Yup, it's sharp.

[Hilly]

Well, I've used my new head knife and a skiving knife I bought not long ago. I noticed the head knife taking a bit more effort to cut through leather with, and decided to touch up the edge a bit. Belive it or not, I ran it through a ceramic sharpener a couple times on each side of the blade, stropped it, and now I can shave the hairs off my arm with it again. The sharpener I used had a very steep angle, and I could not see daylight under the edge of the head knife when I ran it through. I don't know how good this is for the blade, but I'm a total redneck when it comes to sharpening, and I figured if it sharpens my fillet knives good enough then maybe it will work on my head knife. It worked great.

Next, I moved on to the skiving knife I got, which wasn't all that sharp. I ran it through the ceramic sharpener a few times, and shaved some more hair off my arm. I saw one tiny shiny spot on the edge of the blade, so thought I'd run it through one more time before I sropped it. I set the knife in the groove, and when I pulled it back, the blade slipped and sliced deeply into my index finger between the first and second knuckles. Oops. Guess Mom was right when she told me not to play with knives .

Now, I feel bad for being so darn dumb, and I'm hoping you all will share your dumb stories with me to make me feel better. Misery loves company, ya know!

[bruce johnson]

Hilly,

Nope never done anything like that except;

1) there was this one time I tried to feed a strap into the draw gauge instead on pulling the drawgauge into the strap. The blade stuck far enough into the bone to hang there. Not a recommended storage method for draw gauges. The "draw" in draw gauge has a double meaning, as in " to draw blood".

2) oh yes. Then there was the time I was wearing flipflops in the shop. You know that string bleeders have a round handle. When they roll off the bench, they will tip and end up point down, stuck in that large vein running across the top of your bare foot. It really doesn't bleed much until you pull it out. That is right before you flatten one side of the handle to keep it from rolling off the bench. I found the reason that tool is called a "bleeder".

[anne newkold]

mine was not a leather tool mishap, but it was a tool. Thank God it was Swiss made so it was very very sharp! I had taken a wood turning class and made a vase. Went to take the nipple off the bottom from where it was attached to the base while turning, I was using a 3/8th" sweep gouge. Well I had my kevlar carving glove laying next to me, I thought I really should put that on. Well I just had to make that one more cut..... 6 stitches and in a split for 6 weeks when it glanced off and sliced my index finger open really pretty! Was not fun driving myself to the emergency room. Much later I did finally get the vase done.

[Luke Hatley]

mine was not a leather tool mishap, but it was a tool. Thank God it was Swiss made so it was very very sharp! I had taken a wood turning class and made a vase. Went to take the nipple off the bottom from where it was attached to the base while turning, I was using a 3/8th" sweep gouge. Well I had my kevlar carving glove laying next to me, I thought I really should put that on. Well I just had to make that one more cut..... 6 stitches and in a split for 6 weeks when it glanced off and sliced my index finger open really pretty! Was not fun driving myself to the emergency room. Much later I did finally get the vase done.

well if you did that with a knife.......DONT EVER PICK UP A BB GUN>>>

[TracyMoss]

Well, I've been victim to hte draw gauge as well, the thumb. Split it open. Another Saddle Maker I worked for at one time ran his fingers into a strap cutter. mad a notch between his middle finger and ring finger.

[rawhide1]

Hilly

Don't feel bad I've got a nice 3inch scar below my left thumb from a draw gauge slipping. One of my better ones was when I was building my house and nailed three of my fingers together. It didn't hurt going in but it seemes the nails have a friction activated glue on them. And when I pulled the nail out with a pair of plyers I dang near wet myself. Stuff happens.

Mike

[JohnD]

Not Leather related, But still dumb.

When I was in the service, I was inspecting my squads weapons. One particular gun required that you press a detent and turn a knob to remove the barrel, And expose an area were dirt accumilates that most dont know about.

Now, thinking I'm cool for knowing this and ready to give this Marine crap for finding his wepon dirty, I asked him to hand me his bayonet and proceeded to press the detent and turn the knob WHOOPS. The bayonet slipped and went about half way through the palm of my hand.

