Done with a Frosts carving knife while working on a kuksa. I had the bottom rounded over and the work sliped in my hand, diverting the blade of the knife into my leg. What annoyed me most was ruining a good pair of trousers into the bargain!
Knife and axe injuries (gory photo alert)
- Thread starter nickg
- Start date
-
Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Done with a Frosts carving knife while working on a kuksa. I had the bottom rounded over and the work sliped in my hand, diverting the blade of the knife into my leg. What annoyed me most was ruining a good pair of trousers into the bargain!
I cant get the pics of the scar on my thumb to come out. I have an 80mm "s" shaped scar from the tendon repair surgery after a little moment with an axe. Had the surgery twice cos I was not careful the first time. A word of advice if you have tendon surgery be carefull the second time is MUCH worse.
Mark
Mark
This thread nearly belongs in Fair Game
It's a very good idea though. Maybe we should make it a sticky in Edged Tools as a kind of vivid warning.
Take care out there folks.
cheers,
Toddy
I agree with the Sticky thread idea - it could turn into a valuable resource for people to dip into.
The interesting thing that i am finding is the accounting that goes with the inages.
I have found some really bad pic on the web of the results of knife attacks that are really quite disturbing but they are the result of a) malice and b) somebody elses will (for whatever reason) what is appearing here are genuine self inflicted injuries that i think are all the more powerful by virtue of the fact that they ARE self inflicted and ARE by people with a quite well developed sense of awareness of the tools proclivities.
Thanks everybody & keep them coming
Nick
NickG
It might be a good idea toremove your real email addess from the original post and invite PMs instead, or your email might get harvested by spammers !
NS
It might be a good idea toremove your real email addess from the original post and invite PMs instead, or your email might get harvested by spammers !
NS
And mine
I ignored the instructions I got from Ray Mears and held the wood below where I was hitting it with an axe.
It was raining, I wanted a fire to have breakfast so needed to split wood to get any dry, I took a shortcut...
I still have the scar, but it's not that impressive now
I ignored the instructions I got from Ray Mears and held the wood below where I was hitting it with an axe.
It was raining, I wanted a fire to have breakfast so needed to split wood to get any dry, I took a shortcut...
I still have the scar, but it's not that impressive now
I think the most telling bit of this whole thread is how easily very capable people were able to injure themselves 
I think they'll all agree that better they're used as an example of, "how not to", than the thread becomes just a, "who's got a gorier picture".
Me? The scars are almost faded away, but I did a beauty on my left thumb holding a stick while I carved it into a distaff
, sliced right into my knuckle, and I gave myself some really bad burns from sitting next to a fresh pot of tea and spilling it over my legs 
I watched my skin come up in white bubbles that just sloughed off when touched.
All too easily done.
Sorry Nick, I think we've rather hijacked your thread into a teaching tool.
atb,
M
I think they'll all agree that better they're used as an example of, "how not to", than the thread becomes just a, "who's got a gorier picture".
Me? The scars are almost faded away, but I did a beauty on my left thumb holding a stick while I carved it into a distaff
, sliced right into my knuckle, and I gave myself some really bad burns from sitting next to a fresh pot of tea and spilling it over my legs I watched my skin come up in white bubbles that just sloughed off when touched.All too easily done.
Sorry Nick, I think we've rather hijacked your thread into a teaching tool.
atb,
M
I have a few scars that were avoidable, the axe wound on the leg will become more common place as people who don't know how to use an axe continue to do so as their hero Ray uses one. Unfortunately the short axe, when it misses its' mark, buries itself into flesh as showcased above. It is a good thing we do this as a hobby as some of the wounds shown already could have had a different outcome if they had happened in a true wilderness setting!
I've never cut myself badly with a knife or axe, but this is a great thread to enforce people it respect there tools, metal always wins.
The worst scar I've got is on my foot, which I did when I was 12, but that was dropping a stanley knife onto the top of my bare foot, boy do feet bleed alot! The doc at the hospital didn't know how I didn't cut through 3 veins that I could see through the cut (which was pretty cool). Oh yeah, I once sawed through my thumb nail down to the bone, wich was probably the most painful thing I've ever done, you'd never know now though, other than a slight white line under my nail.
The worst scar I've got is on my foot, which I did when I was 12, but that was dropping a stanley knife onto the top of my bare foot, boy do feet bleed alot! The doc at the hospital didn't know how I didn't cut through 3 veins that I could see through the cut (which was pretty cool). Oh yeah, I once sawed through my thumb nail down to the bone, wich was probably the most painful thing I've ever done, you'd never know now though, other than a slight white line under my nail.
