Just yesterday, I decided to get rid of an Eggo waffle box that was lying around in the garage by doing some cutting with my Knight. So I went out, Knight in hand, grabbed the box and began to fold the top flaps inwards. I prefer the thicker target that the cardboard presents when I fold it in thusly, even though it isn't challenging to cut. As I was doing this, I had my Knight in my right hand partially out in front of my body, and I was reaching under my right arm with my left and was folding the box in with my left hand. As I pulled my left hand back, the knuckle of my index finger "snagged" the Knight's edge, and the next thing I knew it was bleeding.

The amusing thing about all of this is that the injury (if it can even be called that) occurred at a time when one might have least expected it. It wasn't an injury from carelessly cutting with the Knight, or from floryshing, or anything else of that sort. Instead, it happened simply due to a chance impact between my finger and the sword's edge.

Just a reminder that even in seemingly non-dangerous circumstances it is still possible to cut one's self with a sword.

PS: My finger's fine- it was a relatively minor slice that didn't bleed that much.

Glad you're ok.

Craig;

Glad it's only a minor cut. :eek:

A sharp sword is like a loaded gun you always have to keep conscious of where the gun is pointing as well as not having a finger on the trigger until one is aiming at a target one want's to make a hole in.

With a sword one can get cut being careless or doing wild motions without care but these small cuts happen when one moves one hand without thought as to where the blade is in relation to that hand as one could have an accident target shooting picking up something on a table like ammo or a spare magazine and having the hand drift in front of the muzzle of the pistol.

When in hand a sharp sword and it's relationship in space to any body part or person or thing or other person should be a high priority. I won't say 100% attention as this would mean having no room left in the mind for any other actions, but at least a part of your mind is always thinking about the sword. ( Never become 0 % attention on the sword. )

A bit like staying attentive to peripheral vision when looking intently at something.

Craig,
I did something similar on Friday. I had my Patrick Barta Sutton Hoo sword sharpened at Raven Armoury. While waxing it before putting it away I managed to cut a slice out of my thumb -- that'll teach me to be more careful!


Paul

You were lucky :eek:

I've never hurt myself with a sharp sword.But a month ago my friend gave me a nice headshot with practise sword-quite nice scar on the top of my skull :cool: It wasn't clever to start sparring without helmets....

Glad to see that you are okay Craig AND hopefully you won't repeat this again. As for me, I've had no experience with cutting myself with a sword. Unfotunately, I'm going to stress the word "YET." Now, I've probably jinxed myself.

I've heard plenty of horror stories including my boyfriend's run in with his sword...literally! Gave his knee a deep cut by placing it on his bed and leaving the tip exposed. Then he walked by it twice, or one he walked by and the other he was rushing. Not to mention the fact that he did this twice in one week and on the same knee!!! He's now promised never to do that again.

Helen

The Knight seems to be a deadly cutter.

I have not been real impressed with some on line pictures and videos of sword cutting through small pine saplings. My blunted 1st generation Crecey can do that. At a cutting session I was told that 1 gallon (about 4 liters) milk jugs filled with water were tough targets. I would be interested if anyone else considers them to be tough to cut cleanly through (perhaps this is due to the distance of travel the cut has to be kept level?) My blunted Crecey could not so much as break through the plastic, even when hit hard enough to explode the caps of a couple that I tried it on this summer.

I decided to test my new Albion Knight on milk jugs this past weekend on 3 leftover jugs filled with water. After quartering the first one in sucessive horizontal slices, then thrusting the point of the sword through the bottom 2" remaining of the jug, I got excited and called my two kids (small kids.. boy age 9 and below average sized girl age 13) out. After a little instruction with a wooden waster for the stepping and cutting motion, my two children were able to cut cleanly through the reamaining two milk jugs, leaving the bottom halfs standing with water still in them on their first try. They also thrust the tip through the remaining portions of the milk jugs, still resting on top of a fairly slick garpage can top that was not even level. Since this was first time cutting trials with the sword for all of us, I thought the results were pretty amazing.

Hi there, I'm new on the list though I've been lurking and reading on the site for the last few months. After reading all the comments on this thread I figured this was as good as any thread to speak up on. ;)

About two months ago I cut myself during a cutting session with friends with a Katana. The cut was just over my right ankle, about four inches long and about an inch to an inch and half deep. Didn't even feel it hardly, but luckily it missed all tendons, arteries and didn't go deep enough to hit the nerve.

