I see bushcrafting as a pretty benign activity when it comes to injuring myself. Ok, so my back is a mess at times (old biking accident), my knee cartlidges are shot (too many dislocations during martial arts training) but when I look at the other things I enjoy doing in life, bushcrafting seems pretty tame. I fly power kites and buggy with them (so far that accounts for innumurable scrapes, grazes and bruises, one clean K.O. and a rib broken in 2 places) and I used to ride motocross (too many scrapes and bumps to count).
I grew up playing with edge tools of one sort or another, taking chances with silly manoevres of one sort or another, and shooting with both shotguns and rifles, so I guess I've come to view them as everyday items rather than risk factors. The worst cut I've had so far from one of my tools did require 8hrs of microsurgery to save and almost severed finger (slight mishap whilst clearing brush with a bowie
), but so far I seem to have got off pretty light in my view.
It does have to be said that as I get older I find that I'm tending to look at things with more cautious eyes. Whereas when I was younger I would leap into things with hardly a thought for the outcome, nowadays I'll stop and think to myself "If I fall off there/ in there/against that etc etc, I'll be damned sorry I was daft enough to try this... So I won't " Age getting the better of me? Perhaps, but I'm still dafter than your average brush most days
