When you drop a knife

[Big Don]

Let it go. Jump back out of the way, stupid! "Catching" it with the palm of your hand, stings considerably...
Wow, that was a lot of bright red blood. Wait, isn't bright red blood arterial, Yes, yes it is. That is the end of the ulnar artery I managed to shank myself in.
That **** hurts.
I got a boo boo

 

[Sukerkin]

Good lord, mate! I hope and assume that you are okay given that you lived to post about your adventure here?

One of the first lessons drummed into you in Iai is "Never catch a falling blade". Sadly, that lesson gets a little dulled {sorry, sword based pun attack } by the fact that we train almost exclusively with iaito these days (insurance being impossible to obtain for live blade practise).

 

[Cyriacus]

I have to admit, the concept of dropping a Knife, and catching it with Your Palm, and piercing an Artery, is kinda Comical.
And also not fun, You poor sod

Out of interest, how did You stop the Bleeding before You got it seen to?
Or are You typing this out first to let Us know You got a Boo-Boo before You stop the Bleeding?

 

[granfire]

Kind of like the Blacksmith's first lesson....let it drop.

I hoe you get to feeling better.

 

[Big Don]

Holy crap, and I thought head wounds bled a lot...
It was really flowing there for a while, but, I've been through enough first aid classes over the years... So, I managed to stem the flow.Yea, it is only a little sore this morning.

 

[shesulsa]

Yikes, dude! Heal quickly!

 

[Big Don]

Oh, I'm fine, the point of the blade only went in a quarter inch or so.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Reality injection.....

I'm sorry you got hurt, and I hope you get better quickly. And I agree that it's a bad idea to try and catch a sharp object.

However, I really doubt that you've damaged your ulnar artery. For one thing, the ulnar artery ends at the wrist. Further, if the blood was flowing (as you stated) then it's extremely unlikely that you had an arterial injury. Bright red blood is not limited to arteries by any means, and is not considered a sign of arterial injury in anything other than pretty basic training. And had you in fact severed the ulnar artery, you'd likely have required surgery. An injury to one of the smaller arteries (say, the common digital or palmar arches) would likely require a stich or two to tie off the vessle to stop the bleeding; you're unlikely to stop it reliably with pressure.

If you truely think you've manage to injure an artery, you need to go to the ER; the loss of blood flow from a damaged artery (other than the truely tiny ones) can easily lead to permanent loss of function. Or the loss of your hand.

 

[Flying Crane]

If the blood is flowing, it's likely a vein. If the blood is pulsing, it's likely an artery.

Funny, I had a similar incident recently. I bought a pair of Butterfly Swords, very sharp, nice set of weaponry. They were in the leather sheath and on my bookshelf. I forgot it was there, the room was dark and I pulled off a book that was under them. The knives pulled off the shelf and fell.

In the middle of the fall I realized what had happend and of course I was worried about damaging the swords in the fall. So I stuck out my leg to break their fall. They landed on the outside of my ankle and gave me a nice bang. It wasn't until after it was over that I realized how stupid that move was. If the knives had slipped out of the sheath and landed on my ankle point first or on the edge, I could have been very seriously cut. Those knives weigh over a pound each with 16 inch blades, and two of them falling together doubles my chances of injury.

It's funny how we sometimes react without thinking, and that can be a bad thing.

 

[Big Don]

Reality injection.....

I'm sorry you got hurt, and I hope you get better quickly. And I agree that it's a bad idea to try and catch a sharp object.

However, I really doubt that you've damaged your ulnar artery. For one thing, the ulnar artery ends at the wrist. Further, if the blood was flowing (as you stated) then it's extremely unlikely that you had an arterial injury. Bright red blood is not limited to arteries by any means, and is not considered a sign of arterial injury in anything other than pretty basic training. And had you in fact severed the ulnar artery, you'd likely have required surgery. An injury to one of the smaller arteries (say, the common digital or palmar arches) would likely require a stich or two to tie off the vessle to stop the bleeding; you're unlikely to stop it reliably with pressure.

If you truely think you've manage to injure an artery, you need to go to the ER; the loss of blood flow from a damaged artery (other than the truely tiny ones) can easily lead to permanent loss of function. Or the loss of your hand.

Oh, it was spurting a good 6 to 8 inches, hard to tell, I put pressure on it pretty fast.
A clean sock and duct tape makes a pretty good pressure bandage in the middle of the night...
Radial artery of the index finger, coincidentally, just about exactly where the dotted lines point. I've had a number of cuts/pokes before. This one was by far the most painful and bloody.

 

[Carol]

Yiikes! VERY glad you are OK!

 

[Big Don]

Yikes wasn't the word I used... My language was quite a bit more colorful and inventive.

 

[Carol]

Yikes wasn't the word I used... My language was quite a bit more colorful and inventive.

I'll take your word on it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has used socks and duct tape as a pressure bandage....

 

[granfire]

Oh, it was spurting a good 6 to 8 inches, hard to tell, I put pressure on it pretty fast.
A clean sock and duct tape makes a pretty good pressure bandage in the middle of the night...

Well, best not throw knives in the middle of the night!

 

[ballen0351]

I did a similar thing with a taser once. We were in training and I was demonstrating how to drive stun with the taser. Its like using it as a stun gun unstead of shooting the probes out. So I went to use it on one of the officers in the class on his calf. He jerks and kicks the taser up out of my hand. The taser cycles for 5 seconds after letting go or the trigger. So i go to catch it and it lands shock side down right in my palm with a few seconds left in the cycle.

 

[Big Don]

I did a similar thing with a taser once. We were in training and I was demonstrating how to drive stun with the taser. Its like using it as a stun gun unstead of shooting the probes out. So I went to use it on one of the officers in the class on his calf. He jerks and kicks the taser up out of my hand. The taser cycles for 5 seconds after letting go or the trigger. So i go to catch it and it lands shock side down right in my palm with a few seconds left in the cycle.

Sounds like a shocking experience

 

[Sukerkin]

:groan: :lol:.