Ouch!!

[celticleather]

I just suffered the eyewatering indignity of shoving a saddler's needle right up under my thumbnail! It was a bit messy, inconvenient and a tad painful, but not exactly life-threatening (my tetanus jabs are up-to-date!).

As a community of people who are constantly using sharp and spiky tools, I'll bet there have been some far more spectacular disasters in some of your workshops. So what's your worst leather-related, self-inflicted (or otherwise?) injury? Show us your scars . . !

[wildrose]

I almost took my finger tip (first finger, right hand) off with my head knife when the guiding ruler slipped (cork back and all!). That was the last time I used that knife, too.

[barra]

I have broken all the golden rules. I allowed the left hand to get in front of the plough guage. Enevitably I slipped and split my left thumb right up to the knuckle. In a seperate incident I pushed a seat awl (a large spike) right thru my, again left hand. It went completely thru the fleshy part of the palm from right to left.

I then miss used a boot makers knife and nearly severed the middle finger on (you guessed it, left hand). Funny conclusion to that saga. I was 2 days from attending an Army reserve exercise. I did not properly clean the wound. A few days into the exercise, all was not looking good, might have been the green puss. I went to the RAP (Medical) and they ended up putting this HUUUUUGE bandage on it. This produced great mearth from my mates. We then had to go to the range and fire 84mm anti tank weapons. I was the loader. I placed in a high explosive anti tank round, slammed closed the breach and tapped the firer on the back of the head. This is his signal all is ready to fire. It was then I realised the stupid bandage was caught in the closed breach of an about to be fired anti tank gun (bazooka in lay terms). This was followed by feversish helmet thumping and screams of STOP, STOP, STOP. For those not familiar with this weapon. It is equally dangerous from both ends as it has a back blast.

Barra

[Mike Craw]

I was re-covering aonther one of the twenty or so of those Billy Cook braided rawhide horn covers that had worn through. I had convinced the customer that it should be covered in leather this time, but she was really insistant that we had to save and re-use the engraved concho that was on the horncap. I got it off (along with the top layer of rawhide and a lightweight leather backer) and found it was clinched on with three copper wire posts. When I tried to straighten the first one, it snapped off, so I decided to cut the leather away from the other two and use them as they were. I was holding the concho (about the size of a 50 cent coin) in my left hand and cutting the leather away from the posts with a razor knife.

I looked right at the set-up and muttered, "If that knife slips, it's going to be ugly!" OK, I didn't get "ugly" competely out of my mouth when, all together now...

It went under my left thumb nail and half way down to the first knuckle. I don't know which was worse, the pain of the cut or the pain of knowing I could/should have stopped!!

Mike

[celticleather]

I'm not sure I should have started this . . . it's making me cringe already!

[hidepounder]

I'm not sure I should admit this................anyway, while using a draw knife to strip out a belt, I passed my palm thru the blade when the side of leather started to slip off the table......still don't understand how I did it....ended my tooling for a couple of weeks....

[celticleather]

I have broken all the golden rules. I allowed the left hand to get in front of the plough guage. Enevitably I slipped and split my left thumb right up to the knuckle.

I have four or five plough gauges in my tool collection, but I just daren't use them! The sight of that blade standing proud with no guarding scares me to death! I still use the simple little wooden strap-cutter (it's over thirty years old) for all my belt and strap cutting. Perhaps one day I'll pluck up courage to use a plough!

[calanneh]

Mine wasn't a bloody mess like above , but I tore the muscle that attaches the arm to the back of the shoulder blade in Feb while making 3 pair of moc boots in 10 days... Hand-stitched with was thread, not leather lacing.

My shoulder hurt like a mother and I couldn't raise my arm. The doc figured the repetitive back and up motion of stitching that much leather is what did it.

Had to get xrays, steroids and all this other crap. I wasn't allowed to do any leather work UNLESS I had my elbow tucked in down at my side while I did it.

William

[carr52]

I think this is a perfect topic for someone like me. New to the craft. I've been at this for about 8 months now. I've had the usual needle sticks and mallet hit to the nuckles. But I hope to learn from the mistakes of others. Keep posting.

Tom

[Crystal]

Thank heavens I haven't done anything serious, yet. Did get a major case of the "willies" a few months ago. Was using a head knife - would cut then lay it down, cut lay it down. Made another cut and put it in it's case and a couple minutes after that moved some leather and bumped it and it hit the floor. Concrete floor - bare feet. Don't work in bare feet anymore, and after every cut, I put it in it's case.

