I know - "knife" is like the magic word in these forums...

Here's a piece of advice for persons on getting their first knife - use it a lot in the safety of your home before you take it out to the field.

Wear it on your belt (or where ever) and use it for every conceivable use (within safety limits) so that you would get use to it. Practice removing it from the sheath and replacing it numerous times.

Take it into the garden and use it as much as possible. Only after hours of use should you take it into an outdoors environment.

Why?

Most persons on getting their first knife will not be accustomed to carrying and using one and will eventually cut themselves. Most times it's a minor nick, but sometimes it's pretty serious and they'll need some medical attention.

Get accustomed to your knife in a controlled environment before taking it into the field. I've seen too often what happens when people are not accustomed to knives and then they're in a situation where they carry it as a necessity. Too many mistakes are made and this can be potentially dangerous.

Also I've seen people use knives and loose them in the field. Usually this is from the lack of habit in replacing the knife in the sheath when not using it - they usually leave the knife on the ground or somewhere like if they were in their own kitchen.

Oh yes - I've done some of these too...

Naseem.

It doesn't matter how much precautions you take, you're eventually gonna cut yourself

Good advice though.

Heh, I bouhgt my leatherman wave, opened the package and flipped open a knife balde to see how it worked and saw drops of blood on the desk. Hadn't even used it yet and cut myself.

Here is a little story for ya...

I had just received a package with a couple of nifty knives. So naturally I was checking them out. My son comes over and asks what I had. I start showing them to him and explaining the cool features. One of the knives just slipped out of my hand and embedded in my foot. That hurt. I was lucky there was no tendon or muscle damage.

My son and I now laugh about what a great example I was then.

IMHO: Yup. Learned that with my first knife (Cub Scouts official pocket knife, many years ago), and my latest knife (nice Wustoff chef's knife from DW for birthday). The intervening years of experience and practice have served to reduce the depth of the cut, thankfully, but that's about it.

Good advice, although in my experience, no matter how often/long you use a blade, you are still going to cut yourself, if you use it for anything other than cutting a piece of meat on your plate. I have been using knives for a really long time, and still manage to nick myself from time to time. Never bad enough to require stitches (well, a couple probably needed stiches, but never got them), but a cut all the same...

I've nicked myself more times than I care to admit. (I consider it "first aid field training" -- the essence of which is, don't faint at the sight of your own blood. :-)

Because I'm usually working with food, I find that most of my nicks come from the point at the end of a blade. So, unless it's a collector's item, the first thing I do is take that point off at a 45 degree angle. You still have a sharp point, but it points downward, sheepsfoot style. More practical in my opinion, and I find I don't reach for soap/bandaids nearly as much.

I agree, it takes a while to reach the point when your knife becomes an extension of your arm. I never really thought about that myself, growing up with a SAK and puuko since I was 7 or so. But looking at a lot of my friends and camping buddies I can also see that most urban dwellers nowadays aren't used to handling a knife safely and effectively. Which is a shame considering it's one of man's oldest tools.

As for knife safety, it's all about common sense. Never cut toward yourself, always keep the edge sharp, don't let any fingers get in the way and you'll be fine. Whittling sticks and carving wood when you have some spare time is excellent practice and will teach you almost all skills you'll need. Larger chopping blades or machetes are more dangerous but still entirely safe as long as you follow a few obvious precautions.

I have decided after carrying knives for a whole lot of years that they are not properly broke in till they are blooded and unfortunatly it's usually my blood. No matter how much you use them your gonna wind up cutting yourself sooner or later.

Same here, but I was cut by the f@%&! plastic packaging. I'm tempted next time I get a new leatherman to throw the whole thing into a fire and let the plastic melt/burn off.
Jason

Last fall I cut into small pieces and peeled a whole large pumpkin. It's a real test for your knife and particularly the handle. I didn't cut myself, luckily but I did end up with nasty blisters on the hand. That's why I'm looking at the traditional Mora knife with the oval wooden handle with consideration and acknowledge that a guard does get in the way.

I don't have much experience in the bush. I got myself Mors Kochanski's DVDs and watched Blades Sharpening & Safe Use. He has like 30 years of experience as a survival instructor and has good tips about the safe use of knives, axes and saws. He carries his knife around his neck, something he learned from the inuits. With all the bulky clothing needed for the cold winters in Canada, it's just more convenient to carry it around the neck. Cody Lundin also carries his around his neck because generally you're much aware of its presence and it's easier to put it back in its sheath this way.

I'm a city boy I must confess, who dreams of adventure as a hobby. As far as urban EDC goes, I played a lot with my new Spyderco Delica and managed to cut myself also. It's unavoidable. Especially when I first attempted to fold it back one handed by giving it a swing and stopping it with the index finger because I think the blade "wastage" at the heel is there for that reason. I got the hang of it now.

Frankie

AAAahhhhh... thermoformed clamshell packaging. Done the same thing myself. Good thing liquor doesn't come in that packaging. Don't know if I'd die of thirst or blood loss first.

In a total moment of chaos, I once knocked a butcher's knife off the counter, missing my knee high daughter by inches. The knife grazed my big, bare toe as the point sliced into the floor. For a split second... I think my heart stopped. Decent amount of blood, but little real damage.


Let us know how your fire idea works! Don't forget to mention how you built it. No cheatin' now.



m

Most definitely, blood loss.

Your toe story reminds me of one time I ended up with a dart in my toe, through the shoe. Thrown by a very attractive brunette in a bar. But then, it was St Paddy's day, and at 9am already 2 hours into a good day.

