live by the knife; watch your fingers

spoonrobot

spoonrobot

Joined
May 1, 2004
Messages
1,240
I work as a prep/line cook in a fine-dining restaurant and happened to chop off most of my index fingernail last saturday night.

The perp: Al Mar 8 inch chef knife from NGK. I rate it excellent; thin and sharp.
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The victim: This is from today, a little more than a week later. It looks a lot better and not nearly as nasty as when I first did it.
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It really didn't hurt that much, I was chopping scallions and had that once every few year lapse that most every cook has where things just line up wrong and I ended up driving the knife through my fingernail about a split second before I realized what I was doing. The worst thing was the crunch it made as it went through, still makes me a little nauseous. I ended up sitting on a 5-gallon bucket next to the fryer for about half an hour before the bleeding stopped and my stomach quit doing gymnastics and I could get back to work. The head chef said I turned green and looked pretty bad right after it happened.
 
It looks like you chew your finger nails. That's incredibly nasty. Even more for a person who preps food.

If you don't, I apoligize. How do you get them that short?

I hope it heals up quickly.
 
skcusloa said:
It looks like you chew your finger nails. That's incredibly nasty. Even more for a person who preps food.

If you don't, I apoligize. How do you get them that short?

I hope it heals up quickly.
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I only chew gum. I just cut them really short and file them smooth. I got tired of going home with flour or pepper or somesuch kitchen crap under my fingernails every night.

I bet someone had a nice suprise with their dinner!
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The other prep cooks put the piece on a plate and had some pretty good giggles about it. If it doesn't kill you it is instant material for everyone else in the kitchen.
 
That looks like it hurt, hope it heals fine. Imagine if the knife was dull, it would have tore instead of cut cleanly that would have been even worse.

knifenutz said:
Looks painful, but it definately doesn't look like you chopped off MOST of your finger.
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He dosn'y say it was most of his finger but rather his fingernail.

spoonrobot said:
I work as a prep/line cook in a fine-dining restaurant and happened to chop off most of my index fingernail last saturday night.
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JamEs
 
OWW! that looked like it hurt. thats part of using knives, like you said. I've been to the ER twice because of them.
 
Yep, I did the same thing to my middle finger slicing some onions.
My cut went from the quick all the way down to the tip. The thing just wouldn't stop bleeding! I was walking around with a rubber glove that slowly filled the finger up with blood. Finally had a bus boy drive me to E.R. where the doc cauterized it with some acid on a q-tip. He said "this is going to hurt". That worried me because they Never say that...usually it's "this is gonna sting"...or "there will be some discomfort". He was right it hurt...a LOT!! I screamed.
I've had to go to E.R. for work related cuts 3 times in the last 24 years. Should have been a few more but just couldn't get away.
Nails are kept short and clean...the right hand thumbnail is kept longer to allow easier peeling of prawns.
 
Too bad, but a nice clean cut. It comes with the job, hopefully not too often. I am chef too and get the odd nick.

You can tell a good chef by the way if he carries a tasting spoon. I see yours is in your back pack :)

Have you tried the Kai/Kershaw Shun Classic range yet? Superb knives.

I also keep my nails clean and short, but I keep a bit of 'white' to peel onion skins and as Shappa says, peeling prawns.
 
My screw-up digit is my left thumb - I've rocked a knife into there a few times over the years, twice while doing carrots. :(

You think the crunching sound when you go through fingernail makes you queasy, the sound of hitting your own bone still gets to me if I remember it.:barf:
 
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