# Ex-acto Safety Tip



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Always work slowly and carefully. If you have to bear down on your knife in order to cut through a piece of material, you haven't cut into it far enough. Many passes at light to medium pressure work much better than even one hard one. Too much pressure can easily translate into the knife slipping off the work and through your stupid thumb, requiring four stitches sewn by an ER butcher who was in too much of a hurry to let the nerve blocker do its work so that you felt the needle going through the other side of the cut - not to mention the fun tetanus shot you got just when you thought the party was over.

Don't ask me how I know or why I thought I needed to post this today. _Just don't... _


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## frankenstyrene (Oct 5, 2006)

So how you doin', Mark?


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## OKCmike (Aug 22, 2010)

Ouch!  Gives me the willys just thinking about it.


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## frankenstyrene (Oct 5, 2006)

Seriously, though, I hope you're better soon and suffered no nerve or tendon damage.

Just the other day I was P.O.'d at an antique Kriss Kross single edge razor blade stropper I'm trying to restore. WAS trying, I should say. Excellently manufactured, these things are. Couldn't figure how to get it apart; I now believe it wasn't meant to. Anyway, I had a lockback blade in my right hand and was pressing it into a tiny, tiny groove on the stropper, which I was holding tightly on my upper left chest. Suddenly, when it realized what I was doing, a small voice inside my head said, "Hey, a**hole!" I put the knife down and threw the stropper away.

So on the bright side, I could have topped your story. Or my wife could have posted it for me _in absentia ergo mortis._


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Also: when you drop your X-Acto, and you will, don't slam your legs together to try to catch it in your lap. There's this thing called the femoral artery...


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

'Thanks' for the reminder Mr Mark

...Not for the squeamish

Each time I look at the thin white line in the palm of my hand (see the 'Moon' in this picture http://chestofbooks.com/new-age/palmistry/All/images/Plate-VI-Part-II-The-Mounts-Of-The-Hand.png )... I remember the distinct feeling of stupidity I felt just as the brand new No 11 blade embedded itself all the way down to the hilt all those many years ago.

Just keep saying to yourself "if it doesn't kill me it only makes me stronger".

I hope your wound heals quickly Good Sir.

Regards,
MattL


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## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

Most of us have done it (or will) so we feel your pain Mark. My own worst scar from an X-acto is on my collar bone (5 stitches), never brace the part on your chest and cut upwards!!! Glad it caught there or it would have been in my throat, bye, bye Al!!


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## deadmanincfan (Mar 11, 2008)

Ai carumba, Mark! Be careful, wouldja buddy?!


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## rhinooctopus (May 22, 2011)

*My fastest Dr. appointment*

Many moons ago, on a Friday afternoon during the summer, I went home from work and decided to work on a vinyl figure kit (remember those?).
As I was cutting off some flashing on the end of one of the parts, my Xacto knife slipped and layed open mu thumb. I ran into the kitchen, ran cold water over the wound and yelled to my wife to call the clinic and see if they could get me in. She called and they told her to "bring him right in".
This "event" took place in Minnesota and on Friday afternoons in MN, everybody goes "up to the lake" for the weekend. (keep this in mind as I continue the story)
Arriving at the clinic at about 4:50pm (they closed at 5:00) the receptioist waved me in to the adjoining exam room. Entering same I noticed they had "everything layed out". The doctor gave me a local, stitched up my thumb and we walked out the front door of the clinic just before 5:00.
That my friends is the fastest Dr. appointment I have ever had!


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## frankenstyrene (Oct 5, 2006)

rhinooctopus said:


> Many moons ago, on a Friday afternoon during the summer, I went home from work and decided to work on a vinyl figure kit (remember those?).
> As I was cutting off some flashing on the end of one of the parts, my Xacto knife slipped and layed open mu thumb. I ran into the kitchen, ran cold water over the wound and yelled to my wife to call the clinic and see if they could get me in. She called and they told her to "bring him right in".
> This "event" took place in Minnesota and on Friday afternoons in MN, everybody goes "up to the lake" for the weekend. (keep this in mind as I continue the story)
> Arriving at the clinic at about 4:50pm (they closed at 5:00) the receptioist waved me in to the adjoining exam room. Entering same I noticed they had "everything layed out". The doctor gave me a local, stitched up my thumb and we walked out the front door of the clinic just before 5:00.
> That my friends is the fastest Dr. appointment I have ever had!