I tried to pretend it didn't happen and continued inspecting weapons but the other Marines didn't appreciate me bleeding all over their clean weapons and, if you've ever had a particularly deep pucture wound, You know that you can tend to get woozy. So I asked my team leaders to finish inspecting their teams weapons and ended up walking away to find a seat, out of sight. It was a while before I heard the end of that one.

I actually have quite a few dumb mishaps with knife stories, But I'll spare you all the gory details.

John

[Hilly]

Not Leather related, But still dumb.

When I was in the service, I was inspecting my squads weapons. One particular gun required that you press a detent and turn a knob to remove the barrel, And expose an area were dirt accumilates that most dont know about.

Now, thinking I'm cool for knowing this and ready to give this Marine crap for finding his wepon dirty, I asked him to hand me his bayonet and proceeded to press the detent and turn the knob WHOOPS. The bayonet slipped and went about half way through the palm of my hand.

I tried to pretend it didn't happen and continued inspecting weapons but the other Marines didn't appreciate me bleeding all over their clean weapons and, if you've ever had a particularly deep pucture wound, You know that you can tend to get woozy. So I asked my team leaders to finish inspecting their teams weapons and ended up walking away to find a seat, out of sight. It was a while before I heard the end of that one.

I actually have quite a few dumb mishaps with knife stories, But I'll spare you all the gory details.

John

I have a dumb knife story of my own... My husband had left a cool looking knife laying on the table, and being the nosey wife I am, I picked it up and was looking at it, wondering what that little button was for. I pressed that little button to find that it was not a regular knife, but a stilletto. The blade came out of the handle with enough force to go halfway through my hand.

[Kani]

Boy I sure don't want you all in my kitchen. Could be a little scary with all the knives I have. Could be down right dangerous. If you know what I mean.

[TracyMoss]

Boy I sure don't want you all in my kitchen. Could be a little scary with all the knives I have. Could be down right dangerous. If you know what I mean.

Give it time, you'll be adding a story of your own.

[JRedding]

Since everybody's confessing their dumb mishaps here's mine. After running a stitching machine nearly everyday for eighteen years I finally got bit, I lifted the foot, made a sweep under the lifted foot with the needle resting at the top of the stroke with my right hand to pick up the threads and brush the tails to one side so I didn't gather one up and suck it in the bobbin and at just the right time I bumped the throttle and drove a 180 needle in an Adler 205 machine right through the fingernail of my index finger on my right hand, dead center at the cuticle. I flinched , jumped off the throttle and it stopped at the bottom of the stroke with half a stitch tied through my finger, it's hard to reach over with your left hand and roll the flywheel to bring the needle back up while holding enough foot pressure on the tredle to release the coast brake without gasing it and sewing up to your third knuckle, (these old Adlers will sew a few stitches even after they're turned off unless you wait ) , it's a real game of Adler twister. I got it raised, cut myself out of it,and pulled the thread out of my finger,The strange part about this was it never bled, and it wasn't as sore as hitting one with a hammer.

[Clay]

This one did not happen to me but I watched it happen. When I was a trainee in the Alb. NM TLF I was watching my boss demonstrate a rotary cutter for a customer. He was really into it explaining how the cutter was great for thin leathers and made great cuts against a straight edge bla bla then he took it and started cuting a curvy line that went right over the end of his middle finger. Shortened that finger by a quarter of an inch. The customer saw the blood and did not stop till she was in her car in the parking lot. As far as I know she has never come back to the store. The doctors had to coterize the end of my bosses finger.

We stopped letting him use sharp things for a while because a while later he cut the end of his thumb of with a razor knife. (demoing for a customer)

ClayM.

[ryan]

Just before Christmas, I was cutting out some notebooks and watching TV at the same time (Open Range which is a great movie). I was running a utility knife down a steel ruler and my finger slipped off the ruler. When I looked down, the tip of my finger, fingernail and all, was laying on the other side of my knife. It took about 2 hours to stop the bleeding. It healed better than I thought and I am just now starting to get feeling back in the tip. None of my draw gauges have bit me but it's not a matter of if but when. I can see how easy it would be to split your thumb when starting a strap. To this day, barbed wire still gets credit for most of my scars followed closely by leather knives and a distant third would be a couple good ones from hoof knives.