Last edited:
Hah recently nicked my finger after sharpening a large axe, proved it was sharp tho 
i find if i cut my leg or toe or whatever it just hurts but if i cut any part of a finger i go all faint and light headed. i feel propper girly but then i guess thats just my body. arm, leg, head no issues but fingers always make me wobbly.
pete
i find if i cut my leg or toe or whatever it just hurts but if i cut any part of a finger i go all faint and light headed. i feel propper girly but then i guess thats just my body. arm, leg, head no issues but fingers always make me wobbly.
pete
ere, russ, didn't you manage a nice little job on a digit with a sickle at a bushmoot? or am i thinking of someone else? did you not get any pics of that'n?
i had a scaled down slot in the top of my foot from an axe once. it wasn't till a short while after the event that i realised 1: my shoe lace was loose, and 2: my foot was wet. on closer inspection the axe had gone quite cleanly through the laces shoe and sock and a little bit of foot. thank goodness for sharp edges, they don't hurt half as much!
i haven't cut myself properly for years, but counting the amount of repeat scars in very similar places on hands and fingers, makes think that it took a fair bit of learning for me to get this far!
cheers, and.
i had a scaled down slot in the top of my foot from an axe once. it wasn't till a short while after the event that i realised 1: my shoe lace was loose, and 2: my foot was wet. on closer inspection the axe had gone quite cleanly through the laces shoe and sock and a little bit of foot. thank goodness for sharp edges, they don't hurt half as much!
i haven't cut myself properly for years, but counting the amount of repeat scars in very similar places on hands and fingers, makes think that it took a fair bit of learning for me to get this far!
cheers, and.
Nope, he didn't 'cos I was too stressed to take any
I think he spent more of that hospital jaunt calming me down and reassuring me that he was fine I really like that sickle but I was fretting incase he'd cut tendons in his hand.
He might have an afterwards one though.
He rehandled the sickle before he'd let me use it again
made a sheath for it too 
yeah I did but I didnt take any pictures of that one
Its not an easy one to take a picture of now
cheers Russ
PS honest I don't make a habit of cutting myself
Its not an easy one to take a picture of now
cheers Russ
PS honest I don't make a habit of cutting myself
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apart from the standard selection of fine white lines on my left hand there are three special edge tools scars:
At the base of my left thumb. I was splitting firewood, had done so for a few hours and was just going to do a few more before I went in to cook dinner. I had split a huge birch section into slabs, and was using the splitring axe one-handed, holding the piece with the other making billets. I think there was a knot, but the axe somehow sliced into the base of my thumb. I saw a spurt of blood, pushed it against my chest while pulling out the military fiel dressing from my pocket. The only permanent effect is a scar and no real surface "feeling" in the skin. When asked about the bandage the next day I said "an idiot with an axe, but he ended up in A&E..."
My left shin. A long narrow round of wood needing to be split, it was a bit unstable, and fell over instead of splitting. The axe went sideways and then swung back towards my legs. I was almost fast enough in pulling the leg in (into a "crane" style stance), so a flap of skin was loosened. Again, the military field dressing came out fast, and i drove myself into A&E for needlework. Nice scar, no other effects.
Left thumb. I was whittling casually with a knife with a symetrical handle while talking to someone. Put the knife down, took it up again, did a pushcut with the left thumb on the back. sorry, edge of the knife with my left thumb. Did the steristrip thing ourselves, the A&E doc never took his hands out of his pockets (i.e. the job was as neat as their would have been), but suggested the nurse should perhaps give me a tetanus shot just in case since I was in there anyway. The nurse even gave me a fresh package of steritrips to take home. A slight mismatch in the fingerprint lines, no other effects.
Lessons learnt;
1. A field dressing is a good thing to have when using sharps. Some steristrips don't hurt either...
2. Pay attention to what you are doing or pay the fee at the A&E (about UKP10-12/visit, IIRC).
At the base of my left thumb. I was splitting firewood, had done so for a few hours and was just going to do a few more before I went in to cook dinner. I had split a huge birch section into slabs, and was using the splitring axe one-handed, holding the piece with the other making billets. I think there was a knot, but the axe somehow sliced into the base of my thumb. I saw a spurt of blood, pushed it against my chest while pulling out the military fiel dressing from my pocket. The only permanent effect is a scar and no real surface "feeling" in the skin. When asked about the bandage the next day I said "an idiot with an axe, but he ended up in A&E..."
