The; "Be Careful Thread!"

I had an ER doc tell me that he sees more people with lacerations on their hands as a result of cutting bagels than just about any other reason. Be careful with those pastries!

Anyone who has had their strong hand in a cast gets a bit of a taste of one-handed living. It does suck -- buttoning shirts, tying shoes, even personal hygiene becomes much more difficult. Ever since I broke my right hand back in college, I regularly practice writing with my left hand. It has come in handy on a number of occasions (I've had my right hand in a cast a few times now). As an aside, I get the distinct impression that this has helped me learn to do left-side techniques at the dojo more easily.
 
Last edited:
I've never seriously injured myself with cutlery.
However i did see an acquaintance try to pry apart frozen hamburger patties with a ten inch chefs knife. The patties were in one hand the knife in the other. He pried them apart and the knife blade passed through his palm and out the other side!
:eek:
That all actually took place faster than i could finish saying "thats not a good idea..."

If you must pry apart frozen hamburger use a butter knife and lay them on the counter don't hold them in your hand.
I use a butter knife and a hammer, (i keep a small hammer in a kitchen drawer).
 
I use hatchets all the time and generally prefer them to big knives however you do have to be careful.
A buddy of mine in Ontario actually almost completely took his thumb of with a poorly aimed hatchet swing. Basically it was cut all the way through except for a sliver of flesh.
Bleaaaah!
 
I won't go into the details as I'm sure I've told this story a hundred times on here, but I stuck an axe into my leg while my third tree of the day one time...tired and had been working all day, up and down the trees, limbing and falling both...

ding! Oh! Woops!

Two hours later we found a doctor to patch me up for a hundred bucks. Way less than what the hospital wanted of course. Anyway the stories are true so be careful!

ETA: Also I had a grandfather who habitually chopped off his thumb with a hatchet (well twice.) Reattached both times but still annoying I'm sure!
 
The amazing thing is the strength of our "lazy" drive. A few weeks ago I was trimming small branches from a larger tree branch that I'd dragged home to use as firewood. I was using a 16-inch chiruwa ang khola from Himalayan Imports--a very nice one with an unusually thin (3/8-inch) blade, which I'd convexed to hair-shaving sharpness.

Even knowing the risks, it really went against my inclination to adjust my position so that I was on the side of the large branch opposite the small branches I was removing. I'm glad I was--because, though I had a fairly idea how well the blade would go through those small branches, occasionally I was surprised, and found the blade suddenly through the small branches and continuing its downward arc. Because I HAD taken the extra, not-too-necessary-seeming effort to get onto the side of the large branch opposite where I was chopping, I had a nice, large branch between me and the unexpectedly-freed blade. I thought, "it is going to be HARD to persuade my boys to develop the habit of safety over expediency."

Be careful out there!
 
The bagel induced laceration of the palm. Not hard to imagine. You grab the bagel and begin to cut through it directly toward your palm. Sound familiar? Seen anyone do it? Done it yourself?

How about chopping vegitables (carots/celery/etc) by putting the veggi between the pad of your thumb and the blade? Don't do it in my kitchen. My dad found this out the hard way.

People do dumb things with knives, and it seems that I'm not immune either.
 
hlee said:
How about chopping vegitables (carots/celery/etc) by putting the veggi between the pad of your thumb and the blade? Don't do it in my kitchen. My dad found this out the hard way.QUOTE]

Hmm, yeah this one would seem to be a problem. Apparently, stabbing yourself in the stomach is very common, since slicing towards yourself is wrong in terms of safety but none-the-less an intuitive motion.
Click to expand...
 
When I was a kid my dad stabbed himself in the chest while cutting the end of a pole towards himself...I guess he was applying a fair amount of force as the blade went through the pole and carried on in a tight arc right into his sternum! He pulled it out with a good yank and was fine afterwards but he looked pretty green!
 
the "Lazy Drive" so true J.D. these stories are freaking me out and making my side hurt! Deadly pastries LMAO! so true.

if one yoot reads these "adventures of carnage" and words of warning maybe, if only for a second he/she remembers them, then maybe they will think twice and avoid the Lazy-Dumb factor! thx folks, I'm still freaked out!
 
whenever i use any tool, i look at where it is and where it will go, planned or unplanned. i keep my whole body out of the pathway...if that is not possible i get a different tool or i move.

i have burned my arm reaching around a torch i had just turned off...the scar is still red, it was only about two months ago. i cut myself pretty badly on my pinky once doing a cordwrap on a knife without taping the blade...i always put on plenty of tape now whenever i do any kind of mods or anything.

just be careful, think about what could happen if you slip or fall or mess up somehow...expect the worst and hope for the best.
 
For the bagel thing, there are a few kitchen devices specifically designed to hold bagels while you cut them. I got something called a "bagel trap" for my wife a few years back, for exactly that function. If you eat bagels regularly, it is probably a good investment. Useful for other hard-to-hold-while-cutting things, too--onions, for example. I'd post a link, but I'm not sure if that'd cross the line into deal-spotting. You can, however, Google it.
 
I have seen it advertised J.D. the first time I saw it I was like; "Ohh Geez..." then I thought about it and remembered the cuts and slices I've gotten preparing bagels and alike. It is a good invention.

Remember the killer veggie slicers they first came out with;
"Just firmly hold and slide the food over this razor sharp blade...."
 
I just remembered something, its not cut related but it hurt nonetheless.
When i was a young teenager i was soldering something in the basement using one of those pencil soldering irons.
I was using the top of the washer as my work surface, it was near the wall socket (the cord was short) and there wasn't really any work space to use down there.
Anyway i was doing a job that required three hands but i only had two and the iron slipped from my grasp.
My mother would have freaked if i burned the carpet so i made the grab to prevent it from hitting the floor.
Well i caught it, unfortunately i caught the hot part of it.
After what seemed like only a microsecond i managed to grasp the cool handle end with my other hand and then i placed the iron back down safely.
It didn't hurt at first but then i smelled the burnt flesh and the burning/throbbing began.
On all four of my fingers I had seared a 3/4 inch diameter area of skin right across my palm (specifically in the area where your fingers join your palm).
Luckily there was a sink nearby, i kept my hand under cold water for about 20 minutes. For months i could hardly use that hand at all because when you moved it or flexed/opened/closed it you were pulling on the burned area.
It took about four months for that to heal to the point where i could use my hand without discomfort.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top