You Bleed, You Buy Policy

I had a Buck 110 custom with a tight spring slam on my finger at House of Blades in Lake Worth before they moved.I felt like an idiot and apologized profusely.The owner was a good guy and just said "Don't worry about it,this floor is blood soaked".I didn't buy that murderous knife ,but bought several there before and since.
 
I have cut myself in a knife shop. While working there as a sales clerk. As did most of my co-workers. Customers rarely cut themselves, though.

The problem was that we displayed the SAKs with all of the implements open. Whenever a customer wanted to examine a SAK, they would return it closed and we would fiddle with it trying to get all the tools fanned out again. Bang, they would nip you practically every time. One clerk even refused to do that nasty little job after a while.

This was all many years ago and the disease aspect never occurred to me. But I can see that being a really big concern these days. You can't be handing things back and forth with a customer who is actively bleeding. It just isn't safe. People in the healthcare profession wouldn't work with a bleeding patient without gloves, mask and proper sanitation procedures.

Maybe a better sign would be, "If you are bleeding, you must leave the store." Forget about trying to complete a transaction with the person. Protect yourself.
 
Kershaw ET bit me once- glad they didn't try to get me to buy it! Clerk said half the people that looked at it got cut.
 
Got stabbed (yes stabbed) in the edge of my left palm while looking at a S&W dagger in a local shop once. It was a tiny wound, though, with just the tip going in. It bled a good bit, though. It had a friction-fit plastic sheath and I thought I put the knife in all the way, and as I was handing it back to the owner it fell out (it was upside down). I tried to catch it with both my right and left hands at the same time for some reason. I caught it with my right hand as my left hand came down on the blade point. I was mortified and apoligized over and over. The owner just said not to worry, and that he sees things like this all the time in his shop. I ended up buying the knife a few days later because I liked it.
 
I've never cut myself in a knife store, but certainly have cut myself at home or in the field, to the point of stitches being required even. The policy is BS. Yes, we should all be careful when handling sharp things, but you know, accidents will happen. And yeah, AIDS doesn't survive for long outside the human body. Hepatitis C does, but a little bit of ammonia and all that stuff's gone gone gone. So what's the reason for this stupid policy?
 
That's just a suggestion. Are they really going to prevent a bleeding customer from leaving the store because he will not pay for a knife?

I don't think stores would want to cloud the issue of who is responsible for the injury. If the cut becomes infected, will the customer claim it would not have if they had not been prevented from immediately seeking medical care?
 
I bought my Chinese SIL a Buck Vanguard. The first time he jerked it out of the sheath it cut him. I guess it just didn't like being jerked around! :)

He's been much more careful since then.

BTW, if I got cut while I was looking at a knife in a store, I'd expect some first aid assistance. What the heck? If I was cut and the store insisted I buy the knife or leave, I'd tell them to Kiss My Ass and then I'd call my attorney.
 
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I bought my Chinese SIL a Buck Vanguard. The first time he jerked it out of the sheath it cut him.

Funny. That's kinda how I got it too but it was a Gerber LMF that was sticking in the sheath. Nice knife but I never bought one after that.:mad::D
 
FYI...in case you're wondering, microbes in blood don't live very long outside the body, and a quick wipe of the blade with an alcohol-soaked rag or swab will easily kill any bacteria or viruses. This isn't really a health issue.
 
FYI...in case you're wondering, microbes in blood don't live very long outside the body, and a quick wipe of the blade with an alcohol-soaked rag or swab will easily kill any bacteria or viruses. This isn't really a health issue.
I have never seen a knife store that was prepared to or would bother to sanitize its merchandise. And in all liklihood, the store clerk will handle the knife immediately after the incident, potentially getting fresh blood on his hands and whatever else he touches after that. So at a minimum, the store clerk is in danger of exposure. That's bad enough to make it a health issue IMO.

I'm not saying it is a national health emergency, but if a person unknown to you hands you a bloody knife, it's at least something to be aware of.
 