That's as happy an ending as you could want!


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

Thank God you weren't hosting a Dremel salute at the time......
Mcdee


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

Heck, I've done far worse to myself with a Dremel.......


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## John F (May 31, 2001)

I was cutting apart an AMT refit hull one day braced against my thigh, bad idea. The blade went into my leg right down to the hilt. I was limping for a week.


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

Murrphy's Law states that an x-acto knife dropped from a workbench WILL land - blade down every time. It goes against the laws of physics that the heavyiest end...the handle will orient this way instead of the lighter blade end. That is why my bench has a lip around the edges to keep knifes from rolling off.


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## Ductapeforever (Mar 6, 2008)

OOooooo, I just reached one thousand posts!


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Hey Mark, sure glad it wasn't any worse!! 4 stitches and a tetanus shot!!! Too many needles!!!! Hope you heal quickly. - Denis


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

ouch!


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## IanWilkinson (Apr 23, 2010)

Yes ... sounds quite painful... but ive had worse cuts shaving!...lol


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

rhinooctopus said:


> Many moons ago, on a Friday afternoon during the summer, I went home from work and decided to work on a vinyl figure kit (remember those?).
> As I was cutting off some flashing on the end of one of the parts, my Xacto knife slipped and layed open mu thumb. I ran into the kitchen, ran cold water over the wound and yelled to my wife to call the clinic and see if they could get me in. She called and they told her to "bring him right in".
> This "event" took place in Minnesota and on Friday afternoons in MN, everybody goes "up to the lake" for the weekend. (keep this in mind as I continue the story)
> Arriving at the clinic at about 4:50pm (they closed at 5:00) the receptioist waved me in to the adjoining exam room. Entering same I noticed they had "everything layed out". The doctor gave me a local, stitched up my thumb and we walked out the front door of the clinic just before 5:00.
> That my friends is the fastest Dr. appointment I have ever had!


That's a lot faster than the FOUR FREAKIN HOURS I spent in the emergency room when I cut my leg open tripping over the electric heater in my workroom. Got home at 2AM!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I use an x-acto with a triangular piece on the handle which is supposed to stop it rolling off the bench. Surprise surprise it doesn't work....and as I like to relax in the evening with no shoes on it's only a matter of time before it ends up embedded in my foot...I've had a couple of close calls just last week.


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Oh my GOD! I thought they took all the sharp objects away from Mark!

Seriously, I hope you're doing OK! That's a good tale for everyone to remember. It's a lot faster to take your time then to try and rush things and end up in the ER. It's also cheaper to take your time.

Speaking from someone who has first hand knowledge and has learned his lesson.

Might be a good time to bring up the importance of safety googles and why your eyes are more important than getting a model finished in record time.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Guys,

I had intended merely to open a bottle of whine, but actually all your horror stories are making good points. Mainly, that hobby knives are useful tools, but can be dangerous if not used properly. This morning, I went back to my workbench to finish the job my stupidity had interrupted, to wit - a Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The outer half of his right leg meets at a step with the inner half at his butt cheek, just above his foot. What I'd been doing was, holding the outer right leg half in my left hand while scoring the molded crevice between the foot and the cheek with the knife, held in my right hand. Instead of making a few more light passes to cut through the plastic, I was pressing down on the knife. The blade cut through a little further from the outer edge of the piece than I thought it would and - the rest you know from my first post.

So today, I put the piece on top of my cutting surface (a square foot of vinyl flooring sample, that can be got from home improvement/hardware stores for around a buck - not as nice as those self-healing cutting mats, but way less expensive) and in a couple passes had the cut finished. Quick, easy, and no chance of cutting myself. I've learned my lesson - _one that I shouldn't have had to_ - but good!

Thank you all for your expessions of sympathy (and - ooch! - empathy). Who was it on these boards who had this signature for a while: "If I can't be a shining inspiration, I'll settle for being a horrible example"?


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

I had a nasty mishap with a swiss army knife once. Stabbed myself in the hand, darn near went all the way through..about 3/4" deep.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

My fellow inmates,

Just stepped out of the ward to check and, sure enough, found out that I misspelled the name of the hobby knife manufacturer upon whose products we've been immolating ourselves. It's not "Ex-acto"; it's X-ACTO. I think mine may have been the correct spelling in the past - either that or I might've lost more blood than I thought... :freak:


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## septimuspretori (Jan 26, 2011)

Jeepers, take care, bro.


