Thread: Warning. No matter HOW experienced you are...

You, too, can cut your fingers
I was handsanding a blade, and perhaps a little too careless. I had been sanding for most of the afternoon so my attention had wavered.
As I was sanding back and forth along the length of the blade, my sandpaper slipped from the blade in the 'forth' motion.

In the 'back' motion, my thumb slid alongside the edge.
I didn't feel any pain, just a short 'sting', and I thought 'WTF just happened'?
Luckily, the slice was mostly along the blade and not in an angle so it did not dig in deep. The cut is mostly superficial and the part above my nail is the tail end of the cut and barely deeper than a scratch.

I did some checks and it seems no important bits are hit. I desinfected it and as soon as it dried up, the wound had already closed itself. I guess that is the advantage of cutting yourself with something really sharp. I've noticed that during handsanding, blades become very sharp.

Anyway, I daresay I am experienced at handsanding, and as you can see, that is no guarantee. In this case I was extremely lucky that no tendons or nerves were hit, but the same cut half an inch higher would have cut my tendon or dug into the joint.

Be careful boys and girls.

You are correct Bruno. be it using powertools, handsanding, honing, opening, closing, cleaning and shaving with a razor. You have to really respect the razor and never lose focus or concentration because it will cut you in a split second. Glad to see it didn't go deeper and stitches would have been needed. Happens to the best of us.

Yikes! Hope you mend quickly, and I'm glad you didn't find your tendon!

It's really true that this can happen to anyone with the best of experience and tooling... how much easier for someone who is new, not paying attention, and using a Dremel!

...And they always run for the camera before the band-aids!

Ouch! Hope you heal up quickly matey!

The worst cuts I ever got have always been from cleaning a blade. Its so easy to do.

You know this happened because your post count is 6666? 666 to the 6th power!

Looks like a familiar slice. I did that to my thumb about 4 weeks ago also. Mine was fairly deep but the nail bed stopped it from really doing damage.
I've been a model builder for years and have had my share of nasty cuts. Seems working with razors would bring it to a new level. I've taken special precautions to prevent any further problems.

Hope you heal quickly.

Happened to me a few weeks ago except I was using Maas and a thick rag.

I thought the thick rag would be enough to protect and did not respect the razor. Next thing I know, I have a deep cut that I pondered getting a few stitches for.

Originally Posted by Utopian

...And they always run for the camera before the band-aids!

In that same vein - there was a long thread from guys who had never nicked a strop. Obviously more concerned about a piece of leather than their own flesh.

Originally Posted by Alembic

In that same vein - there was a long thread from guys who had never nicked a strop. Obviously more concerned about a piece of leather than their own flesh.

Hey, I'm very concerned about my flesh, so I strop the heck out of my razors. I just don't see any benefit in slicing up my strops!

Originally Posted by Alembic

In that same vein - there was a long thread from guys who had never nicked a strop. Obviously more concerned about a piece of leather than their own flesh.

My skin will recover from a nick and not leave any blemishes in most cases.

A strop will not recover.