Knife accidents

W

wlf

Joined
Apr 27, 2002
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57
Is there anyone who hasn't cut themselves while using, playing with, or training with a knife? I've been pretty lucky and haven't done anything a few stitches didn't cure. I witnessed a particularly gruesome incident though.

When I was in Army basic training we were still issued the M1 Garand. The bayonets often got stuck on the rifles and the cadre had repeatedly told us that if this happened we should stick the bayonet in the ground and kick it loose with our boots. One day after bayonet practice we were in formation and had just been given the order to unfix bayonets. There was a horrible scream from the rank behind me and I turned around to see a guy holding his face and blood going every where. Seems this kid had not followed instructions, and when his bayonet wouldn't come off he put the rifle butt on the ground between his feet and knees with the bayonet pointing up. Then he grabbed it in both hands and gave it a good yank. He was looking down at it when it suddenly came lose and he jabbed it right in his eye. (ouch!) That boy was discharged and given a 75% service connected disability pension. His total military career lasted four weeks. Okay, now lets hear your bloody horror stories.
 
A buddy of mine saw a fellow soldier plunge a Gerber MKII to the hilt in his gut while trying to chip away at a block of ice.

This was in Vietnam and they medevaced him with the knife in place.
 
My worst is a freshly lubed Matriarch biting into my knuckle because I was shutting it with one hand and not used to how slick it was now and how far it would swing closed. Still a little tender to pressure. This happened about 4 months ago.
 
A knife accident, sort of.

I was 7 years old, I believe, when I for the first time saw a man that had been cut with a knife.

A man had become in love with a woman in one gypsy family and she was in love with him. The problem was that the womans family didn´t agree to this so they decided to mark him, with knives. So a couple of younger guys in the family got the job to make him understand. They waited for him and got him when he was a bit drunk about noon (yep, daytime).

I later overheard the grown-ups talk about the story behind it all. The "family boys" had waited and pulled him behind some bushes. One held him down and the other cut his upper body with nice long cuts.

So now you wonder where is the accident.

They checked his ID-card and found out it was the wrong man. Obviously they didn´t know the guy too well and somehow they had made a mistake. So what do they decide to do? Well, release him of course. I saw him stumbling around on the lawn outside the apartment buildings where I lived. An ambulance was called and that was the last I heard about it.

Awful accident, no?

/Colinz
 
I have a few entries. None of them will take the gore award, but I think I can make a strong showing in the stupidity category.

The first involved one of those "safety" utility knives. The kind with the thumb button that slides the blade in and out of the handle. I was in the basement with my little brother, and thought it would be funny to PRETEND to take a swipe at him with it while closing the blade into the handle. I didn't quite get it closed. About one eighth of an inch was still sticking out of the handle as I slid it down his arm. It left a clean, shallow scratch about three inches long. He reacted with no anger or fear; only a hurt confused look of "why did you cut me?" that made me feel about 2mm tall. I have never cut anyone else accidently since.

Second: In college, I used to practice juggling machetes. I am careful to say that I practiced juggling them, not that I was actually very successful at it. I was a firm believer in training with sharpened blades, because blunt ones would only give you a false sense of security :rolleyes: I was working on balancing the machete on the top of my foot, then flipping it up either 270 or 450 degrees (I don't remember which) to catch it in my hand. Whatever my plan was, my calculations were 180 degrees off. I somehow managed to get the machete, point down and handle up, tangled in between my pointer and middle fingers, with the blade sliding down the knuckle of my flipping finger. It was one of those moments when time slows down, but your thoughts and vision are in overdrive. I swear I watched and felt every jagged burr on that edge sawing along the bone in my finger while my hand ignored my brain's panicked orders to yank away. It was several days before I could pick up a knife of any kind without feeling that figernails-on-the-chalkboard-through-your-whole-skeleton sensation. Ugh. Shudder.

Third: Years later, while working in a sporting goods store, and having not learned my lesson about juggling, it was my habit to take large fixed blades out of the display counter and flip them around a little when there were no customers around. My favorites were the CS Master Hunter, the Buck Nighthawk and the Gerber BMF. I had just finished playing with the BMF, and was in the act of puting it back in the case when I bumped the shelf and dropped the knife. Now, while I am professing my stupidity here, I can say that I do know better than to try to catch a falling blade. The Gerber bounced off of my leg and hit the floor. I quickly scooped it up to make sure it wasn't dinged in any way. There was a bit of gouged linoleum on the guard. No big deal, it wipes right off. Wait, what's this on the tip? Blood? Where did blood ...come ...from? I looked down at a small pool forming by my boot and became aware of the dampness of my sock. Apparently, the knife had hit my pants leg point first and stuck, and as the weight of the handle swung around this pivot point, it sliced my calf. Eight staples to close it up. Despite this incident, I was promoted to manager of that department shortly afterwards.
 
Reverse grip training...last joint on pinky doesn't work anymore(cut tendon). What I learned: Never buy a knife that doesn't have a guard, always keep your thumb on pommel area, if you get a deep cut to a finger head to the ER immediately.