Ben


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Nope, never seen it spelled with an R. Transfusion time, my friend!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

John P said:


> Nope, never seen it spelled with an R. Transfusion time, my friend!


Hah? _"R"??_ I may need the transfusion, John, but I hope you won't be offended if I demur from getting a pint out of *you*. 

Besides, I got my own stockpile stashed in the Burn Unit over at South Bend General...


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Mark McGovern said:


> Besides, I got my own stockpile stashed in the Burn Unit over at South Bend General...


Well, sure! They must have gathered gallons of it from all those MagnaGougher incidents. :wave:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

No Cap - when I go in I _need_ the blood. That's why, as soon as I recover from those little Dremel, ah...mishaps...I _donate_ blood. Hence the stockpile.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I missed the E key by _this much_! :lol:


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## jbgroby (Dec 15, 2003)

I dropped a knife and it landed on my belly up to the hilt. The onlt time I was thankful for being a little fat.

Heres one for you.

After I built the new model shop I was assembling the workshop lights. As I slid one of them acrosss my legs to insert the end caps I did not relize the I had cut into my lower right leg down to the muscle. the edge was so sharp I did not feel it. About 10 minutes later I feet like my leg was sweating on the concrete floor so I moved it a bit and it was sticky, I look down and so the biggest damn puddle of blood you probally ever seen outside of a shooting. 

I had cut a vien and did not relize I was bleeding at agood clip. I jumped up grabbed the roll of papers towels and ripped off about 15 sheets doubled them and then grabbed a roll of making tap and proceeded to make up a quick compress. Got the bleeding stopped and drove my self to the hospital to have the gash fixed.

WE did not have cells phone at the time and my wife gets home and fees the bloddy foot prints had no idea what heppened and of thinks of the worst.

Afte rI got home and told her what happened, the first question she asked me is "Where do I keep the insurance policy?" GO figure.

I have just the prettiest scar you ever want to see on a lower leg.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Mark McGovern said:


> Always work slowly and carefully. If you have to bear down on your knife in order to cut through a piece of material, you haven't cut into it far enough. Many passes at light to medium pressure work much better than even one hard one. Too much pressure can easily translate into the knife slipping off the work and through your stupid thumb, requiring four stitches sewn by an ER butcher who was in too much of a hurry to let the nerve blocker do its work so that you felt the needle going through the other side of the cut - not to mention the fun tetanus shot you got just when you thought the party was over.
> 
> Don't ask me how I know or why I thought I needed to post this today. _Just don't... _


Give your friend our best wishes for a speedy recovery on the thumb so he can get back to his projects. Too bad you couldn't have warned him ahead of time and saved him some pain. I had a friend who had somewhat of a similar accident with a table saw with no blade guard. He hates hospitals, so he did a 'Rambo' and sewed himself up. Lessons learned.


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## IanWilkinson (Apr 23, 2010)

Mark - the name X- ACTO... in the UK we just call them 'Stanley Knives'.... is the X-ACTO a trade name???


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

IanWilkinson said:


> Mark - the name X- ACTO... in the UK we just call them 'Stanley Knives'.... is the X-ACTO a trade name???


It is, Ian. X-acto is the brand, but like the trade names of so many other products (Windex, Kleenex, Baggies, Super Glue, etc), has come to be the generic name for almost any hobby knife. They've been around long enough that everyone automatically knows what the speaker is talking about.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Disco58 said:


> Give your friend our best wishes for a speedy recovery on the thumb so he can get back to his projects...


Thanks, Disco, I will. I almost think there are enough safety tips and horror stories on this thread about a necessary and useful modeling tool to make it worthy of being made a "sticky" on this forum. In the meantime, I'd advise everybody who posts here to make sure and read the entire thread to save themselves the pain and inconvenience that I've had to endure.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

And Mark, my apologies for answering, when the question was directed to you.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

You know, when I built models as a kid, I don't even remember using a knife! Maybe there was a reason for that! I remember the old Boy Scout adage that a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one. Not sure I agree. Hope it heals quickly!

P.S. "Always work slowly and carefully...." where have I read that before?


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Disco58 said:


> And Mark, my apologies for answering, when the question was directed to you.


Not at all, Disco - you saved me a lot of typing, a real favor this week... :thumbsup: - ouch




PF Flyer said:


> P.S. "Always work slowly and carefully...." where have I read that before?


