Plant Strikes Back.

G

Garlic

Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
288
Hello everyone.

Yesterday, I was walking along a trail near my home, & decided, just at random, to pull out my spydie & slice some of the high overgrowth. I did my best Ed Schemp impression, & swish, the blades of wheatlike grass flew off. I got this dumb sense of satisfaction. As i saunter along, i get a slight stinging sensation in my thumb, and to my disappointment, one of the grass blades sliced me. Talk about instant Karma. The lesson I learned was to never use my knife for random acts of violence against plants.

It might be just me who's hurt himself in such an idiotic way playing with a knife, but does anyone else have a similar story to make me feel better about the bandaid on my thumb?

Thanks.
 
Yup.

Tall grass can easily cut and slice the hand. I've been cut many a time doing weeding.

Some grasses are worse than others (and are razor sharp), but even humble caterpillar can do it after a certain height.
 
Watchful said:
Yup.

Tall grass can easily cut and slice the hand. I've been cut many a time doing weeding.

Some grasses are worse than others (and are razor sharp), but even humble caterpillar can do it after a certain height.
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Dang. The funny thing was, I thought I must have cut myself while closing the knife, but upon closer examination of my thumb, there were other little parallel cuts next to the big one. I felt a little better knowing that Mother Nature bit me rather than myself via clumsy one-handed closing.

Thanks for the feedback!
 
Not quite the same, but have caused myself quite a bit of pain chopping rank growth without checking to see what it was.

Stinging Nettles.


Thomas Zinn
 
As a kid I used to detassel corn for an odd summer job. Those leaves can shred skin like a paring knife, only the corn results in jagged rough cuts that bleed like crazy.

Working in the Arkansas jungle as an archaeologist, we sometimes had to clear serious underbrush away from excavation sites. Once those briar branches are loose and swinging all over the place, you'll quickly wish they were attached back to the ground.

Ever had a Christmas Tree Cholla cactus deeply embedded in the back of your leg? Hint, the thorns are barbed. And there's only one way to get it off, and no ways to get it off that won't leave bleeding holes in your leg.

Yep, plants suck. :)
-Bob
 
I've done the same sort of slashing with my Vaquero Grande, without getting plant cuts. The 6" blade plus a couple inches of handle keep me far enough away from the action.
 
yeah, plants are friggin mean to the unsuspecting. thanks for the feedback folks.

esav - i guess it might pay to look into a mega-MEGA folder when i don't tote around a fixed blade outdoors!
 
Garlic said:
yeah, plants are friggin mean to the unsuspecting. thanks for the feedback folks.

esav - i guess it might pay to look into a mega-MEGA folder when i don't tote around a fixed blade outdoors!
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I'd get the longest and baddest Opinel you can!
 
tim8557 said:
I'd get the longest and baddest Opinel you can!
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Lol, okay dammit that does it. I'm gonna go do a search on an opinel, heard it mentioned a many times, but never bothered to see what it is. Hold on, I'll be back.
 
From here http://www.opinel-musee.com/uk/idx_presentation-uk.htm:

"In 1890, Joseph Opinel was an edge-tool maker at Albiez-le-Vieux, a little commune not far from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, in Savoie. He forged tools with his father that country folk from the surrounding areas came to buy. They came from far to purchase axes, billhooks and pruning knives from the little family run workshop that had already built up somewhat of a reputation.

Now this hardened Savoyard began to produce pocketknives for a few friends that were simple, robust and cheap."

^^^Well, now I know a little more about the Opinel. Personally, that funny-lookin' knife reminds me of something put together by a student knifemaker, no offense meant. Thanks for the suggestion, but it's just not my thing, aesthetically anyway.
 
We have sawgrass down here. And it's just as mean as the name implies. The stuff is sharper than many charming cheapies I've messed with at flea markets and such. :rolleyes:

Thomas,

I feel your pain with the Stinging Nettles. I found out about them the hard way too. GAWD that venom hurts! It's the nearest thing I've found to a Cow-Killer's venom. Wouldn't surprise me if the little beasties get theirs from eating those Stinging Nettles. :D
 
misque said:
The stuff is sharper than many charming cheapies I've messed with at flea markets and such. :rolleyes:
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Tell me about it. The cut was CLEAN. Thankfully, it's almost fully healed. I missed a weight training workout over it, but hey. That's Mother Nature when she's messed with!
 
Went the cholla cactus route in Arizona only it was my hand, then the other hand and my leg...bastards are like the tarbaby...don't use one hand to get it off the other :eek: .
Here in Texas a lot of things stick sting and poke. Gotten nasty slices from Johnson grass and wrecked a bike into a pampass grass in a neighbor's yard. That sliced my t-shirt too.
One of the funniest cactus bites I ever saw was when a friend got poked through his pants leg by a section of a branch cactus. The sections are about the size of a wasp. He, thinking he was stung, started slapping and leaping around the trail screaming "I been stung! I been stung! I been stung!" and slapping at the 'bug', which precipitated the incident by 'stinging' him more. "It got my hand!" We were concerned until we saw what was getting him.
We were red eyed from laughing and he, from crying... not sure if he ever recovered completely. I'll never forget it. :D
 
Merek said:
not sure if he ever recovered completely. I'll never forget it. :D
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Now, this is true wrath! Truth is more fascinating than fiction for sure. Great input folks, my thumb is almost 100% today, thank goodness.
 
I have bougainvillea growing over the fence in my front and back yards. The stuff is great house armor, the thorns on this stuff can rape turkeys. Takes a lot of work to cut back though, leather gloves are a must, and on many times I have had a thorn poke through my glove and give me a nasty puncture.
 
Garlic said:
From here http://www.opinel-musee.com/uk/idx_presentation-uk.htm:
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Uh-oh ... "La page est introuvable" :eek:

"Il se peut que la page que vous recherchez ait été supprimée, ait changé de nom ou soit momentanément indisponible."

:D I've always had an Opinel or two around. They are lightweight and very sharp. Also unobtrusive ... and available in so many sizes ... my kitchen drawer has 3.25" and 5" blade versions. These can do just about kind any food prep work.

The handles are not only comfortable, it is something of a tradition among Opinel owners to customize the handle shape. Also to wax it or color it or even modify the blade itself. It's so cheap, it makes a great platform for experimenting.

If you are ever traveling someplace you think you might have trouble with the knife laws, an Opinel and a small SAK will probably get overlooked -- not worth "confiscating". The two together will take care of most real work you need a knife for.
 
zinn1348 said:
Not quite the same, but have caused myself quite a bit of pain chopping rank growth without checking to see what it was.

Stinging Nettles.
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Those lovely things have saved us a lot of trouble explaining to new students why it is common practice to wear long pants and closed shoes (vs sandals) when doing field research in New England, even in the height of summer...
 
misque said:
We have sawgrass down here. And it's just as mean as the name implies. The stuff is sharper than many charming cheapies I've messed with at flea markets and such. :rolleyes:

Thomas,

I feel your pain with the Stinging Nettles. I found out about them the hard way too. GAWD that venom hurts! It's the nearest thing I've found to a Cow-Killer's venom. Wouldn't surprise me if the little beasties get theirs from eating those Stinging Nettles. :D
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Heh Heh,

Knew about them nettles from childhood.....just don't watch for them like I should.

Now those brambles.....they're something else too. I don't even mess with them with a knife. I use a brushcutter blade on my weed eater. Much less painfull that way.


Thomas Zinn
 
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