A Word of Warning...Caution, Somewhat Graphic Images

[superkord]

Hello fellow ZS members. My name is Cord and I have word of warning for everyone. Be very careful when handling knives, especialy those without any kind of hand gaurd. I know, I know, thats pretty freaking obvious. But I guess its good to have a reminder every now and then. This can be the result if you get careless...



I was "stabbing" my Cold Steel Kukri into a table when my hand slid down the grip onto the blade. I sliced open my pinky finger and my middle finger. I managed to miss the other two fingers. Surprisingly there was very little pain. I put pressure on the wounds and went to the kitchen sink. When the bleeding slowed down enough I grabbed my phone and took the above picture. (Sorry its so blurry) I decided that this was deeper than your average cut and caught a ride to the hospital. After about 4 hours of "waiting", they took some X-rays and then the ER Doctor stitched up both fingers.



She only put 5 loose stitches in my pinky because the cut was so deep it cut into the tendons. I set up an appointment with a hand doctor the next day. He took a look at my predicament and gave me good news and bad news. I managed to sever the tendons, but didnt do any serious nerve damage. Surgery was the obvious choice, so he scheduled me for the following day. I was put under and the doctor got to work. He had to cut up into the second knuckle just to find where the tendons had contracted. Unfortunatly he was only able to save one out of two tendons.



Learn from my mistake my friends. Im going to be in a hand brace for at least six weeks. I get to look forward to months of hand therapy, and $6000+ bill. I will be lucky if Im able to regain 60% motion in my pinky. My grip will never be as strong as it was. Be very careful with knives! Dont forget that they are a tool, not a toy. Unlike a gun, there is no way to unload a knife. That blade is always going to be sharp!

Thanks for reading all this,
-c/Kord!

P.S. I know, I am a dumbass, and a very lucky one at that.

[Mad_Maxx]

Ouch! Looks like quite a cut A friend of mine managed to sever the tendon right at the upper joint of his middle finger while opening a oil can, not only knives are sharp!
Good advice, thanks for sharing, and hope your hand heals well! I have a nice scar in the soft bits between my thumb and index finger on my right hand from playing with knives.. Nailed my hand to the desk with a penknife, trying to "fix" some thing

[greenbeetle]

Yes, thank you for sharing. Great perspective, we all need a reminder.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Yup. Sometimes we (that includes me) can get a little careless when we're in a rush to get something done because, hey, what's a little nick if I get one, nothing a good-sized bandaid won't remedy. Unfortunately it's very easy to sever tendons in your hand, and severing flexor tendons is especially bad because as the OP said, you have a deep and a superficial tendon in each finger and they can scar together when they try to heal (where they overlap, hand surgeons call it "No Man's Land" because it's so difficult to get good results from a surgical repair).

One of the most dangerous activities: slicing a bagel held in the hand!

[JTNieman]

...knives, especialy those without any kind of hand gaurd...
I was "stabbing" my Cold Steel Kukri into a table...

.........................

[maldon007]

You big meanie!!!



My cold steel (spartan) has got me a few times too, but not that bad... I have heard quite a few times people slide down the blade, when stabbing... That has sunk more than a few bad guys, cut hand during stabbing/leave dna, no profit.

[Rev]

Question, what did the table do to deserve a stabbing? Keep in mind that the answer may validate the wound.

[TheLastRifleMan]

I hate stitches having had a lot of them.

But thanks for posting this. This is a good reminder as to what can happen if we become complacent and careless.

[RickOShea]

One of my co-workers was sitting in our lounge one morning, sharpening his wire skinning knife (about a 5" handle and 1.5" blade) with one of those "butterfly" shaped sharpeners.

To this day, we still can't figure out how he cut the underside of his middle finger with that type of sharpener! He let out a little "yelp" and the rest of us in the breakroom turned and saw his finger hanging down like a wet noodle.

He was O.K. after surgery, but he got the new nick-name of "Timmy Tendon".

[MVegas]

One of my co-workers was sitting in our lounge one morning, sharpening his wire skinning knife (about a 5" handle and 1.5" blade) with one of those "butterfly" shaped sharpeners.

To this day, we still can't figure out how he cut the underside of his middle finger with that type of sharpener! He let out a little "yelp" and the rest of us in the breakroom turned and saw his finger hanging down like a wet noodle.

He was O.K. after surgery, but he got the new nick-name of "Timmy Tendon".

Oh man those things can hold an edge, can't they? The only mishap I've ever had with mine was when the cutting edge "tapped" one of my fingers. Thought "oh man that was lucky- coulda got hurt". Next thing I know I'm doing the napkin/e-tape wrap (any of you who have worked in the electrical/wiring trades knows the one I mean) to keep the red stuff in 'till I can get out of my lift and to the FAK in the truck.

[RickOShea]

One of my co-workers was sitting in our lounge one morning, sharpening his wire skinning knife (about a 5" handle and 1.5" blade) with one of those "butterfly" shaped sharpeners.

