Knife Safety

[Tim Burns]

A Knife story:  Supervisor handed out "Commemorative Knives" for a Major reconfiguration job on one of the mills. Took me less than 10 seconds to slice my thumb and had to get it stitched in the steel mill medical facility. A safety note was to be filled in on the form. The Header asked: "How can this accident best be avoided in the future?" The nurse typed in this reply - "NEVER give this man anything sharper than a Crayola crayon in the future"... I had to sign the form and now we receive a ball cap or pen-pencil set, after a major refit ....Makes we wonder if I should be shooting Broadheads from my bow??? or how I survived all these years as a millwright.

[beowulf]

  do they let you sharpen that crayola ?  wonder when they`ll finally realize that accidents do happen !

[sean drake]

As a Royal Ranger one of the merits you must learn gets you what is known as a "Chop and Cut Card".  Lotsa sharp-tool related safety like specific ways to hand a knife or tomohawk to someone including the recieving person saying "Thank you" and the giver saying "Your Welcome" before releasing the item.  Cut yourself by being irresponsible and you lose the card, gotta have the card to carry them at RR events.

bull scouts carry a card called a witling chip when they do so smart they get a corner cut off when all 4 corners are cut off they have to go and be retrained and can not carry there knife till they get a new card

[voyageur1688]

  Lost count on how many times I have cut myself being careless with a knife. But as it was said--accidents do happen. I have cut myself worse with other things that supposedly aint sharp-- like a putty knife(which I sharpened to remove the vinyl top from a Chevy Malibu  I was helping to restore) car wheels which had hit rocks etc at some point, a heater core from an old car, and probably one of the dumbest was the metal siding from a trailer house I was hired to tear down and countless other things even dumber than those already listed (dont ask)
Voy

[beowulf]

many many moons ago , back when the world was a bit younger and not as weird as it is now , I was crossing a stream when I slipped on the rocks .  they were shale and set on edge ,I naturally used my hands to break my fall , lets just say they were a long time healing !

[texasranger]

cut myself plenty of times the first with my boyscout knife. and many more since then. I few years ago in camp a friend cut his finger while chopping some small pieces of wood. got his housewife (sewing kit) out of a bag and sewed it up. Later that week he told me his doctor told him he had done a great job on the stiches. ouch.

[voyageur1688]

 I you are out in the woods and cut yourself, ad are in an area where balsam fir grows, pop the blisters on the tree trunk and put the sap from them on the cut. works better than most boughten first aid creams. Voy

[Tim Burns]

OK Tim's Story:    At the Steel Mill where I work - we got commemorative pocket knives for a Major reconfiguration on one of the seamless tube mills. I opened the knife (Lockback) had difficulty closing it - and proceeded to lay my thumb open ROYALLY! Had to be transported to Med Facility and get stitches. On the Safety Form is this  Question. -How can this be prevented in the Future??? The Nurse wrote in the answer space "NEVER give this man anything sharper than a Crayola crayon"! I had to sign it and YES its TRUE. I still have my copy of the Accident Report. Been a Millwright for 32 years and this is a minor incident when you work where things are weighed in Tons not pounds....Tim

[trapperxx]

Good post.
I'll add don't use a non-locking knife (trapper) in the same manner as a locking blade.
Don't play with an open knife in a moving car. (that bugs me)

  "Have you ever seen an eight year old that was not careless?  The first week I cut myself pretty good, probably needed stitches but kept it hid from my parents till it healed.  I knew they would have taken it away from me if they knew."

I wasn't as good at hiding it, I told my dad I cut it on a rock. I didn't want to lose my new jack knife ......He didn't but it and I did. (lose it ) I learned though, today I'd never stab a tree with a jack knife, lol

[beowulf]

and do be careful with those locking knives ! they do fail once in a while , and once is all it takes !  know that one from personal experience !

[sweed]

2. IF YOU DROP YOUR KNIFE, LET IT FALL-DON'T ATTEMPT TO CATCH IT.
       2.a IMMEDIATELY PICK UP BOTH FEET!!! 

It can be done. 

SWEED