Ryan

[barra]

OK I have a few but one is a doozy. I have split the thumb open with a plough guage blade. For those not familiar with the blade it is sort of meat cleaverish. I have speared myself with a seat awl/scratch awl right thru my hand but for your viewing pleasure the doozy.

I was in the Army and doing a bit of saddlery on the side. I was being an idiot with a sharp knife (we all know a blunt knife is more dangerous than a sharp one). Anyway major semi digit severing incident occurs. I just cleaned up the wound and stuck some sticking plaster on it. After a week out in the bush I thought I had better change the plaster. Well The now well developing pus matched my Army greens nicely. Off to the Doctor I am now forced to go to get it seen to properly. I come out with this bandage from hell that made using the hand at all rather difficult. That afternoon we were on the range firing 84mm anti tank weapons (bazooka in lay terms). This thing is a two person operated weapon that has a back blast danger area so it is equally dangerous from both ends. I fired a few rounds and then it was my turn to load. In goes high explosive anti tank round, back end is slammed shut and a slap on the firers helmet the split second you slam it shut lets him know it is ready to fire (remember back blast from bum end) As I tapped firer with right hand it took a second or two to work out why left hand would not come down.

That God forsaken bandage is stuck in the back of an about to be fired anti tank weapon. I near knocked off the firers head with numerous stop, stop, stop taps on the helmet. I have included this story because the initial wound was caused doing leatherwork.

Then there is the time Airforce buddy who caught his shirt sleeve in industrial sewing machine when learning to sew, panicked and put his foot down. This act then literally fed him into the machine.

I have Open Range on DVD and might have another viewing tonight.

Barra

Edited March 8, 2008 by barra

[gunfighter48]

Not leather caused but here goes:

Worst thing I ever did was cut my knee open with a chain saw. Cut down to the knee cap but not into it. Was tree farming, got hit in the head/shoulder with a big tree limb which caused my hand holding the front bar to open. The saw was at idle and dropped onto my left knee. Grabbed the bar and jerked the saw up but not in time to prevent cutting my leg open. Poured some gas/oil mix in it to clean out the wood chips, taped it shut and waited for my dad to come pick me up a couple hours later. There was no pain what so ever, the nerves were dead before they could send a pain impulse to the brain. Kept it taped shut and it healed just fine in about 6 weeks.

If you spot someone in shorts with a scar across the left knee they are right handed chain saw users!!!! If the scar is across the right knee they are left handed users. Many of the boys, and a few girls, I went to high school with had scars on their knees.

John

[Bob]

Hilly,

Nope never done anything like that except;

1) there was this one time I tried to feed a strap into the draw gauge instead on pulling the drawgauge into the strap. The blade stuck far enough into the bone to hang there. Not a recommended storage method for draw gauges. The "draw" in draw gauge has a double meaning, as in " to draw blood".

2) oh yes. Then there was the time I was wearing flipflops in the shop. You know that string bleeders have a round handle. When they roll off the bench, they will tip and end up point down, stuck in that large vein running across the top of your bare foot. It really doesn't bleed much until you pull it out. That is right before you flatten one side of the handle to keep it from rolling off the bench. I found the reason that tool is called a "bleeder".

This is way too funny Bruce, you crazy

[Bob]

This section is so dag funny, some of hte stories are so funny. Jim, I donno how one would pull their finger out of a sewing machine needle with your left hand... gosh

I've got a few wounds over the years, but nothing serious, touch wood......(touching my head)

[JRedding]

Bob, you think that's funny the rest of that story is my sister - in- law was in the shop at the time, I didn't yell or anything I've been cut and smashed so many times I don't really feel it like normal people, anyway I just ask her to come over and help me trying not to alarm her, because this gal pushes the panic button like she's playin' Jeopardy over everything, when she saw that needle resting right in the middle of my finger she quit the building like someone yelled fire, by the way she left the place I didn't think she'd be coming back anytime soon so that's when I started playing my little game of twister.