To this day, we still can't figure out how he cut the underside of his middle finger with that type of sharpener! He let out a little "yelp" and the rest of us in the breakroom turned and saw his finger hanging down like a wet noodle.

He was O.K. after surgery, but he got the new nick-name of "Timmy Tendon".

Oh man those things can hold an edge, can't they? The only mishap I've ever had with mine was when the cutting edge "tapped" one of my fingers. Thought "oh man that was lucky- coulda got hurt". Next thing I know I'm doing the napkin/e-tape wrap (any of you who have worked in the electrical/wiring trades knows the one I mean) to keep the red stuff in 'till I can get out of my lift and to the FAK in the truck.

I never could use one cause I couldn't keep a hold of it while wearing my 20,000 volt rubber gloves. I like a good 3" automatic that I can stab into the power pole when I need both hands for something else.

Though, I have on more than one occasion, forgotten it at the top of a pole and had to climb back up there and get it.

[TheLastRifleMan]

I have just changed this into a sticky. No pun intended!

Everyone needs to read this one.

[Regular Guy]

Okay, why were you stabbing the table. Not trying to be a disk but? Just boredom?

[ITGuy]

I am a Chef and have had many cuts on my hands. I can tell you that you should never stab a hard object like a table. Just remember...an object in motion tends to stay in motion. ie: your hand, when your knife stops due to the hard table. Yes, you should be careful with a knife and that is why it should be used the way it is intended. Don't stab things for no purpose or cut towards yourself. If you stab at an object like a table or cut towards yourself you will probably end up with a cut at some point.

Use a knife as intended. Just Sayin...

[SeerSavant]

yeaouch.....

Bet you'll leave the poor table be from now on...


That's why I never stab a table.... If the table gets on my bad side, I simply shoot the sumbitch...

[Sckitzo]

Yikes, and I think this will serve the purpose as this image will pop into my mind if I start fucking around with a knife, hopefully.

[SwampRat]

Damn boy, looks like you brought a knife to a...a..table fight?

I have about 8 scars on my left hand from knives because it seems I am always holding something with that hand and hacking at it with the other. Looks like it got yah good. Hope it heals up fine, and glad it didn't getcha trigger finger. Up shoot is, you got a sticky now. Moral of the story is, always wear gloves when stabbing things.

[superkord]

Yeah, I was stabing the table out of boredom mostly. Its kind of what we do when we sit around it. I just normally dont have a kukri on my hip when I do it. Looking back Im surprised no one has gotten hurt earlier. The worst part of this whole thing (other than the bill) is the fact that Im going to be stuck in this damn brace for 6 weeks.



Im learning how to do everything one handed. Even though I only seriously injured my pinky, because of how the hand moves together, I cant even use my thumb and index finger to pick up a piece of paper. If I do, I run the risk of the tendon pulling through the stitches. I cant even bend my wrist up and down.

The good thing is that there has been very little pain. The doctor prescribed me percocet for after surgery, and Ive barely touched em. I havent had a pain pill of any sort for almost 48 hours. Im thinking thats a good thing.

Im glad that people are looking at this and being reminded that knives are dangerous. (Not that any of you didnt know that already.)

-c/Kord!

[bumblingbear]

I did something similar with a throwing knife and a tree when I was younger.

Never again.

[Kommander]

Kukris tend not to have much of a hand guard on them and the one from cold steel is no exception. This makes them poor stabbing implements.

[squinty]

True, kuks are for chopping, for the most part. And like other posters have said, not safe to "stab" the point of a blade into a hard surface to make it stick. Might screw up the point, might bite into your fingers.

I bought the cold steel Spartan and before that, had a CRKT m21, because the "hilt" on the m21 and the "c-clamp" shape of the spartan's handle looked like they'd do a good job of locking the user's hand in place and keeping fingers away from the blade. Didn't stop me from closing the spartan on my finger!

my biggest complaint about my Leatherman (which I love) has always been it's ergonomics as a knife. The cutting edge is straight in line with the handle, and the handle is a slick rectangle with no real natural gripping surfaces on it. I've never cut myself with it, but that's partly because I'm so conscious of how easily it could slip.

If I have to pierce something with the point of a blade, I make sure to press - (put the point against it and push) - rather than stab violently -(move the point rapidly through space to impact on the surface to pierce.Especially with a folder, where the lock could fail!) If I have to pierce down ward, I wrap my thumb over the butt of the knife, and lock it in place with my index finger.



Don't know if it really helps or not. Feels better. If it's dumb and I shouldn't do it, someone will tell me in a minute.

[Dak Kovar]

Sorry you got hurt. We've all done stupid shit at one point or another. Too bad it's your turn. Thanks for taking the time to post this. I'm having my son read this.

DK

[Oneswunk]

Thanx for sharing, hopefully someone will learn form your derp.

[ninja-elbow]

Yikes! One of my fears realized. Sorry that happened and thanks for sharing OP.