Well, it happened

[jamiesaun]

Well, like an idiot I broke the most basic rule of cutting. Always cut away from yourself. I thought I was cutting away from myself, but evidently I wasn't.

6 stitches, 4 In the skin and 2 in the muscle underneath. Cut right through the muscle and clean through an artery too...I didn't even know I had an artery in my finger. Anyway, I have to wear this splint for four weeks now because I can't bend my finger until that muscle has had time to fuse back together. Which is going to make things difficult at work, as I'm a mechanic and kind of need my fingers....oh well. Play stupid games and win stupid prizes; as they say. I cut my fingertips all the time because I prefer to hold the stones in my hand as I sharpen, but this is the worst cut I've had to date.

I'm new to blade forums and don't see an option to attach a pic from storage. Oh well, it's pretty nasty though. There were colors inside that finger that I've never seen before. Pretty gross, but pretty cool too. Would have preferred to learn the anatomy of my finger in a book. But, what the heck...sometimes stuff just happens.

Doesn't make me feel any less stupid about the whole thing. I'm just glad I didn't cut a tendon, as those don't heal like muscles do.

 

[wtlj]

Bet you won't do that again! Don't worry it happens to the best of us.
Quick story:
I was putting a new pull cord on my in laws lawn mower and while holding the spring reel in one hand needed to cut the cord to length. I placed the cord between my thumb and my freshly sharpened mini grip, you can guess what happened next...OUCH!
P.S. This is one of those threads that doesn't require pictures. [emoji32]

 

[jamiesaun]

Thanks, I feel a little better now. I've been sharpening free hand for probably 3 years now, but have only gotten really good at it in the last few months or so. I'm amazed at how much practice it really took to start getting truly sharp edges.

After I effortlessly cut that deep into myself, for a split second I wondered if maybe I'm getting my edges a little too sharp....but then appropriately discarded the idea....Nah, no such thing as too sharp.

 

[jackknife]

Don'y give it another thought, we've all been there. I've got my share of stitches from being stupid while handling sharp object. Seven stitches in my right index finger back in 1982 from using the point of the knife the wrong way. In 1998 I got a few stitches in my left thumb from a blade that skipped while debarring some delrin I had turned on a lathe in the machine shop where I works. They make a nice debuting tool, but I was too lazy to walk over to my tol box to get it. Si I used my pocket knife and then went to the ER for some needle work!

Don't feel bad, getting a cut now and then is the risk for being obsessed by sharp objects.

We've all got a few scars on our fingers and hands, it's what we learn from if we're lucky. :thumbup:

 

[jamiesaun]

Thanks jackknife. Sounds like you got pretty lucky with that lathe injury. Lathes can be very unforgiving, but I don't gotta tell you that. A small portion of the machinists I've talked too are missing fingers...pretty sure I know how that happened. Probably while polishing something. Either that or they were wearing a long sleeve shirt.

I work around a lathe too, but it's as a hobby in my home shop. Luckily the only injury I've had so far was leaning forward to get a better look at a work piece I was boring and rang my bell on the tail stock. That's what I get for not moving it back out of the way.

 

[jamiesaun]

I guess I am obsessed with sharp edges. Never really realized it until now...I'm also obsessed with guns too.

 

[JayC783]

I haven't really cut myself as bad as was posted here (unless I count going through a glass door when I was 5 or so ), but when I got a couple Buck 110's a month ago I learned just how sharp they really are. I planned on giving one as a gift, so I was inspecting both of them. One had left over polishing compound residue inside the liner. I cleaned it out with a q-tip. I thought I had all my fingers clear of the liner. As I closed it, I quickly learned I had not. The tip of the blade sliced my index finger right at the tip. It was probably a quarter inch slice. My finger bled like a stuck pig.

A couple weeks ago, I was messing around with the other 110 and discovered that one was sharp, too. It didn't bleed as bad, but I sliced my thumb with it.

I was given some knives about a month or so ago. I was cleaning and polishing one of them. They are 110 sized lockback knives. I was so focused on polishing the bolster, I somehow forgot the blade was open. I sliced my pinky finger with it.