Wow. I sure did cut myself.

While working on a rocket I managed to really cut myself with an X-Acto blade.

I wasn't even cutting a rocket part. I was trying to change the blade in the knife. I got confused by the chuck (do I turn it left or right to tighten, from the perspective of the blade or the knife shaft?) and grabbed the blade and twisted it. Well, I slipped and did a nice clean slice through the top of the tip of my right thumb.

Thankfully the bleeding stopped and I have it nice and bandaged up. It could have been far, far worse. I could have cut the tip of my thumb off. I'm somewhere between being exceptionally angry with myself for being careless with such a sharp knife -- and choosing to use the cheap-o Hobby Lobby shaft which I knew had a tendency to get loose, but it was cheaper than the X-Acto brand -- and being so thankful the cut wasn't far worse than it is.

What a way to start the holidays. Looks like I won't be launching any rockets tomorrow as I had planned.

Just a cut man. Tape it up, and get back to work.

Seriously though, one does need to be careful. Had a friend nail himself with an exacto and cut a tendon on his off hand. Surgery and rehab but ok.


Mark Koelsch
Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum

MichaelRapp said:

While working on a rocket I managed to really cut myself with an X-Acto blade.

I wasn't even cutting a rocket part. I was trying to change the blade in the knife. I got confused by the chuck (do I turn it left or right to tighten, from the perspective of the blade or the knife shaft?) and grabbed the blade and twisted it. Well, I slipped and did a nice clean slice through the top of the tip of my right thumb.

Thankfully the bleeding stopped and I have it nice and bandaged up. It could have been far, far worse. I could have cut the tip of my thumb off. I'm somewhere between being exceptionally angry with myself for being careless with such a sharp knife -- and choosing to use the cheap-o Hobby Lobby shaft which I knew had a tendency to get loose, but it was cheaper than the X-Acto brand -- and being so thankful the cut wasn't far worse than it is.

What a way to start the holidays. Looks like I won't be launching any rockets tomorrow as I had planned.

Click to expand...

Hopefully it was the new blade that you cut yourself with so: #1 it's clean, so less chance of infection and :B a sharp blade makes a cleaner cut, which I find heals a smidge quicker I think, but no actual proof. In any case, keep it clean and bandaged, and stay well.

Adrian

Gee, see my thread on "Why do I reach into the oven bare handed," although, I think your situation is more understandable, i.e., normal action, just momentary confusion/lapse of attention.

I was just thinking, I'm such a cheapskate, I rarely replace my knife blades...they are so dull, I doubt I could cut myself as seriously!

I did that once. Cut a sizable divot out of one of my thumbs. Didn't feel it until I realized what I'd done--then came the sting and the blood a few seconds later. Nothing a bandaid couldn't patch up.

Sliced with an Exacto knife - isn't that why we keep the CA handy?

I have cut my self many times with many things and I can sympathize with you.

I whole heartedly agree with the idea that a clean cut heals better. I cut the web between my thumb and index finger quite badly once. I was cutting a bagel with one of my good kitchen knives and it went right through to my hand. I gathered gauze pads, tape and elastic wrap and was able to immobilize it well enough that I didn't worry about seeking medical attention. A week later, I went to the doctor with strep throat and he checked it out while I was there and he told me that It was healing well enough since it was a pretty straight cut. He did scold me for not getting it treated at the time as he felt that it really should have been sutured but it was healing OK by that time.

I keep two X-Acto knives on my bench. One has a fresh, sharp blade and the other has a used blade that I dress on an Arkansas stone before I use it. I really only use the fresh blade for precise work since my "utility" blade stays sharp enough for most work and only requires a few swipes on the stone to get it ready for use before I begin work each time. By doing this, 10 blades last me quite a long time and I am happy in the belief that I am safer for keeping a sharp blade.

P.S. Duct tape can get you ready for the next launch :wink:

Well, it most certainly was a clean cut....fresh blade right out of the package. At least I got that part right. :/

I'm actually surprised by how little it hurts for how badly I cut myself. It's been five hours now and other than a minor dull ache -- and the fact that I have some serious bandaid action going on -- I don't really notice it.

One thing is for certain. Using a hobby knife will now demand my complete concentration....like gluing fins of a body tube level of concentration. And I'm probably going to keep my fingertips a little further back on the straightedge when I cut, too.