From a legal standpoint, what can the store claim as damages? Once the knife is cleaned and sterilized, it's as good as new. Maybe they could sue for the cost of a penny's worth of alcohol and a sheet of paper towel but what harm has been done beyond that?
 
I think as a policy, there's really no way to enforce it; the real point is: "take responsibility for yourself." It's funny how nowadays, the possibility of injury may not get someone's attention, but the possibility of losing $$ is a definite attention-getter.

Most of the stores here wipe their knives down before putting them back in the display. I've heard from one of the large sporting goods stores here that their employees seem to get "bitten" more than their customers do . . .

thx - cpr
 
If you're going to be careless and bleed all over the stores merchandise you aught to be prepared to drop the money for the stuff you bled on. There are always exceptions to a rule, if some defective part of the knife or a sharp edge that wasn't supposed to be sharp nicked you that's not your fault, and you shouldn't have to pay for it. Is there any legal grounds for this? Probably not, but if you don't want to pay for something you got your blood all over then maybe you shouldn't handle the stores goods until you've paid for it.
 
If you're going to be careless and bleed all over the stores merchandise you aught to be prepared to drop the money for the stuff you bled on. There are always exceptions to a rule, if some defective part of the knife or a sharp edge that wasn't supposed to be sharp nicked you that's not your fault, and you shouldn't have to pay for it. Is there any legal grounds for this? Probably not, but if you don't want to pay for something you got your blood all over then maybe you shouldn't handle the stores goods until you've paid for it.
Oh, Horseshit! Anyone can accidentally cut themselves. The damned store had better be prepared to provide customers with some first aid just in case they do bleed or the store shouldn't allow customers to handle the merchandise in the first place. The liability is completely the stores in this kind of situation. If you don't think so, just contact a good ambulance chaser and see for yourself.
 
First aid is not the issue, I'm not sure why taking care of the injury has entered the discussion. Liability is in the consumers hands. That is obviously not the current legal precedent but yeah, if you order hot coffee (sharp knife) and spill it and burn yourself (cut yourself) you think that you aren't responsible for paying for that cup of coffee?? Ridiculous.
 
Kershaw ET bit me once- glad they didn't try to get me to buy it! Clerk said half the people that looked at it got cut.

Strangely, I´ve never had a problem with the ET. Only took me a few minutes practice to open and close it reliably with one hand.

On the other hand, I´ve cut myself numerous time with my balis, including in the shop once. I was talking to the owner while absentmindedly flipping a Benchmande and didn´t realize I was holding the bite handle.

Not to mention trying fancy moves at home, dropping the bali and stabbing myself in the leg with it. That kinda hurt ;)
 
I have never seen a knife store that was prepared to or would bother to sanitize its merchandise.
Yes, you're certainly right. Having alcohol swabs around (they cost about $2 for a box of 100) is a financial and logistical nightmare of epic proportions that no retailer should ever be asked to bear. Oh, and it's not like they're easily found in first aid kits either.

And in all liklihood, the store clerk will handle the knife immediately after the incident, potentially getting fresh blood on his hands and whatever else he touches after that. So at a minimum, the store clerk is in danger of exposure. That's bad enough to make it a health issue IMO.
So...what is your point here? How does a you bleed, you buy policy lessen the risk to the clerk in any way, shape or form? If the clerk is stupid enough to handle someone else's blood - a stranger, by the way, then that clerk has much more significant issues than a very, very small risk of acquiring an infection from a fragile bloodborne microbe.

I'm not saying it is a national health emergency, but if a person unknown to you hands you a bloody knife, it's at least something to be aware of.
Well, duh. But that's not even the point. The point is that this policy, as described above, has nothing to do with real public health issues and everything to do with squeezing customers.
 
I'd be fine with such a policy assuming the people who work the counter know enough to give a full warning and quick demonstration on the auto or assisted knives.

Heck, a 3 second demonstration (hold it, open it, close it, hand it to the customer) should be done for all knives.
 
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