Probably in _The Island of Dr. Moreau_ by H. G. Wells. Near's I can tell, it was one of my ER doctor's medical texts.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Well some years back I put a 2.5" slash into my right arm with an extra large x-acto blade! Actually I had cut down the boys rusted swing set with a hack saw and the legs with a nice ragged edge were still sticking three feet out of the ground and set in concrete. I decided to remove them by swinging a sledge hammer at them. While working on one leg I missed the leg with the hammer and instead swung my arm right along that sharpened leg edge slicing deeply into it like a knife. I calmly went into the house and told my wife, time to go to the emergency room. On the way I held the open wound shut with my other hand. Oddly it wasn't bleeding massively and I don't recall a lot of pain. At the emergency room I remember sitting about 30 minutes filling out paper work and waiting in line all the time squeezing the open wound closed. I wondered what would happen if you were truly seriously in need as my cut was rather significant. So finally they got to me and put in numerous stitches after cleaning it and giving me a tetanus shot. My "real" x-acto accidents have been rather minor in comparison! Nice to hear there was no permanent damage Mark.

Bob K.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

rkoenn said:


> Nice to hear there was no permanent damage Mark.


Hah! I'll never look at a #11 blade the same way again - I can't stop muttering,"No more House of Pain..." As an addendum to your own story about wanting to knock out a torn metal tube that had been embedded in concrete with a sledgehammer, Bob: feel free to use my signature.


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## starlord (Mar 30, 2011)

not a bad thing to say, but as I use my x-acto blades over a short table and if they drop it just drops to the floor. for all the years I've been building models, I've never gotten hurt by x-actos blades. not only plastic models but also model rockets are they used for.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

starlord said:


> I've never gotten hurt by x-actos blades. not only plastic models but also model rockets are they used for.


Ah ha, if you are building the original type rockets that require actually cutting balsa then you have to have an x-acto on the bench. I've flown model rockets seriously since about 1967 from small to quite big and still do although not as seriously these days. But you certainly have the location to do it out in Rosamond. That is at the intersection out there in the desert off the highway (5?) where you go east (?) to EAFB? I've been out there for shuttle landings 4-5 times over the years the last time being two years ago in May. Obviously I won't ever be making that trip again. I know they do have some launches with the really big stuff somewhere out in the high desert there. But what does that have to do with x-actos???? It doesn't, just fun to reminisce about rockets.

Bob K.


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## armymedic80 (Aug 11, 2010)

X-acto is nothing compared to a squadron #11 scalpel blade. With X-acto all you'll need is a little Band-Aid to stop the bleeding. But with the # 11 scalpel blade, you'll need stitches and pray you don't lose a finger. SO SHARPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP !!!!!!


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

armymedic80 said:


> X-acto is nothing compared to a squadron #11 scalpel blade...


So you say. However, after you've gotten beneath the dermal layer, these considerations become moot. IMHO. :dude:


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## iriseye (Sep 21, 2010)

*A cheap, quick and dirty tip*

I found this cheap, quick and dirty way to keep X-acto knives from rolling off the workbench--









--roll some masking tape around the handle. I've heard of others using rubber bands, but they tend to become brittle and break. Since doing this I've never had a knife roll off the workbench (a good thing too, because when something does fall off the bench, my thighs snap instinctively shut--I shudder to think what would happen if it were an X-acto).


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

armymedic80 said:


> X-acto is nothing compared to a squadron #11 scalpel blade. With X-acto all you'll need is a little Band-Aid to stop the bleeding. But with the # 11 scalpel blade, you'll need stitches and pray you don't lose a finger. SO SHARPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP !!!!!!


<I need me pirate smiley thingie here> Aaaaargh mateys, a land lubberrin' ARMY medic says a new X-acto is nothing compared to a Squadron #11 scalpel he says,eh....? , I says we take the scurvy dawg, an X-Acto and his Squadron #11 scalpel, do a little serjeree, and see which one makes 'im yelp louder...... Nab 'im lads!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

iriseye said:


> I found this cheap, quick and dirty way to keep X-acto knives from rolling off the workbench--
> 
> View attachment 136860
> 
> ...


Too much trouble. I just jam mine into the top of my leg like Young Frankenstein.