Bill - I never thought about honing an X-Acto blade. Hmmm. I hone all of my other knives...makes sense.

You do know that Xacto started out as scalpel blades, don't you? I've had to do minor surgery on my foot several times, and a fresh blade is the equavalent of a "real" scalpel (I've got those, too, but the supply is very limited). Be careful!

Pictures pictures pictures. :eyeroll:

Sliced my left thumb pretty bad not that long ago (2 years?). Took months before I got any sensation other than that cold-finger-is-asleep feeling. Nice part about it was... at least it didn't hurt while it was healing, and it wasn't my dominant hand. I hate that throbbing pain that is twice your heartbeat.

The crime scene....

I actually haven't been back upstairs since I cut myself, so this is my workspace exactly as I left it, including where I apparently dropped the knife. I actually had forgotten why I had wanted to change the blade! I was trying to cut the notch for the engine hook in the motor mount and found that I was having to press way too hard and thus starting the compress the tube.

I had been cutting through a lot of card stock recently to make the FlisKits cardboard rocket you see partially assembled on the right.

No blood spatter....the second I realized what I had done, all those years of Boy Scout first aid training kicked in and I grabbed a paper towel and applied direct pressure and elevated my hand and went downstairs.

Many years ago, I was using a plastic chassis box to create a launch controller. I was trying to shape a hole in the box for the interlock key which had an odd cross-section. I was holding the plastic box top in my left hand as I held the X-Acto in my right hand to shave the opening to the correct shape. At one point the blade cut in a bit too deep so I twisted the knife to dislodge it. It suddenly popped free, and I stabbed the blade deep into my left wrist and sliced upward toward the elbow.

Suddenly, there was more blood than I had ever seen in my life. :y:

I bound my wrist up tight and called 911. I was home alone at the time and was scared and quite rattled. The police showed up along with the ambulance. It took multiple attempts to convince the police that it was merely an accident and not a suicide attempt.

The 6" long laceration required some stitches, but I was quite fortunate. I did not damage anything significant.

It probably goes without saying, but I gained a greater respect for razor knives that night.

I've been sliced open changing blades far too many times. Before I change an X-acto blade, I usually wrap the old blade in masking tape before I remove it.
It's safer in the trash that way too.

CA glue actually works quite well at bandaging clean cuts like yours. ERs use a sterile CA glue called Dermabond. I use CA a couple times a year on myself and my dog. I actually think I use it more on myself than my dumb dog.......

You must be a true rocketeer, one who puts his blood, sweat and tears into his hobby.

When I was in college I was cutting some matte board in my dorm room when I sliced a half inch long piece off my left index finger. I went across the hall into the bathroom to pour water over the wound and saw it was a broad-faced gash that was going to need medical attention. I took a paper towel and went back to my room and picked up the piece I had cut off, then walked with it across the street to the medical center.

While I was waiting, a nurse came out and I showed her the piece of finger I kept and she quietly took it from me. A little later I was in with the doctor and he said it was going to be difficult to heal because of the size of the opening. If only I had the sliced-off piece to use as a sort of bandage against the wound . . . I told him I brought it in, but the nurse took it. The doctor said, "Excuse me," then walked out into the waiting room. He came back with the piece of finger the nurse had presumably thrown into the trash, and used it as a first layer of bandage on my cut. He said he didn't intend for it to re-graft itself to my finger, but that it made a better bandage than a piece of gauze. However, it did indeed graft itself back onto my finger. Thirty years later, you can hardly see it.

As with many of my life's lessons, I was fortunate to have learned this one when I was fairly young.

MichaelRapp said:

Well, it most certainly was a clean cut....fresh blade right out of the package. At least I got that part right. :/

I'm actually surprised by how little it hurts for how badly I cut myself. It's been five hours now and other than a minor dull ache -- and the fact that I have some serious bandaid action going on -- I don't really notice it.

One thing is for certain. Using a hobby knife will now demand my complete concentration....like gluing fins of a body tube level of concentration. And I'm probably going to keep my fingertips a little further back on the straightedge when I cut, too.

Bill - I never thought about honing an X-Acto blade. Hmmm. I hone all of my other knives...makes sense.

Click to expand...

It requires very little effort to keep it sharp enough for general use. I will even spend the time to hone a fine edge if I find that I have run out of fresh blades for detail work, while it does take a little time, it's still faster than running out and buying more.

