accident with utility knife

[frank shic]

i'm more than a little embarassed to announce that i've joined the "suture club" as of last night around 8:45 pm when i got home and hastily tried to open a package containing new pattern cutting router bit with a utility knife. as you all know, the anti-theft plastic is pretty tough stuff so i was holding the package in my left hand and dragging down with the utility knife when it slipped and i suddenly realized that i had done something MAJORLY WRONG. i tried applying pressure for about ten minutes hoping to stave off a trip to the emergency room but it just wouldn't stop gushing blood. i sheepishly sauntered into the living room and told my wife what i had just done and after she helped me get dressed (i was in my boxers at the time!) i headed down to the local ER and got five stitches. fortunately for me, my typing speed really hasn't taken a major hit but washing by hair and buttoning my shirt was definitely a little more trickier this morning. BE CAREFUL out there.

[Bill White]

Just goes to show ya that it doesn't have to have a power cord on it to hurt ya.
Get well soon, and wear pullover shirts.
Bill

[Bas Pluim]

I was going to do some drywall demolition, so I got some new gloves to avoid injury. Used a utility knife to cut the cord that holds the two gloves together. Except, it wasn't nylon, it was cotton, so I sliced through very easily...right into my finger. Only two sutures, fortunately.

The moral of the story: Don't wear gloves for protection, they only lead to injury.

[Eric DeSilva]

Ouch. I hate those blister packs and everything seems to come in them. Keep thinking I need to get one of these for the study and the garage:

http://www.amazon.com/As-Seen-On-TV-OX104/dp/B0006ACWEQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4374891-3576013?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1194629289&sr=8-1

I gather the number of injuries caused by blister packs is somewhat stunning.

[Roland Chung]

Frank,

Be sure not to wear boxers while using a utility knife. It's a baaad combination - your accident could have been much worse!

Sorry to hear about your accident. So far, my worst accidents have been with a utility knife. A student I know did some major damage to his finger cutting parts with a straight edge. He came to class and presented his model with his hand elevated and wrapped in a ball of guaze.

Roland

[frank shic]

i need to buy myself a pair of heavy-duty shears for future package opening... thanks for the moral support guys!

[Justin Bukoski]

If you have an Ikea anywhere near you they sell a great set of kitchen shears for $2 that works great for those evil, despicable blister packs.

[frank shic]

i'll check those out next time i visit the world's purveyor of FINE FURNITURE, ikea, justin. thanks!

[Greg Muller]

Ewwww, Frank!

:eek: :eek:
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!

You are grossing us all out!

Not with the bleeding all over the place sliced finger visual, but with the visual of you in boxers!! EEEWWWWWW!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

-Greg

[Steve Rowe]

Hope you heal well Frank. Wounds from utility knives are very common. They became so common, my employer banned them from use about 2 years ago.
Steve

[Todd Jensen]

I hope he banned plastic bags and hot coffee too...:D

[James Carmichael]

Glad you didn't get any tendons or ligaments, Frank.

My own ER adventure was caused by dropping a 1 1/2" bench chisel on my sandal-clad foot. Got a nice zipper down the middle of my second toe.

Now why do those ER docs never look like the ones on "Grey's Anatomy"???

[frank shic]

Now why do those ER docs never look like the ones on "Grey's Anatomy"???

Actually, some of med school classmates were QUITE attractive but were a little too intimidating for me! :p

[Jim Becker]

Good thing they didn't use glue to fix the cut with you in your boxers... http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=68690

:D :D :D

'Hope you heal fast!

[frank shic]

if it had been a smaller linear laceration i would have tried to superglue myself but this gash was a nice cicumferential cut which left a nice chunk of thumb just flapping in the wind not to mention the bleeding. BTW eyelids get unintentionally glued shut all the time! ;)

[Jim Kountz]

Ewwww, Frank!

:eek: :eek:
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit!

You are grossing us all out!

Not with the bleeding all over the place sliced finger visual, but with the visual of you in boxers!! EEEWWWWWW!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

-Greg

Yeah that and referring to Ikea as purveyors of FINE FURNITURE!! WOW!

:confused:

[Gary Keedwell]

Do you know what IKEA means in Swedish?

Particle board.......:p
Gary

[Bill Huber]

Frank, Frank, Frank what can I say... I am sure sorry it happened but I also know how it happened.

I hate those packages and I sometime would just like to throw them in the trash and not even open them.
I did finely bought a pair of Fiskars at Lowes just for that use.

Good luck....

[frank shic]

hey guys, i tried opening up the router bit package again tonight with... a pair of fiskars! it worked marvelously and i actually managed to play with it being VERY CAREFUL to follow every safety precaution possible. i made the ikea statement facetiously although i must confess that i've got quite a few of their college student budget pieces of furniture still lying around the house until i rebuild them into something glen huey would be proud of! i can't wait to pull these sutures out in another two weeks...

[Brian Kent]

Frank, I think you should get one of these woodworker's chain mail outfits. I couldn't find any boxers:

[frank shic]

brian, i'd probably end up dropping the helmet on my toe! nice looking chainmail, though.

[Jim Kountz]

i made the ikea statement facetiously

Hey Frank, I figured you did, was just pulling your chain there a little bit! Hope the ol digit is doing better!!

[Jeff Wright]

Frank, you're about two months behind me . . . I sliced my index finger while marking butt hinge mortises. I went out to the shop "just for a moment's worth of work" while dinner was being prepared and thought I would do a little work marking a hinge. In the blink of an eye, I sliced the finger. I was able to stop the bleeding and forgo a visit to ER. But I have not yet gotten my feeling back in that area of the finger.

I find that it takes a bit of time until I actually "get in the zone" in my shop, a mental place where I do my best work. Trying to just jump in and start working doesn't allow me to get into that zone.

The simplest of tools can cause the worst accidents. Treat them all with the respect they deserve.

[Roger Newby]

I use airline snips.

[Al Willits]

Well, I was gonna say if you were wearing briefs this wouldn't of happened, but then I remembered the jointer blades I was cleaning, and the blood every where incident I had not to long ago.:D

Good to her your gonna be OK, does only take a second to do damage though, been there done that.

Good reminder to play safe, gotta be on your toes all the time.

Al

[Chris Foley]

Ditto here...I work for one of the major offshore oil drilling contractors and we do not allow knives or box cutters. The term is now "alternative cutting devices" which really means shears, side cutters and other devices engineered so that you can't cut yourself.

[Steven J Corpstein]

I cut my thumb about 10 years ago, to the tune of 30 stitches, using a utility knife while roofing. Stories like this still pucker my....