Edited March 8, 2008 by JRedding

[SCOUTER]

I have so many blunders that I should be called "lucky" One of my fondest is when I was a kid I was cleaning up a tool on an old electric motor with a large wire (wheel) brush... I was all proud of myself because I was wearing eye-protection. Well, almost in slow motion I saw the bottom of my flannel shirt that I was wearing outside my trousers, come up and just touch the bottom of the wheel... Well, the next thing I get sucked into the wire brush until the motor stopped and was just humming (or laughing) real loud. I could not move, but somehow got my hand on the power cord and yanked it from the outlet... The funny part was seeing me manually reversing the wheel so that I could get free... I was un-injured except for about 200 pinholes running up my stomach and chest and yes chin. All I could think about was how happy I was my father didn't see me.

"Who needs those safety guards anyway"

[rgerbitz]

I have an uncle that when in his teens was doing some quick draw practice with a .22 pistol. To make his shots quicker he wood have it cocked before he'd draw. Well he hit the trigger before clearing the holster and shot himself in the thigh. Some how the bullet exited just above the knee. The funny part is that about 8 years later he did it again. Same gun, same entrance and exit holes. Hasn't picked up a pistol since. We still call him "Quick Draw McGraw".

[steveb]

We still call him "Quick Draw McGraw".

he must love that.....lol

love it

[TwinOaks]

While managing the burn barrel in my back yard, I decided to toss in a steel leaf spring and try to get it to forging temp. To aide in combustion, I fed a piece of fence pole (metal) in through one of the holes in the barrel. The theory was that it would pipe in air to the center of the fire, kinda like a tuyere.

My son was outside with me, and being ever vigilant, I decided to warn him about the pipe, and that it was HOT. Now my son is only six, and when he started asking questions about it, I explained that the fire would heat up the pipe, and he shouldn't touch it. He asked how far down the pipe would be hot, and I said 'till about here........ One second degree burn later, he decided I was probably right about the pipe.

Edited March 8, 2008 by TwinOaks

[robert]

great topic... i have laughed until my side hurt!

my favorite "oops" story goes like this... i was about 16 and I was sure that I was approaching genius status, and forever wondered how all the stupid adults around me had managed to survive all those years.

i had an old international scout with a leaky heater core. i was cruising town one day and saw an euipment yard with several junked peices of international equipment ... so i stopped and asked the old guy if i could look around for a heater core... I found one, still attached to a backhoe, and made a deal to buy it. The last thing he said as i walked out the door was "Son, be careful... old hose is the worst thing in the world to make you cut yourself..."

But I was 16 and way smarter than him, right? He just shook his head as I walked back in, holding a greasy rag on a gash in my left hand...

A trip to the doc and about 6 stitches later, and I started to realize just how quickly some of those adults were getting smarter....

To paraphrase Mark Twain.. "When I was seventeen, my old man was so stupid I could hardly stand to have him around... When I was 27, I was amazed at how much he had learned in just 10 short years..."

[howardb]

Laughed until the tears flowed! I get to because I have either done these or done similar. I still have all my fingers & toes, but I have a bunch of scars to prove my mettle. So, I am laughing with you all and not at you all!

I've committed the cardinal knife sin of cutting towards my body (and unfortunately, my thumb). Drove the knife to the bone. 8 stitches.

I've also trimmed off the end of a finger with a utility knife while cutting a mat for a friend.

I've got a dozen on my hands and forearms from working on cars with hot engine parts. Those are usually at least two for one. Your hand bumps the exhaust manifold, and before your ears hear the sizzling meat, you find your forearm ripped open by a neighboring sharp metal bracket as the automatic defense system kicks in and moves your hand away from the burn source. You'd think I'd learn after the first time...

I very carefully backed the edge of a finger into a rotary cutter just the other day. A small cut, but I put that to my vast experience with sharp/hot objects. At least if I'm going to slice something, I plan ahead to minimize the damage...

I have not yet drilled, nailed, or sawn anything yet (knock wood), but I came VERY close in my youth to losing body parts both on a lathe and radial arm saw. The gods smiled upon me those days and kept me from injury. I gained immediate respect for BOTH implements of doom.

These days, I only feed my fingers into the grinder on occasion, and whack my digits with a hammer when my attention wanders. Nothing major...

Brent