Knife Safety

[fd-ems-emt]

One of Man's Oldest Tools


The Knife is an amazing tool, an ancient tool for which there has been no substitute. Throughout history, knives have been essential for survival, as well as for providing food and shelter. From its earliest form, the knife developed out of necessity, and its evolution may be traced through the paths of technology.

During the Stone Age, knives were made of flint, which could easily be scaled to shape, and then could be re-scaled to produce a new edge. Later, flint knives were ground to the desired shape. Much later in history, man began to make knives from copper, bronze, and finally, from the products of iron as we know them today.

Humans hold a special bond with tools-in particular, those used for hunting. Over the ages, guns, knives, bows and spears have been adorned with ornate patterns. These marks of craftsmanship added a touch of beauty and reflected pride in the skills the craftsmen had learned. Even in modern days, when purchasing a knife for hunting or fishing, the product of choice must be not only of lasting performance and quality, but also have an attractive design and finish that gives the owner a sense of pride. Long-time sportsmen usually keep their tools in clean working order and often display their tools for others to admire.

Today, the knife continues to be an important tool, though more for sport and work than survival, as in the past. As knife technology and production methods have advanced, knife uses have expanded and knife forms have become more specialized. Today, you can get a knife in a wide assortment of configurations and materials. And, much the same as yesteryear, when specialized craftsmen made custom knives as prized possessions,

Practicing knife safety will enhance your use and enjoyment of your knife as a valuable tool. Using a knife for purposes other than which it was intended invariably leads to the possibility of trouble or injury and may void your warranty.

Here some tips for handling a knife:

1. CUT AWAY FROM YOUR BODY-NOT TOWARD.

2. IF YOU DROP YOUR KNIFE, LET IT FALL-DON'T ATTEMPT TO CATCH IT.

3. DON'T RUN WITH A KNIFE.

4. DON'T THROW A KNIFE TO ANYONE- HAND IT TO THEM (HANDLE FIRST).

5. DON'T POINT A KNIFE AT ANYONE. 

6. DO NOT USE A LOCKING FOLDING KNIFE IF BLADE DOES NOT LOCK OPEN.
(check that the lock is operational prior to each use)

7. KEEP YOUR KNIFE FOLDED/SHEATHED WHEN CARRYING OR NOT USING. 

8. DO NOT SHARPEN ON A POWER GRINDER. USE A SHARPENING STONE.
(using a power grinder will make the edge brittle and void the warranty)

9. USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB. DON'T USE KNIFE FOR PRYING.
(using a knife for prying can cause the tip to break, fly off and cause injury)

10. USE IN A WELL-LIT AREA SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.   

11. DO NOT USE A KNIFE ON "LIVE" ELECTRICAL ITEMS LIKE APPLIANCES.   

12. KEEP YOUR KNIFE CLEAN-PARTICULARLY THE LOCKING MECHANISM.

13. KEEP YOUR KNIFE OILED AND SHARP (SAFER THAN DULL). 

14. DO NOT ATTEMPT SELF-REPAIR-IT IS DANGEROUS AND VOIDS WARRANTY.

15. IF YOU GET CUT, SEEK FIRST AID IMMEDIATELY.

[mongrel]

Great advice.

I have the scars to help me remember a few of the times I failed to follow one or more of those instructions.

[Mr Woodchuck]

mee two'

[RoaringBull]

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.

[mongrel]

Is the card absorbent? I would need one made out of several layers of paper towels, simply to keep the blood from getting all over everything on the way to the nearest first aid.

[Mr Woodchuck]

cut myself good once  got to see bones !
  self inflicted is not cool
    knife safety is important...
catch Mongrel

[mongrel]

"Huh?"

GRAB

"AAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

Actually, I've hit a point where I'm so used to it, my reaction would be more like, "Well, darn. Anyone got a fairly clean shop towel?"

Bull and Tony are shaking their heads -- "They must have cut funding for the institutions those two should be in."

[fd-ems-emt]

We all forget,
I've cut myself afew times..

The worst was when I was whittling while a deer hunt..
Put a gash that took 8 stitches on my thumb to close her up..