J

I agree completely...
Protecting children from knives it one of the most counterproductive things we can do... Safe knife handling, needs to be learned early enough for it to be instinctive...



The precautions for large chopping blades and machetes are not AT ALL obvious...
The first time you perform a 'draw' cut with a good machete, or golok, and it slices right through FIVE INCHES of hardwood without much effort, and continues on to cut your kneecap, you will find that out...
It happened to me, but fortunately the limb was SIX inches thick, and the blade followed the grain and stuck in the limb... And I KNEW about large blade safety beforehand...

PLEASE read this article on the safe handling of big blades before using them...
Handling and working with knives, big blades, axes and hatchets

It's as predictable as the tide...

Whenever we run a "Totin' Chip" class, to teach knife safety to new boys, and they receive their "license to carry", within an hour, the first aid kit is coming out.

The older kids actually bet with their favorite trail snacks to see which of the new guys is going to cut himself first. I'm sure we're not supposed to condone that, but, it's a right of passage.

I remember my first real knife, I had a few imitation SAKs before this but I don't count them. I was maybe 10 at the time, had just moved from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, and my parents took me to REI to buy a multi tool.

I looked at a few and settled on the Gerber, I really like the way you could flip the pliers out single handed. I was feeling the blade for sharpness and managed to slice my finger open in the store and started bleeding on the display case. Like I said, I was 10 and had no idea what I was doing. The clerk kind of luaghed and jokingly said, "well you bled on it, guess you have to buy it." I had already selected it as my favorite, so that worked out ok.

Later, when I got home, I started to practice flipping the pliers out. Next thing I knew the tool slipped out of my hand and embedded itself into my closet door. I still have the tool, and it's still one of my favorites. However, lately it has spent more time on my book shelf than anything due to it's sentimental value.

That is just awesome! Same thing happened in my Scout troop!! One hour... tops. Soda was the huge bet. It was worth more than it's weight in gold!!

I sure miss those days.

m

Me thinks you just dated yourself, Darts haven't had steel points in a bar in years.
At least not in the U.S. ( some crap about being to dangerious)

Haha! Actually, I'm just in my lower 30's. But there are some great bars around here! Most of the British and Irish pubs still have metal darts. If anything, I think certain brunettes in my life are dangerous.

That incident was '06, I think. That holiday tends to get very hazy...

J

I don't know, I grew up helping my dad in the woods and all so maybe I see things a little differently. But personally I don't think there's much mystery to using a large chopper or machete safely. Always cut away from yourself, always be in full control of the tool and visualize how the blade is going to travel to target (with follow through). You also have to watch out for any obstructions in the path of the blade (even a small twig can deflect your tool as you swing it, very dangerous) and keep a safety distance from your buddies when working in a group. It's not that difficult. The real challenge is developing optimal technique so that you use minimum effort on your end and let the tool do most of the job with its own weight. That's very important when you have to work all day long.

These things are best learned through experience. But if machetes are dangerous, what about axes? I worked with my woodman's pal since I was 8 or 9 but my dad never allowed me near an axe until I was into my teens. Using an axe takes much more skill and control, but it really is worth it because you can accomplish a lot more work with it. There's no need to be afraid of tools. Get to know them better, ask a friend or relative from the countryside to show you how it's done. It's a great way to pick up useful skills.

I recall when I was about 5 or so, I got a hold of my mom's double edged razor pack. As I remember, I opened up every finger on my hands, and it didn't really hurt, but it felt cold. I also remember my mom walking in on me and screaming to high heaven at all the blood coming out of my little digits.

Does that count as my first knife? If not, then it was four years later when Grandad gave me one of his old used buck pocket knives, and I ended up with it stuck in the top of my foot winning a bout of mumbledee-peg with the neighbor kid.

Interesting observation. The only knife I have never nicked myself with, as I recall, is my sheepsfoot blade sailor's knife. Still, it's not my first choice for EDC, so I use it a good deal less than the pointy blades. Now that I'm EDC-ing a Spyderco Salt-I with a modified sheepsfoot blade, we'll have to see how long I go unbloodied...

Well it is not my first knife but I just ordered the Ritter folders RSK MK1 Mini and one regular RSK MK1. Just got tired and fed up with the costly junk that I have had before. (Not going to mention any brands here).

I use a knife almost daily and it is the little things that bug me about what I used to have. The comfort of the grip when using the knife for long periods, How the knife holds up with daily use. The time involved to keen up the edge. Even how big a hole they wear in your pocket carrying it around everyday.

If you haven't nicked yourself, you arent using your knife.

Interesting. Just Yesterday morning(!) I had court so I wouldn;t be wearing my EDC BRKT mini-Skinner on my belt. I was getting into the truck with it in my hand.....in its sheath. I was holding the sheath with the handle down (dumb!). As I sat down in the truck, I felt the knife start to slide out of the sheath. The butt-end of the handle stopped on my thigh but the blade had cleared the sheath. My right hand, still holding the sheath, was coming down in an attempt to stop the knife from sliding out of the sheath (which had already happened)....think mili-seconds here, or maybe giga-seconds. The point of the blade ended up "in" the flesh of my palm..... dead-center. Just luckily, I realized that the blade was exposed and had already started to slow down the motion of my right hand, so the blade didn;t go in as deep as it would have.

That mini-Skinner is razor sharp right out to the tip. At first, it didn;t look too bad, it wasn;t even bleeding. Hehe, that didn't last long! I'm looking at the wound right now....semi-healed but tender.

The Salt I looks like a great blade. First time I saw it, I thought "yeah! finally a blade shaped the way I want it!"

I'm curious about the H1 steel. How does it perform edge-holding-wise?