Such accidents, though painful and scary, do help one to realize both their own mortality and the fact that safety is not a word to be taken lightly. I learned a lot of lessons from this incident that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life! :blush:

About 30 years ago, Kirby accidently stabbed his hand while checking out some daggers he had just finished making leather scabbards for and left to dry. He would quickly pull them out in succession and put them back in turn to check their fit. I think we were planning to go to an event in Calafia that weekend, back then, and he was in a hurry. Somehow he managed to stab the area above and between the thumb and forefinger cutting a minor artery. It was not a straight stab but at an awkward angle the we never did figure just how he could have done it. Only it must have been the speed he was pulling the dagger out and was not paying attention while putting it back in the scabbard.

We put a pressure bandage on it but it still bled pretty well. At the time, we lived behind Ehrenberg, Arizona on a Placer Gold Mining Claim about a good three miles from the nearest paved road and another five from Blythe California where the closest hospital was. So, I drove him to the Blythe hospital and watched the doctor put a few stitches in Kirby's hand. Fortunately, the artery was quite minor and the injury healed quite well but it put Kirby out from any handforging for awhile at the time. That is really the only time I remember anything like this happening to him as Kirby is generally VERY safety conscious while forging and handling his blades. Especially if a swordblade is clamped in a vise with the blade positioned where you can get cut or stabbed by not paying attention. Kirby wears a thick leather apron, usually, just incase....especially while sanding or grinding.

Before marrying him in 1972, I was a member of Barony of Calafia in 1971. An early member, Jeff, ( but cannot remember the rest of it now) would carry a scabbarded Japanese Katana worn blade up as proper with his costume. Quite sharp it was and was not a WW2 piece either. While at an event in the Barony of the Angels, a bystander grabbed the hilt without asking and Jeff went to stop it from being drawn. Unfortunately, not soon enough and cut his palm badly by grabbing the blade instead of the grip. Cut a couple of tendons, if I remember right but did regain use of the hand eventually. All because of a Mundane's stupidity.

More recently, a friend pulled out his Kirby short sax for some reason and accidently dropped it....point first....through his boot while at a gathering. Went right through the big toe. The boot was pretty thick leather and he did not notice it at first (thought it just hit the wood floor instead) until he felt his boot wet inside.

Of course, our children grew up around swords, daggers and all sorts of sharp objects. They learned early to watch out while going through the shop and learn to respect what their father makes. No different from teaching them gun safety and learning the difference between a toy and the real thing. They are 23 and 19 now and just shake their heads at how unknowledgeable people can be while handling an edged weapon. Or hear what some people think they can do with a sword.

Am I the only person to see the real danger here? You can't turn your back
on EGGO waffle boxes, they're sneaky b******'s and will Pearl Harbor you
in a heart beat ! You should see my recycling scars.........

Doug Gentner

Just a follow up to my initial post:

Since intially incurring my sword wound, I have kept band aids on it in order to allow it to heal, but after a couple of days, I removed the band aids to give it air. When I was reaching into my pocket, the loose bit of sliced skin on my knuckle rubbed against the fabric of my pants, and it started to bleed again. This has lead me to wonder- in the case of a non-lethal sword wound, was there a serious possibility historically of losing blood due to accidentally reopening it? Perhaps the better way of asking is was this a real concern and problem for injured knights, sergeants and the like during the Middle Ages?

I'm another one who had an injury with sword actually 2. after halloween I decided to go pumpkin chopping with my katana
so I went outside and chopped up every pumpkin in my yard. then I decided to clean the blade . so without thinking I grab a handful of my shirt and wipe the blade off. See the thing is I wasn't thinking and I accidently put pressure on the blade so it cut my shirt and my finger and this is coming from someone who has had 4 years of training. also a couple years back my friends and I were exploring some woods. My friend had a machete and was clearing the shrubbery. well I got a little to close. He didn't tell me he was going to begin swinging and he nailed me right below the eye with the blade of the machete :wtf: i didn't know he cut me I thought he hit me with the blunt side but then I felt my cheek and saw what looked like a scene from kill bill coming from my face.