When Do You Stop Cutting Yourself?

[Greenwood]

How's this fer slicing.

Operating a Campbell Randal needle and awl machine stitching at the speed of light and being somewhat new at the controls , Three stitches though thumb and nail before I could stop the beast. Quickly learned to feather the clutch controls

K

Leo

[Art]

Not quickly enough me thinks uh huh.

Art

[oltoot]

When I was just a pup I saw a guy run three stitches up his thumb with a Landis 16. It was a monday morning and he was still hung over. The thing looped every stitch. I still remember the howling. It continued while we got him loose, cut the stitches out and poured alcohol in the holes. We was me and 2 other guys. 1 to work and 2 to hold him down.

[CustomDoug]

Gawd, kevlar gloves are in my near future! I've 'surprised' myself a couple of times with a head knife but not more than a nick. I always think "dang I'm getting better at sharpening a blade". My knives do not have a blade cover but after reading this thread, it's next on my project list. I shall force myself to use it everytime.

Doug C

[Windrider30]

Thankfully I have only taken part of my index nail off and a simply slice to the finger under the nail...the worse cut I have at the momment is on the side of my little finger from to much saddle stitching by hand..I tell my wife and she just says suck it up butter cup!!! No simpathy I tell you

[MM2CVS9]

As a lifelong carpenter/builder, cuts and punctures seemed to be a somewhat daily occurance. Clean rag or piece of t-shirt, electrical, duct, sealing or strapping tape works. Always carried a hand cleaner/sanitizer and some antibiotic ointment. Did have to go to the hand surgeon 3 or 4 times. One I went to the emergency room to have a nick about 3/16 x 3/16 by unknown deep from a table saw blade looked at. That was a mistake as It got infected, I believe, at the hospital. Nearly lost my left forefinger due to the infection. My hand surgeon was able to save it, although the first nuckle from the tip is now frozen stiff. Next time I think I need a doc, I'll go directly to the hand guy, not the ER. The nicks I get doing leatherwork are minor compared to the cuts from utility knives, saws, chisels, huge slivers, power screwdriver bits that slip off and into your hand or finger, sheet metal, glass, punctures from reinforcing wire, nails from nail guns, (a 3 1/2" nail shot through your hand doesn't feel too good). I can go on. After a while these things don't seem to hurt very much. Must be all that scar tissue doesn't have any nerves in it

EJ

[Handstitched]

G'day,

Not even two weeks into my leather crafting journey over 11 years ago.

I had my fingers juuuuust a tad over the edge of the ruler, *cut the leather* and I take the skin of the very tips on 2 of my fingers right off. No blood thankfully .

The cut in the leather was nice and straight.........and so were the tips of my fingers

That WAS close !!

I learnt REAL quick after that.

If anything, I just can't seem to stop piercing my fingers while hand stitching

Perhaps I should go into body piercing too eh? " Hold still , this won't hurt a bit .....honest !? "

HS

[Tannin]

Things like that usually happen to me when I'm thinking about 10 min ahead of what I'm doing right then. I have to really stay in the moment. ...

Paul

I think that probably is the secret. Slow down! Focus! Be careful! I also tend to curl the fingertips of my left hand (the one not holding the knife) under the knuckles, out of the way. Imagining, before hand, the damage you would do if you screw-up might also help focus the mind. Have a regard, fear even, of the tools. Be careful whenever near/handling/sharpening/sheathing/unsheathing sharp edge tools - and try not to do such tasks while moving about, lest you trip/slip/faint/get hit by something/...

I'd also recommend keeping steri-strip/butterfly plasters in your first aid kit, which can stand-in for professional stitches in a pinch (stabbed my hand once - while in the sea at a remote beach, on a Sunday, far away from home or any town - didn't even know where the nearest hospital might be). If you are worried about major bleed outs, check out modern military wound dressings - e.g. Celox looks pretty useful.

Edited October 8, 2015 by Tannin

[LumpenDoodle2]

Last week, trimming a few rough edges with a scalpel. Small piece of leather with glue on it stuck to blade. Looked up to answer question from hubby as I swiped the scrap off the blade with my thumb.

Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the blade over first, and drew the scalpel blade edge the length of my right thumb.

Interesting experience, but the blood gave a very nice rich tone to the leather.

[TinkerTailor]

I got into leather work so I could make a sheath for every knife I own. I don't set a knife on the bench without putting the sheath on it.

I make little sheaths out of scrap for everything whenever i am uninspired. I have many little knives which are very sharp. Usually 40 minutes later i have a sheath and have thought of a way past my inspiration block. Hands on tools is the way past creative slumps. I can not leave an old beat up shoemakers knife in a thrift store ever. They all get sharpened properly and sheaths made.

As a lifelong carpenter/builder, cuts and punctures seemed to be a somewhat daily occurance. Clean rag or piece of t-shirt, electrical, duct, sealing or strapping tape works. Always carried a hand cleaner/sanitizer and some antibiotic ointment. Did have to go to the hand surgeon 3 or 4 times. One I went to the emergency room to have a nick about 3/16 x 3/16 by unknown deep from a table saw blade looked at. That was a mistake as It got infected, I believe, at the hospital. Nearly lost my left forefinger due to the infection. My hand surgeon was able to save it, although the first nuckle from the tip is now frozen stiff. Next time I think I need a doc, I'll go directly to the hand guy, not the ER. The nicks I get doing leatherwork are minor compared to the cuts from utility knives, saws, chisels, huge slivers, power screwdriver bits that slip off and into your hand or finger, sheet metal, glass, punctures from reinforcing wire, nails from nail guns, (a 3 1/2" nail shot through your hand doesn't feel too good). I can go on. After a while these things don't seem to hurt very much. Must be all that scar tissue doesn't have any nerves in it

EJ

I have had all the tendons on the back of my right hand re-attatched after a mishap with a 10 inch masonary blade on a 1/2 horse angle grinder. It was probably 25 lbs. I was cutting post holes in concrete for giant gates we built at the aluminum/stainless fab shop i worked at in the past. The grinder kicked cause i got a little distracted for a moment. I was holding it correctly, and it had a guard on it. It kicked towards the ground, away from me, and out of my hands. It then bounced of the ground, flipped in the air and just kissed the back of my hand on the way by........blade still spinning from momentum. Many hours of hand therapy and surgery later and i have no side effects other that i get dropsy with my right hand when i am tired..... and i have developed a twitch in my middle finger when i encounter jerks...