There was also the time that I cut through my thumb(and part of the nail) with a box cutter while at work. Thought I cut off the tip of my thumb at first... I had to get 6 stitches, 2 of them through the nail. I was kind of cool watching the doctor drill holes in my nail so that he could stitch it together. What wasn't cool was the $600+ bill I received a few weeks later.
 
MacHete,

Those stories really made me laugh (people tell me I have dark, perverted sense of humor). One of my worse injuries occurred during one of those knife juggling routines you were talking about. It happened when I was a teenager--I've always thought I was the only one that did these kinds of stupid stunts, but now I won't have to be so embarrassed about it. Leigh
 
Leigh- I appreciate your sympathy and your empathy. It's always good to share a round of laughter at your own expense, because it will be someone else's treat soon enough. I still get a chuckle out of the irony of the Gerber incident. After recklessly playing with the knife for several minutes, I managed to maim myself putting it away. I still toy with the idea of getting a tattoo to turn the scar into a centipede.
 
I've stabbed a 10 cm (ca. 4 in?) butterfly knife in my thigh.I was training a stab to the abdomen on a dummy, weight on the rear knee (that's the leg I hit). Right through the side-pouch of my trousers. I reacted pretty calmly, just pulled the knife out (later I was told that I should have taken the knife out gently, not causing excess damage), put some pressure on the wound and made my way downstairs (blood marks on the floor carpet and wall..) to get some ice to stop the swelling and bleeding. It actually felt quite funny when I stabbed myself: a little itchy pain and then something warm started to run down my leg--a very pleasant feeling ;) After stopping the bleeding etc. I stitched it with those plaster stitches, put a bandage on it..and kept training for four weeks, a bit less stress on that leg, after which I went to ER because the wound hadn't healed yet and it was pretty dirty looking (duh!) --I could see torn muscles trying to exit through the wound.They asked me why I hadn't come earlier..
I still have a nice scar on my right thigh which looks like a bad burn and reminds me of the dangers of playing with a knife.I've done a lot of stupid stunts..but this is one of my favorite! .D
I never cleaned the knife and I still have dried-up blood clots on it..as a souvenir.

Hope you learned from this..keep playing!

Cheers!
 
Working espada y daga one night and got really frisky and decided to try it left handed (sword in left hand/knife in right). Worked for about thirty minutes before I had to execute a vertical slash and forgot to chamber my knife appropriately. I heard a nice long zzziiippp sound, dropped my head and looking very embarassed walked to the medicine chest and fixed myself up.
 
When I was in the army reserve some years ago we were parading with fixed bayonets. We were standing in the heat for some time in close formation. A guy behind me fainted and his bayonet stuck the guy next to me in the back of the calf. Wanna hear a dumb one. When I was a kid I loved Daniel Boone on TV. I accidently cut myself with a pen knife. So just like an old woodsman I thought I'd heat up the blade on a candle and stop the bleedin'. I will NEVER do that again. A bandaid will do just fine.:)
 
This happened to a friend - really, I'm not covering for my own idiocy.
He has a samurai-type sword, and was showing it to some friends. Drew the blade with his right hand, held the scabbard with his left. When he was done he put the tip of the blade into the scabbard and pushed down. His left hand slipped and he sliced very neatly through the thumb/first finger webbing of his hand. His instinct was to let go and throw his left hand back; resulting in a lovely spray of blood all across the bedroom wall.
It was seeing this painted-over spot pattern and my questions that drew the whole story out - of course, I'm far too intelligent to ever do something like that :rolleyes: Although I did watch an X-acto knife roll off a table and stick straight up-and-down in my thigh. Never tried to stop it, simply watched it roll and then gravity took over. Top-of-the-foodchain my butt .....
 
Sharing a couple of my lessons (out of too many to list :) )

1. Pay attention when flipping a knife open and closed (breaking it in). I broke a small part of the tip of my first AFCK on an aluminum pool cue case because I paying more attention to my computer; now it's a semi-tanto.

2. Don't practice bali-song manipulation directly above yourself (especially your face) while lying on your back in bed. A corollary to that - when you first start practicing with a butterfly knife, tape up the blade!

3. If you are cutting something with a knife (e.g. a cardboard box)and find that something else needs your attention (e.g. a friend on the phone and a show on TV), don't sit down and continue cutting the box in your lap while talking on the phone and watching TV.

4. Don't make the pivot action of your folders so loose that it will open up by itself in a pocket of a backpack. Corollary - if there is something sharp there, LOOK first before reaching into a bag, don't blindly fish around with your hand.

5. Familiarize yourself with the first aid procedures for various cuts/lacerations and have a good first aid kit handy.
 
Messing around walking & drawing my new (& 1st) knife (CRKT Crawford-Kasper) & thought I had it folded & poked my other thumb(back side) with blade tip. Only about 1/8 inch into thumb, but it bled quickly. It was a clean puncture & some pressure & a good band-aid stopped it quickly. Immediately, this brought about respect for the sharpness & lethality of my new folder!
 
NEVER leave *sharp* knives in a sink full of soapy water. Got poked good a couple of times while working in a cafe.

High school. Buck 110. R thumb. Trying to impress a girl. 'nuff said.

Got popped in the hand by a guy (brother of then-girlfriend's ex) that I thought was kidding. He wasn't. He at least had the good sense to be sorry about it afterwards. ;)
 
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