My left shin. A long narrow round of wood needing to be split, it was a bit unstable, and fell over instead of splitting. The axe went sideways and then swung back towards my legs. I was almost fast enough in pulling the leg in (into a "crane" style stance), so a flap of skin was loosened. Again, the military field dressing came out fast, and i drove myself into A&E for needlework. Nice scar, no other effects.
Left thumb. I was whittling casually with a knife with a symetrical handle while talking to someone. Put the knife down, took it up again, did a pushcut with the left thumb on the back. sorry, edge of the knife with my left thumb. Did the steristrip thing ourselves, the A&E doc never took his hands out of his pockets (i.e. the job was as neat as their would have been), but suggested the nurse should perhaps give me a tetanus shot just in case since I was in there anyway. The nurse even gave me a fresh package of steritrips to take home. A slight mismatch in the fingerprint lines, no other effects.
Lessons learnt;
1. A field dressing is a good thing to have when using sharps. Some steristrips don't hurt either...
2. Pay attention to what you are doing or pay the fee at the A&E (about UKP10-12/visit, IIRC).
Here you go done with a split second loss of concentration with a tap from my axe
Stitched up and repaired
Here's a non axe or knife related injury
Done while swimming in a lake in Swedish Lapland after a sauna the water was so cold never felt a thing
Cheers Russ
Never cut myself that much/deep so I'm wondering how long did it take before it stopped bleeding? How much blood loss occurred? Especially in the last one the wound it quite open to the point that you can see (I think) fatty tissue inside. This means that it went through your epidermis and dermis so it must have cut through the blood vessels too.
Arri on both occasions they didn't bleed much at all only a couple of trickles the bottom picture looks fairly bad but as the water was so cold as in absolutely freezing it didn't bleed much at all even walking up the steps of the cabin yeah you are right it is fatty tissue you can see
And the best part was there was no pain at all even at the hospital until I got my six stitches with no anesthetic but there's a long story that goes with that
And the axe wound was a little meatier as soon as I did it took my muckboot off and my sock as it started to fill with blood. Then I took my spare cotton handkerchief out my pocket (always carry two one to blow my nose on and one to stop any bleeding)
applied that as a pad to the wound and then put the sock on top of that an applied pressure And called for some assistance
With assistance put a large dressing on top of that reasonably tightly I only lost three pin ****** of blood in Stoos Car and none in Casualty.
The most blood I lost was when I was waiting to in to surgery and I was needing a pee and convinced the nurses to allow me to use the toilet that was only about ten yards away I ask for a chair to use as a zimmer frame and went for my pee forgetting that the nurses down stairs had only lightly put a dressing on my foot and lets just say there was a fair bit of a puddle on the floor by the time I had finished and no it wasn't pee
cheers Russ
yeah you are right it is fatty tissue you can see And the best part was there was no pain at all even at the hospital until I got my six stitches with no anesthetic but there's a long story that goes with that
And the axe wound was a little meatier as soon as I did it took my muckboot off and my sock as it started to fill with blood. Then I took my spare cotton handkerchief out my pocket (always carry two one to blow my nose on and one to stop any bleeding
)applied that as a pad to the wound and then put the sock on top of that an applied pressure
And called for some assistance With assistance put a large dressing on top of that reasonably tightly I only lost three pin ****** of blood in Stoos Car and none in Casualty.
The most blood I lost was when I was waiting to in to surgery and I was needing a pee and convinced the nurses to allow me to use the toilet that was only about ten yards away I ask for a chair to use as a zimmer frame and went for my pee forgetting that the nurses down stairs had only lightly put a dressing on my foot and lets just say there was a fair bit of a puddle on the floor by the time I had finished
and no it wasn't pee cheers Russ
forestwalker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Blood loss is dependant on many factors, not only the primary ones like the wound. If you would get pressure on it fast and maintain that even quite mjor wounds might not lead to any significant blood loss. Which is why the cleanish large bandana (or military field dressing) is so important. But think of it this way; the blood bank will take 500 ml, and you could go jogging afterwards if you really wanted to (even if they would strongly advice against it; I was young and stubborn once), so any reasonable losses is actually No Big Deal.
The field dressing also comes in handy if one of the women gets her period unexpectedly. In winter getting sphagnum moss is a major pain. Not only do you have to find it, but also defrost it; the girls tend to be picky about little details like that.
My record (outside of surgery) was probably from a major noose bleed that would not stop, not until they did the fun thing of cramming a catheter though my noose, inflating it with 10 cc or so once it was all the way in the back, and filling the front of my noose with gauze. Based on how light-headed I felt it was much more than the blood banks 500 cc that helped the grass grow that time.
Similar threads