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

Photos Mark, we want photos! I'm working on a Frankenstein build an need reference photos for the stitches! All kidding aside, I hope you heal up fast and don't have long term damage.


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## mcdougall (Oct 28, 2007)

....and *THIS* is why I no longer us a Chainsaw to remove the parts from the sprues !
Mcdee


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## Aurora-brat (Oct 23, 2002)

Mark, you have my most sincere sympathies, been there emyself. Definitely not fun.

As far as war stories go, the most entertaining story I have ever read regarding mutilation by X-Acto knife was written by A.L. Lehron and posted over on the IPMS Website under the "Modeling Miscreant" Column. Here it is, long but highly entertaining:







 
*War Wounds*​Modelers determine the success of their models in many different ways. For some, simply finishing the model, for others, it’s winning an award. And sometimes, it’s the look on the face of the old veteran you’ve built the model for. For me…it’s not bleeding. Yup…it’s not about winning or making old sailors or pilots mushy with fond memories…it’s about setting the model down for the last time and having all of my body parts still attached and functional.

I don’t think I’ve ever been overly clumsy. I will, on occasion, walk into doors, trip, stumble, or otherwise cause myself unintentional bodily harm. Remarkably, most of the time, alcohol or NyQuil isn’t involved. But something happens when I start modeling. The common sense, the OSHA guidelines and standards go right out the window. In many ways, it’s part of self-sacrifice, because making sure that model part you’ve just glued is perfectly aligned is FAR MORE important than seeing where that X-acto knife lands, isn’t it?

My ‘war wounds’ (no disrespect to any Purple Heart recipients) vary from the ‘usual’ to the ‘drastic’. We’ve all suffered our share of cut fingers, but I think I’ve developed it into an art form. Here’s an example:

It’s about 11:30 at night, and yours truly is working on a model…a Ferrari 642 Formula One car to be precise. The instructions call for gluing 2 side plates to the front of the chassis, which I did, only to realize I had them backwards, the right on the left, and the left on the right side of the car. So, with some grumbling and swearing under my breath, I started the daunting task of removing 2 pieces of flat, CA laminated plastic from the model without causing major damage. I started with the X-acto, wedged between the two parts, and slowly started rocking the knife back and forth. About halfway through, I realized that my progress was being impeded by the dull blade in the knife…so, it’s time for a fresh new (and very sharp) No.11 blade…and back to the task at hand.

Picture if you will, a person whittling on a stick…holding the stick in the left hand while holding the knife in the right. This was the method I was using on this race car…well, I immediately applied the same amount of pressure I had been using with the old blade…and ZING! The blade went right through and the part fell to the floor. I felt a bit of a sting, and as I put the model down, determined I had nicked the fingertip of my left ring finger. I went over to the kitchen sink, turned on the water, and stuck my finger under the faucet, at which time a little less than ½ inch of my finger plops off and drops into the bottom of the sink. This is also when it really started to hurt…and bleed. Hmm…this could be a cause for concern…I grab a towel, and my fingertip, and stick it back on the end of my finger…then wrap it.

I tell my wife she needs to drive me to the hospital…because I ‘uhm…kinda cut myself’. She drives me to the ER, where I’m given a quick examination and told to sit in the waiting room. Looking around, I’m number five in line, right behind the old drunk guy who fell off his barstool and cut his forehead on his gravity induced journey to the floor. It wasn’t the fall, it was the sudden stop at the end that did it.

My finger is throbbing, babies are crying, and this old drunk guy sprawled out on the chair next to be passing gas and moaning, I start think…did I clean my paint brushes before I left? Finally, the orderlies come and take the drunken Capt. Gravity to the ER, where he proceeds to throw up, making the overall situation even more wretched. I’m next…finally, it’s now 3am, my wife is asleep in the chair next to me. Just a few more minutes…when the emergency room doors open up, and two guys walk in, well, actually, one guy walked in, the other was in a wheelchair. It seems that Bob and Mike decided at 3am to dive off the 2nd floor balcony into the swimming pool at the local fleabag motel…Bob made it, Mike didn’t, hitting his leg on the side of the cement pool just below the knee, the bone popping through the skin like a steak knife through a Ziploc baggie. Bob is quite upset, but Mike is too drunk, and in too much shock, to care…in fact, he’s singing ‘Walk like an Egyptian’ and hiccupping.

