How not to use a drawknife.

[Pr3ssure]

And here I thought I hadn't got it sharp enough. I was trying to use it away from me to not have to flip the entire piece of wood in the vise to get the end. Not really even sure how this happened. Gonna wear gloves next time I guess. 

[Glenn]

Take the time to prevent injuries from happening.  As you mentioned, proper positioning of the work piece in the vise can help prevent this.

[Daswulf]

Ouch! When it's good and sharp, it doesnt hurt so bad at first cause it's so quick. It'll have lots of time to hurt while it heals. Didn't get the tendon, did it? Ugh. Reminds me of when I did a dumb move with a small wood carving knife and ended up pushing the small blade through one finger and half way through another. It was a long recovery having cut the tendon and blood vessel. Thanks to the handy work of a hand surgeon I can still use it. 

ALWAYS have full control and proper handling of a blade! If it feels awkward, STOP and rethink the positioning or grip. 

Wish ya fast healing and let it remind you every time you pick up any too that can hurt you, to take your time and work safe. 

 

[Pr3ssure]

Yeah, I was even thinking about not slipping right before it happened. I usually don't hurt myself other than little bumps and scrapes. Just goes to show you can never be too careful. I don't think I've ever had any serious working related accidents to think of actually. This is the worst. I'll try and keep it that way. 

I didn't do any serious though. The scar may make the finger look weird though. It really only hurt changing the first two bandages. The first from blood sticking. The second because I used liquid bandaid and it stuck the gauze inside the cut. It took thirty minutes to get out. 

[anvil]

I did a similar deal with a knife when i was a boy scout and 12 or 13. Still have the scar

Lol, now you know just why it is called a Draw knife.

[Frosty]

Use Neosporin, not liquid bandaid. It needs air and liquid bandaid seals the wound until you can clean it and bandage it properly, it's not intended as a wound dressing. Neosporin contains an antiseptic and the petroleum jelly helps flesh heal. It's good stuff but if you apply it, it WILL spread to every bit of both hands and a pen won't write if you touch the paper. Hmmm?

Now to go preachy old curmudgeon. Good grief what were you thinking? Anything dangerous is worth careful study, handling and use. If you're using a draw knife properly and slip it MIGHT fall on the floor. Doing it he way you were, slip and . . . Yes?

My hands are dry and tend to crack for minor wounds I use "Cut*Heal" from the feed and seed. It's for treating livestock's minor cuts and scrapes it is NOT approved for HUMAN use but I started using it when dinging myself in the barn. Not recommending it but . . . 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[materman]

Dad always told me not to play with the draw knife when I was young. Parents should never say such things to young boys. Had the wood positioned between my feet and yes one slip, and one chunk of leg was no more. Will carry that scar for the rest of my years. Still use one, but respectfully. 

[Pr3ssure]

Yeah, I only used a little of the liquid stuff to try and keep it close cause I didn't want stitches. I definitely won't do that again cause it hurt so bad going on and coming off. I've got some of the good pain relieving antibiotic ointment. Used peroxide and iodine earlier to clean it up. I'll be applying ointment and new bandages twice a day cause I don't want to lose the tip of my finger to infection. 

To think making a wooden mallet could be so painful. 

[Glenn]

It was not the wooden mallet, it was your draw knife technique.

[Daswulf]

Mine was poping a link in a wooden chain I was carving. I knew better but wasnt thinking, and using a very very bad positioning and technique. Take good care of it and be glad it wasnt worse. Also, Never forget that bad technique can get you hurt in a split second. Same with not paying attention for a split second with a tool. And add this one, If you are getting tired, fatigued or distracted, it's best to pack it in and call it a day or take a break. 

[Pr3ssure]

9 minutes ago, Glenn said:

It was not the wooden mallet, it was your draw knife technique.

Shh, it was the mallet. My reverse drawing technique is perfect. So the wood is cursed obviously....

[Frosty]

Look up "Butterfly bandage." Oh heck here you go, you've earned a freebie  . . this time. 

Butterfly Bandage

47 minutes ago, materman said:

Dad always told me not to play with the draw knife when I was young.

Heh, heh, heh. One of the adages my folks drove us kids crazy with was, "NEVER do . . . THAT!! This is how you do it."

