.... never had one open on me (yet). You might want to tighten the pivot a bit before you stick it back in your pocket....that might slow it down enough to keep it from opening as much...:confused:...I dunno.

All that being said, at least you didn't sit down and get speared in the giblets. :D

All the funnin' aside, sorry about your luck dude. Take care of that cut and I hope you get the feeling back and e/t gets back to normal :thumbup:
 
Get well soon man. that sucks cutting yourself. I did it Saturday, but not as bad as you. Hope the nerve heals and hope you start carrying tip DOWN in your left pocket!
 
tip up ALWAYS against the seam.... i learned the hard way, although not as bad as this guy. Makes me whince


spiralarchitect said:
Lefty tip up leaves room for the knife to open in your pocket.... (righty tip up would place the spine of the blade in the seam of your pocket)..... From what I can tell you were doing one of 2 things wrong. Either you shouldn't have been born left handed (I suspent there is nothing you can do about this) or you should have been carrying tip down....... this is obviously your fault one way or the other ;):p

Seriously, I'd have to say it is a freak thing. I put myself in a similar jam, but, to a lesser degree as I like to carry righty tip down.... never had one open on me (yet). You might want to tighten the pivot a bit before you stick it back in your pocket....that might slow it down enough to keep it from opening as much...:confused:...I dunno.

All that being said, at least you didn't sit down and get speared in the giblets. :D

All the funnin' aside, sorry about your luck dude. Take care of that cut and I hope you get the feeling back and e/t gets back to normal :thumbup:
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Ouch! I put my blur like that and did the same thing, only to a much lesser degree than you. The blades get put against the seem, and I find that tip-down for lefty carry is perfect for me (even though I'm a righty)

Hope you heal ok, and put the spine on the seam, please. :)
 
Soak it in cayenne pepper. Burn like the blazes but should help with the nerve damage. I had just finished forging out a long hunter style about three years ago and put the initial edge on it. Was testing the edged on paper when it slipped and sliced a nice dime-sized chunk off my finger. I washed it with H2O2 and taped the chunk back on. Then I soaked it in 90,000 heat unit cayenne pepper for ten days. Looked bad for a while, but now I have a groovy little scar that proves that I make knives. Feeling was gone for about a year, but it slowly came back to normal last year. If you don't want the scar, rub it with aloe and oregano oil.
 
Pictures of the wound or i dont believe! =) But yes, spine of blade against seam. Or for me, i carry all my knives in my coin pocket, so it's all nice and snug in there.
 
JN, tip up in the left pocket is a dangerous thing. About a year ago, I gave a MC to a lefty friend. A week later it looked like he had been trying to catch razor blades in his fingertips.

A 10 minute trip to the local gunsmith, 10 bucks and I had his MC drilled and tapped for left hand tip up. This put the blade spine against the seam of his left front pocket, and just like magic, no more bloody fingertips! He also liked having his finger fall against the flipper when he reached for his knife.

A good gunsmith can drill, tap and move the clip to the opposite side within a few minutes. Give it a try. Or you can always drop a note to STR here and have him do it, but that requires shipping the knife.
 
i was gonna ask. whats the schedule. wake up. soak, work soak. home soak?

or more like a couple times a day for ten days.
 
You could have used some of that crap them people from South Dakota called likker. I've never tasted such nasty stuff in my life. I think they stopped up the road and filled a few jars up with kerosene. If it's no good for drinking, seems like it might be worth something to soak your cuts in.
 
JNieporte said:
Eleven stitches later and news that I have some bad nerve damage, and I go back home.
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If the cut was clean (and it sounds like it was), the connective tissues surrounding the nerve bundle that was cut will reform the sheath, and guide the budding nerve stalk back to where it should be (as long as the stitching was careful and didn't displace anything). Usually a hand surgeon will find the severed bundle and reconnect it, before stitching up the skin.

Nerve endings do regenerate, albeit very slowly (~1 inch/month), and you will likely regain much, if not all, of the sensory functions.
 
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