Well, I just got bumped down the priority list, because Aqua-Lung decided to do a face plant into the pavement. It’s approaching 4am now, and I’m vying for the next spot with a woman who’s complaining of ‘cramps’. Listen lady, I cut my finger off…take a pill and wait your turn, ok?

I finally get into the ER and I’m met by a little doctor (about 4’2”) who says (no kidding), “My name is Dr. Agastya Bohatu-Kohli, but you can call me Doctor Tom" Uhh...did I miss something here? Someone slip something into my fruit juice? Ok Doctor Tom, my name is Jeff, but you can call me 'Lord Zyborg, Ruler of the Universe.’

So Doctor Tom takes one look at my finger and says (no kidding), "Oh my goodness. You have cut your finger off”. Thank you Archimedes, here’s your Nobel Prize, can I go home now? Of course he opens up the bandage, and promptly grabs hold of the tip of my finger and pulls. ‘Here, pull my finger’ (remember the old joke?) I fart. And scream. Blood squirts all over like a bad scene from MASH. He’s holding my fingertip like it’s a piece of popcorn, looking at it, then turns and throws it away. ‘Excuse me, that was my finger. I’d make a fist and punch you in the face but it hurts too much.’

I’m informed that there’s not enough there to warrant sewing it back on, and besides, it’s been too long anyway, I should have come to the ER sooner and they would have been able to re-attach it… I’m given a shot of something in the tip of my finger, which goes numb…ahhh…relief. Why couldn’t you do this 4 hours ago???? Fifteen minutes later, my fingertip, or rather, what’s left of it, is cleaned up with stitches. I’m informed the tissue will grow back with minimal scarring.

The sun is now coming up, and I’m tired. When I get home…I start to investigate the accident scene from the night before. I’d better clean up the sink, since there’s blood everywhere. As I look down into the sink, I notice a little bead about the size of a BB laying on the bottom…I pick it up, and realize it’s not a bead, it’s the bone from my fingertip…round on one side, nice clean cut on the other…I still have it in my modeling toolbox…ironically, in an old X-acto blade tube.

Hindsight should have told me to just not worry about it, bandage it up and move on…which is basically what I do know when X-acto related accidents happen…so far, there’s been 3 serious cuts, 2 thigh punctures, and 3 foot punctures from X-actos rolling off the table and plummeting towards some part of my body. 

Then there’s the Dremel mishap…Did you know that a run-away Dremel tool with a carbide burr bit can really tear up human flesh? 

Now go build a model…safely!!

A.L. Lehron
The Modeling Miscreant


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

All,

I just got back from a terrific week alone with Mrs. McG and our dog, Sophy; we three shared a cottage on the shores of Grand Lake, about ten minutes north of Alpena, MI. What you guys out thataway lack in LHSes you more than make up for in beautiful scenery. Moreover, you can take my word for it that the iron-rich waters of the area seemed to help the thumb heal very well indeed. My thumbprint will never be the same (some cause for concern if the authorities in South Bend ever need to identify the charred remains after a Dremel Salute), but otherwise I have full use of it.

Thanks again for the expressions of sympathy and/or empathy, and I hope we all get some benefit from the safety hints. :thumbsup:


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## steve123 (Feb 9, 2009)

My Dad got me a Cub Scout knife (remember those?) and a set of wood blocks called a "whittleing" kit I did'nt have the knife in my hand 10 minutes before I left a scar on my thumb that I can still see today..
I used to do Construction (fancy re-mods and such) I had a pal and his nickname would change with whatever serious injury he had just inflicted on himself. "Matte Knife Bob" A Sawzall became a "sawz*most*" or a "conduit cutter" when in his hands.
Glad you are feeling better.

I need to go I just dropped my Kitchen Cleaver on my foot...

Steve


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## penly (Aug 27, 2011)

It’s about 11:30 at night, and yours truly is working on a model…a Ferrari 642 Formula One car to be precise. The instructions call for gluing 2 side plates to the front of the chassis, which I did, only to realize I had them backwards, the right on the left, and the left on the right side of the car. So, with some grumbling and swearing under my breath, I started the daunting task of removing 2 pieces of flat, CA laminated plastic from the model without causing major damage. I started with the X-acto, wedged between the two parts, and slowly started rocking the knife back and forth. About halfway through, I realized that my progress was being impeded by the dull blade in the knife…so, it’s time for a fresh new (and very sharp) No.11 blade…and back to the task at hand.


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