They knew we were going to do whatever IT was anyway so they warned us not to, then told us how it was done so we'd have a chance of not needing an ER run. Another thing that made us more careful was having to watch Mother but enough stitches in Dad's hand to get him to the doc's office and avoid the expensive hospital ER. Mother was NOT pleased and stabbed the needle through fast and hard while muttering things children should NOT hear parent's say to each other will the blood is dripping.  

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

1 hour ago, materman said:

Dad always told me not to play with the draw knife

My wife, still to this day says "don't play with sharp things while I'm gone". Scary she knows me so well.

[Pr3ssure]

They don't have the butterfly bandages at the local dollar general. Or at least not in stock. First thing I looked for. So until I can get to town to get some I've just been doing my best to keep it closed. 

[Daswulf]

Improvise, adapt and overcome. Certain things you can tape up accordingly. Others you can make certain bandages out of others. (Since the good ones have the good sticky stuff. 

Build a good firstaid kit. Now you know to. Think about many possible, and hopefully never needed, first aid items. 

I actually got some suture kits after going through some real rude runarounds at a med express. Anything "minor" that I feel needs stitches, I'll do. The pain is certainly worth the mixed up billing department. Beyond that, its the med professionals. 

Also, the stuff in that kit needs going over atleast once a year. 

[SLAG]

Mr. Pr3ssure,

You can join the two pieces of skin by using crazy glue.

(Also known as cyanoacrylate adhesive).

It is used in modern surgery in place of sutures in some surgical procedures.

And it was first used early in the Viet Nam War, for battle field 'repairs'.

They used it to close an incision made for the repair of an umbilical  (belly button),  hernia two years ago.

Also,  I have,  personally,  used it in sketchy situations, in the distant past.

You will have to clean up the wound and then have some one hold the two skin flaps together while the other person applies the glue liberally on the wound. It reacts quickly and cures fast.

If the join looks good and complete, put a bandage over the glued mess.

It might beat the cos,t and the pain of stitches.

Sorry for posting this note rather late but it  came to my attention just a while ago.

Good luck with it.

SLAG.

p.s. the shape and method of use of a draw knife and a push knife are very different. Look them up and the difference will become clear.

[Cedar Crest Forge]

About the "Use Neosporin" , I have found it to be an amazing product! If they had this in the medieval ages, many a knight might have lived on. Not all of the types work the same for me though. Or maybe one was expired, haha.

Crazy Glue? Wow. Good to know if you are stuck in the backwoods, but honesly, a trip to urgent care is not that expensive either , and should be considered over losing a finger. Don't forget about keeping up on your tetanus shot. Hopefully that draw knife was not rusty.

Gloves have saved me multiple times. I use quality leather ones, not the cheap imports with the cloth on the back. Kevlar gloves may be another option for the future.

My post is not medical advice, and I specifically excluded how I treat my own cases. Seek professional advice 

 

42 minutes ago, SLAG said:

You can join the two pieces of skin by using crazy glue.

Slag, be careful about giving medical advice. Even if you are a doctor, you have not examined his particular condition.

p.s. from the website: 

"Today cyanoacrylate is used in specific formulas developed for medical use. 

Note: Krazy Glue products should not be used for wound care"

http://www.krazyglue.com/faqs/was-krazy-glue-invented-to-seal-battlefield-wounds#.XNjtfopMGhA

[SLAG]

Mr. C. C. F.,

You are right:   visiting a physician is the best route. But weekends can render that difficult.

The information I gave are for jury rigged attention for emergency situations, before having it seen and tended to, by medical professionals when that becomes feasible.

Neosporin is, also, a field remedy.

Better antibiotics are in order in a medical environment. (e.g. hospital, clinic, or doctor's office).

Neosporin is a topical antibiotic concoction comprised of  three antibiotics . They are all for topical use only. They are each toxic in the body. (namely, neomycin, bacitracin, and polymyxin B,). It is also known as triple antibiotic. The neomicin is often left out, as some people are allergic to it.

In a field situation it works. So does "crazy glue". 

But yes, there are also, much better formulations for cyanoacrylate use in surgical settings and medical offices.

The latter adhesives are not available at the hardware store, nor pharmacy, nor big box store, all when medical help is not available or perhaps affordable. (especially at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night).

But a less than ideal procedure is better than not doing anything at all.

Yes avoiding a mishap is the best route to take. (prevention is much more preferable than cure).

Yes leather gloves, first aid kits, and keeping our tetanus shots up to date is advisable for all the members and visitors at I.F.I.