Crystal

[barra]

I have to admit I have been known to work in bare feet. When an idea hits there is no time to dress properly. Also been known to hit the workshop in the middle of the night in my jim jams.

Barra

[bruce johnson]

Working in flipflops + sharp string bleeder rolling off bench top + that big vein that runs across the top of your foot = the reason they came up with the name "bleeder" for that tool. Fleem was too arachaic a term I guess. Much like most other accidents and the reason for slow motion effects in movies, I can still visualize in great detail the whole process of it rolling, falling, that little half turn sumersault to go blade down, and me just standing there with it impaled on top of my foot.

The draw gauge hanging off my left index finger knuckle by the blade, it took two shakes and some bad words to get it off - always pull the blade into the work or make a starter cut with a knife, don't push the work into the blade.

The Osborne #86 splitter I was looking at that "used to work pretty good". The blade was pretty dull in the middle where he used it all the time. The sides were pretty sharp where Herb French had done his work. Lesson learned - don't run you thumb down the whole edge of dull blade, it may not all be dull.

[tonyc1]

Working in flipflops + sharp string bleeder rolling off bench top + that big vein that runs across the top of your foot = the reason they came up with the name "bleeder" for that tool. Fleem was too arachaic a term I guess. Much like most other accidents and the reason for slow motion effects in moviers, I can still visualize in great detail the whole process of it rolling, falling, that little half turn sumersault to go blade down, and me just standing there with it impaled on top of my foot.

The draw gauge hanging off my left index finger knuckle by the blade, it took two shakes and some bad words to get it off - always pull the blade into the work or make a starter cut with a knife, don't push the work into the blade.

The Osborne #86 splitter I was looking at that "used to work pretty good". The blade was pretty dull in the middle where he used it all the time. The sides were pretty sharp where Herb French had done his work. Lesson learned - don't run you thumb down the whole edge of dull blade, it may not all be dull.

About 40 years ago I had an awl roll off the bench and go straight into my instep and I only had slippers on my feet. After that I planed flats on my awl hafts so they can't roll. I find the flat useful as my thumb always finds the same place when holding the haft.

Tony.

[UKRay]

About 40 years ago I had an awl roll off the bench and go straight into my instep and I only had slippers on my feet. After that I planed flats on my awl hafts so they can't roll. I find the flat useful as my thumb always finds the same place when holding the haft.

Tony.

That is such a good tip, Tony. I'm off to file some flat sides on my awl handles tonight - especially useful as my bench slopes towards me.

My silliest trick was pulling a strap (and my thumb) through a Jerry's Stripper with the blades set at 1/8" gaps - by the time I had extricated it and hopped all round the room clutching my fringed thumb there was blood everywhere. - According to herself, the language was quite spectacular. It took weeks to heal as I kept splitting the thing open again. Strangely I only got one bad scar on my thumb even though there were six or seven separate slices!

[celticleather]

About 40 years ago I had an awl roll off the bench and go straight into my instep and I only had slippers on my feet. After that I planed flats on my awl hafts so they can't roll. I find the flat useful as my thumb always finds the same place when holding the haft.

Tony.

This is always the first thing I do when I commission a new awl. I'm sure there's some kind of voodoo that makes spiky or sharp things fall sharp-end down!

When I worked at a butcher's shop many years ago, I learned that it is not a good idea to try to catch a falling knife or cleaver . . . just get the feet out of the way!

[TwinOaks]

...I tore the muscle that attaches the arm to the back of the shoulder blade in Feb while making 3 pair of moc boots in 10 days... Hand-stitched with was thread.... The doc figured the repetitive back and up motion of stitching that much leather is what did it.

umm....wow. I can't imagine the handsewing speed it takes to tear a muscle....slow down a little, maybe?

[calanneh]

umm....wow. I can't imagine the handsewing speed it takes to tear a muscle....slow down a little, maybe?

The doc said it was just the repetative motion that weakened a spot in the muscle and then tore it..

He asked if I felt it hurting and if I kept going. I told him I had three Scouts (one of them my son) that needed moc boots for their first ceremony and I wasnt gonna let them down. I had to get them done and when my shoulder was hurting so I would do a few stitches, put my arm down for a few minutes and then do a few more stitches....