[bull frog]

No one can denie that knife safty is important.  I got my first knife at age of eight, ( a cub scout knife) and had to beg my parents for two weeks to get it.  Had to make all kinds of promises too.  One thing I promised was to be extra careful with it and never do any thing careless.  Have you ever seen an eight year old that was not careless?  The first week I cut myself pretty good, probably needed stiches but kept it hid from my parents till it healed.  I kenw they would have taken it away from me if they knew.  Have carried a pocket knife ever since.  I must have cut myself at least a thousand times (no lie) over the years.  It's a fact that even with care, cuts are going to happen.  It took me many years to learn what to do and what not to do.  Maybe I am just more clumsy than most, but have learned to live with it knowing it could happen agin at any moment.  Its that thought that keeps me just a bit safer.........Bullfrog

[Mr Woodchuck]

Slipped at work with a knife  ... I KEEP EM SHARP
RIGHT INTO MY LEFT HAND...
Very bad   heavy blood loss   internal and external stitches
    I have been more carefull since
now I need Grinder safety
lol

[Ironwood]

I've cut myself several times over the years.  Nothing really bad.  Just enough to give me great respect for knives and sharp things.  The thing that scared me the most was with a small camp axe, and I didn't even get cut.

Once upon a time I was by myself clearing a 4 wheeler trail down in the hunting club.  I was using hedge clippers, a machete, and the camp axe.  I had been working at the trail for some time and was beginning to get hot and tired.  I was using the camp axe to cut some low lying limbs out over the trail.  I'm not real sure just how it happened but on one swing I hit the limb wrong.  The axe spun around glanced off the limb and hit the calf of my leg really hard.  I just knew I was a dead man. Thank goodness it was a single bit axe.  The back side of the axe hit me instead of the blade.  I still have a dent in my leg where the axe hit.  Had the blade side hit my leg I doubt I would have even made it back to camp.

[mongrel]

My "almost" story involves a chain saw. A friend and I used to cut firewood from slash piles where the Forest Service had bulldozed fire roads, in the Kaibab National Forest of Arizona. These piles were mainly pines of one sort or another, and often as tall as a grown man or more. You had to climb to the top of a pile, get your footing solid, then fire up the saw and go to work, calculating every cut because the limbs and trunks were in a tangle. If you cut the wrong thing you were going down and getting hurt. My saw was a Stihl with both a 24" and 30" bar -- I was running the long bar the day I'm talking about.

I was wearing work boots and Levi's, and after awhile I got winded -- let go the trigger on the saw and relaxed. The bar dipped, and the chain, still spinning by momentum, touched a trunk or a branch and bounced over against my pants leg. It completely shredded the cuff of my pants and to the day my boots finally wore out the right one had a series of deep gouges angling across its top, where it kept my lower shin and ankle from being turned into something not quite as pretty as hamburger.

Off the topic of knife safety, a little, but a blade is a blade is a blade, and if you don't pay constant attention to where they're at and what they're doing they will jump up and (almost literally, in my case) bite you on the butt.

I suppose I've just made a plug for "proper protective clothing and equipment" also.

[beowulf]

cut myself a few times , and my brother danged near took his finger off with a butter knife !( sometimes I wonder about him !) . scariest thing that ever happened to me happened while grinding a new blade . I use an old 1x42 inch belt sander for a lot of my work . and the belt caught the blade just right , ripping it out of my hand , sinking it into the wall eight feet away ! could just as easily been me on the receiving end of that one ! so be careful with the blades wether you are using it , or working on it , they tend to bite , and bite deep !

[Watauga]

Great Post!
The Boy Scouts have a Totin Chit
The Cub Scouts have a whittling Chit
If you don't have a chit you cant use a Knife or Axe!
You have to earn the Chit by Learning and demonstrating Knife safety!
If you break a knife safety rule you loose the chit!
Scouts used and had these Sheath knives on the Scout belt every place they went.
We even wore them to School with our uniforms on meeting days.
If you had one on you in School now the National Guard would be Called out!
The Boy scouts of America doesn't like sheath Knives any more!
(Trying to be PC I guess)
I have told my Scouts as long as it says Official BSA its OK for our Troop!
To me a Sheath Knife is safer than a folding knife! The only scouts I have ever had cut were folding the knife when they got cut! Or it folded on them as they were using it. (2 stitches in 22 years still to many)

[chuck w.]

Great safety reminder. Thanks, Stubbie McNubbins.