Fleash wounds, I was on the wrong end of a knife fight once, he had the knife, I didn't. Went to grab his hand but grabed the blade, he pulled it away. Cut two nerves and the tendent, surgery, therapy, still not straight. Needless to say, I don't like blades. Still cut myself with x-actos.

There are three kinds of people in this hobby:

1. Those who have cut themselves,
2. Those who will cut themselves, and
3. Those who are cutting themselves right now

I fit the into both 1 and 2.

I'm still waiting for a picture of the wound.

TA

To Stitch, or not to Stitch; That is the question.
Stitches heal faster, but one can cut the extruding fat tissue away, clean and bandage and get excellent results. (Proven)
When I was about 12, we got a new washer. I had the bright idea of seperating stuff for better scrap prices.
Sooo, I was choppin the steel connectors off the wire harness' with a huge butcher knife. Holding the wires so delecatly and a heavy chop.
Took a little to much end of the wires one time, left my left index finger dangling by just the corner tip of the fingernail.
That was stitched, took 3 where they could get them in. Can't stitch through fingernails. Advanced to dykes after that.
Just goes to show it only takes a split second of bad judgement, loss of concintration, or just plain in too big a hurry to make a boo boo.

I've cut myself over the years.
I could never understand why X-Acto knives have round handles.
At the print shop we worked on art tables that were set at an angle. Those knives could roll right off and into your lap.

One of our artists had one roll off and stick her right in the thigh. It stuck in looking like a short arrow had been shot into her leg.
I now use the break off blade knives. The handle is a long rectangle shape and doesn't roll.

hcmbanjo said:

I've cut myself over the years.
I could never understand why X-Acto knives have round handles.
At the print shop we worked on art tables that were set at an angle. Those knives could roll right off and into your lap.

One of our artists had one roll off and stick her right in the thigh. It stuck in looking like a short arrow had been shot into her leg.
I now use the break off blade knives. The handle is a long rectangle shape and doesn't roll.

Click to expand...

I've taken to putting a few drops of CA on the handle to form bumps to reduce the tendency of it to roll. It's not perfect, but it works... sometimes.

hcmbanjo said:

One of our artists had one roll off and stick her right in the thigh. It stuck in looking like a short arrow had been shot into her leg.
I now use the break off blade knives. The handle is a long rectangle shape and doesn't roll.

Click to expand...

They do make non-round, soft plastic molded ergonomic handles in various sizes. I don't know if X-Acto does, but my brother gave me a knife set last year that was "unround" ("Huskey" brand)

One of my other hobbies is knifemaking. Several years ago, I was working on a 10" Bowie for my BiL. I had put it down on the desk for just a second while I used the computer. Somehow, the mouse or keyboard shifted, dropping the knife into my lap, point first. It went in about an inch, causing about an inch-wide wound. Fortunately my next-door neighbor was still up and could drive me to the ER. It only took four stitches, but the interstitial bleeding made blue and purple streaks all down my leg; it was quite a sight. Now, ALL the blades get wrapped in cardboard and tape until they're done!

https://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives/knives/Gripster-Knife.aspx This is the one I use most often. Has a square washer on one end that keeps it from rolling around.

The handles are round because round things are very fast and inexpensive to machine. One way to make it would be to use an automated screw machine. The handle can be turned in one multi-tool operation with the exception of the saw cuts required to make the slot that holds the blade, and there's probably an easy way to add that process station to the screw machine.

If I had to guess, the main body takes 15-20 seconds to make, and the threads cap about half as long.

Bob

Tonimus said:

https://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/knives/knives/Gripster-Knife.aspx This is the one I use most often. Has a square washer on one end that keeps it from rolling around.

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Yep, that's the one I have also.

Adrian

Do a google search for "pencil grips". These are soft rubber ergonomic shapes you slide over a "wooden" pencil to make them more comfortable. Almost all are of an irregular shape that prevents whatever they're slipped onto from rolling. Will fit round hobby knife shafts as well as pencils. You should be able to buy them at Hobby Lobby, Wal Mart, etc.

thobin said:

I'm still waiting for a picture of the wound.

TA

Click to expand...

Here's the bandaged version. It seems to be healing okay....the swelling has gone down substantially since day one. Changing the bandage three times a day, washing it (gently!), and applying neosporin.