The doc said "you know...I never beleived in playing thru the pain....and this is why! Pain means STOP!"

Hehehe, he wasnt happy with me....

William

[tonyc1]

The doc said it was just the repetative motion that weakened a spot in the muscle and then tore it..

He asked if I felt it hurting and if I kept going. I told him I had three Scouts (one of them my son) that needed moc boots for their first ceremony and I wasnt gonna let them down. I had to get them done and when my shoulder was hurting so I would do a few stitches, put my arm down for a few minutes and then do a few more stitches....

The doc said "you know...I never beleived in playing thru the pain....and this is why! Pain means STOP!"

Hehehe, he wasnt happy with me....

William

Then you have those that say "No pain, no gain". Which, of course, I don't believe in!

Tony.

[Clay]

My silly injury happened a few years ago, I had been sewing up a belt late in the evening and was very happy with the way it was coming out. I decided to show it to my wife for that much needed wifely support. She was already in bed so I sat down on the edge of the bed to show her the belt, when the awl sliped out of my hand and fell towards my open lap. Before I could stop my self I automaticly closed my knees together to catch it. (didn't want it to stick into my foot I guess!) My right leg caught the handle end of the awl about six inches up from never never land and pushed the freshly polished pointy end of the awl into the muscle of the left leg, all the way to the handle. I don't recall getting much support from the wife for that one......She is a nurse and she helped me pull it out and dressed the wound, after she caught her breath and stopped shaking with laughter.

ClayM.

[tonyc1]

I just remembered an amusing thing that happened once, it didn't draw blood but I did have a sore thumbe for a few days! I had been using my k6 and I was just sitting there daydreaming about something and I had my hand on the flywheel with my thumb in one of the holes in the wheel when something very fast shot past my feet and and it was the cat with the dog hot on it's tail, they were only playing! They were only on the pedal for a split second but it was enough to engage the clutch and wrench my thumb quite painfully. Took me completely by surprise and my reactions were a trifle slow!

Tony.

[Hilly]

When I first got my industrial sewing machine, I took the guard off because it was hard to see around when sewing. I was just flying on an upholstery project when my finger got too close to the needle and I sewed right through the tip of my finger. I'm just glad that I don't have tiny little dainty fingers, or it could've gone right through the nail and bone. Still haven't put that guard back on, but I'm more careful of where I have my fingers when I sew.

[barra]

Hilly. There is an old saying. Your not a sewing machinist until you have put a needle thru your finger. Not done it yet but i've come close. On the non guarded take up arm. Most old Singer 132K6's I have used have no guards. When doing intricate work, I have a tendancy to lean in real close. You get whacked in the forehead about 20 times before you realise your being sconed. When using my K6, I now wear my safety ball cap (hits the brim first).

Barra

Edited November 6, 2008 by barra

[Hilly]

Hilly. There is an old saying. Your not a sewing machinist until you have put a needle thru your finger. Not done it yet but i've come close. On the non guarded take up arm. Most old Singer 132K6's I have used have no guards. When doing intricate work, I have a tendancy to lean in real close. You get whacked in the froehead about 20 times before you realise your being sconed. When using my K6, I now wear my safety ball cap (hits the brim first).

Barra

OMG Barra, that's hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!

[calanneh]

Hilly. There is an old saying. Your not a sewing machinist until you have put a needle thru your finger. Not done it yet but i've come close. On the non guarded take up arm. Most old Singer 132K6's I have used have no guards. When doing intricate work, I have a tendancy to lean in real close. You get whacked in the froehead about 20 times before you realise your being sconed. When using my K6, I now wear my safety ball cap (hits the brim first).

Barra

[DJ1935]

Yes, ouch! As Tom said this is a good reminder to us all of what not to do and also how fast things can go wrong. Some years ago I was busy fixing a bridle on the lounge floor. My Mother and younger Brother were playing cards in front of the fire. My Brother was accused of cheating and to avoid a Motherly clip on the ear he jumped backwards on his butt. Unfortunately my trusty Speedi Stitcher was sitting right there on the carpet. I can still see my Brothers bulging eyes as he jumped up with the wooden handle of the stitcher protuding from his rear end. It bobbled about as he lept about the room moaning. Fortunately the thread had come out of the needle. I've never been forgiven for this event - and my Brother's eyes still bulge at the sight of that stitcher. "Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else"