(Kevlar gloves are even better, and better still are light chain mail gloves. (at least for our non-dominant hand).

Thanks for your comments it helped make the subject, (thread), much clearer.

SLAG. 

[Pr3ssure]

Lol, I thought about it but I think it'll be alright with some butterflies and gauze. It hurts like crazy to move the flap of skin though. After having to pull gauze out that bonded from the liquid band aid it was even worse. Maybe not so bad tomorrow.

[pnut]

I can't believe nobody has said it. I guess I have to.

 

IT WEEL CUT!!!!

[Glenn]

Draw knives are sharp enough to shave with.  Well, sharp enough to shave wood anyway.

[pnut]

I was making light of the situation but yeah draw knives are wicked Sharp and should be respected. Growing up the ones I used were always sharp. I used a shaving horse and never seen anyone cut themselves. Proper equipment makes a difference

Pnut (Mike)

[Frosty]

Uh . . .A draw knife SHOULD be razor sharp, it's better when they bite than slip. About Krazy glue, I much prefer Super Glue, it is or used to be cleaner as in you could trust it to contain fewer impurities. Don't know anymore though, its probably made in China and who knows what's in Chinese chemistry.

I've been using Super glue for field 1st. aid for maybe 45+/- years. As I recall the story cyanoacrylates were made for stitchless sutures so I tried it and been using it since. A decade or two ago I got a tip from a doc in the box stitching up a glued together wound who didn't bat an eye. He told me to use the cyanoacrylate glue made for false fingernails, it's intended for use on humans and held to much higher quality controls, plus it contains an antibiotic. 

A deep wound like yours P3ressure, glued together will heal from the bottom up which is better and will push the glue out as it closes. 

Super Glue will stick you together through heavy bleeding. 

I am not a doctor or medically trained beyond 1st. aid courses many years ago so you'd be a fool to think I know what I'm talking about. Go to the doctor and have a GOOD 1st. aid kit, NOT one of those laughable things they sell off the shelf. 

Here's a Frosty tip in case you're early on a seen where someone is suffering major bleeding and you can't stop it with direct pressure or pressure points. NO a tourniquet is absolutely the LAST RESORT, you're making the decision to sacrifice the limb to save the life.

The tip. Keep a box of Kotex in your 1st. aid kit. I use an ace bandage but unless you know how to use one without cutting off the blood flow don't, it's REALLY easy to apply an ace bandage too tightly. SARAN WRAP works GREAT! Kotex is sterile in a water proof package that tears off in a manner you don't have to touch the sterile surface. Peel the wrapper, slap it on the wound and hold it HARD then tape or wrap it on, a torn T shirt works okay IF you don't tie it too tightly. Once it's on check their pulse distally from the wound, that's between the wound and fingers or toes to make sure they have circulation. Do further 1st. aid till EMS arrives. NOTHING stops bleeding like a sanitary napkin and pressure.

If there are spectators shout out to the ladies to give you a sanitary napkin they WILL have them. Do NOT ask, TELL THEM TO GIVE YOU ONE! The people standing around an accident scene are NOT a ghouls every one wants to help they just don't know what to do. If you start giving people jobs they'll get done. The women tend to not understand what you need so I've had to tell them a second time and then I got showered with sanitary napkins and more than one tampon. The poor guy on the ground actually started laughing when I told the ladies the victim hadn't been shot.

The second time I had to take up a napkin collection I put a box in my 1st. aid kit, that one is in a .50 cal ammo can that has all kinds of road emergency stuff in it.

Yeah, I used to do a LOT of 1st. aid, started with Dad, he used to get sliced up regularly, then actual training in Scouts, then as the test dummy when Dad taught Red Cross 1st. aid and life saving. Later as part of the job and Blood doesn't bother me though with some of the diseases going around I'd rather not get any on me. Still. . . .

Frosty The Lucky.

[George N. M.]

Dear Frosty and others,

The fairly new (last 15-20 years) coagulants available for wound treatment in places that sell 1st aid equipment (I got mine at REI) are really good at stopping bleeding.  The military has started using them with very good success.  They work better than the old direct pressure technique.  I keep mine in my 1st aid kit because I am on a blood thinner and don't clot up as fast as I used to.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Glenn]

As we are blacksmiths, not doctors, take a first aid course from the Red Cross. It will provide good information as to what to do in an emergency.