very very stupid!!

[icarve2003]

Yes I was. The other night I was carving a small bird when I was about to put it down for the night. I took off my carving glove and was looking at my carving when I decided to clean up a bit on the bottom. Well, the bird split right down the middle and the chisel went into my hand.

It was bad! My wife called for an ambulance and they took me to the ER. They stitched it up but I have no feeling in half of my middle finger. It's wrapped up now and I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon on Wednesday to see if any nerves were damaged.

I wanted to share this because I am (usually) very safety concious, but accidents can still happen. I wasn't expecting the wood to split on me.

Please, if you don't have a carving glove, go get one. If you have one, make sure you use it. I have a kevlar glove with reinforced rubber palm and thumb, but I am considering getting a fishernmans steel mesh glove, that is when I can hold a carving again.

Safe carving!!
Chris.

[Nancy-G]

OH :'( Very sorry Chris !! Wishing you a fast recovery.

[Daryl]

Sorry to hear about that Chris. Hope your hand heals up good. We need you back carving!

[Kenny_S]

Sorry Chris. Yes those kinds of cuts cost you for sure. I have related an incident with a friend of mine that happened several years ago with a knife I sharpened for him. The problem was he was not holding the piece correctly. anyway, 21 stitches to the thumb and plam and weeks to months of recovery, He still can't feel his index and middle finguers on his left hand.

I do hope you DO get feel back

Again Chris, sorry to hear.

I have purchased a glove and you may be right in the fisherman's glove as my kevlar glove with little metal weaved in to it. But I don't think it would protect my hand from punctures.

Speedy recover Chris,

Ken

Chris,
I really hope your recovery is quick. Sorry to hear about your accident.
Where can I get a carving glove and what kind should I buy. By the looks of the recent posts of accident I guess money should not be of any consequence.

Brad

[Kenny_S]

I have found them at Woodcraft stores and on the net. A lot of the bigger Hobby Lobby stores have them. The most I have seen them was less than $20. Great investment. May try Home Depot, Builder's Square and Lowe's. Even a good leather glove would help. I believe it was ed who said he bought golfer's gloves. Reinforceed plam. I like my kevlar glove but I would be surprised if it kept me from gouging myself.

Hope this has helped
Again Chris, a speedy recovery sir.

Ken

Chris, most of the feeling should return eventually. I would be most concerned about cutting tendons.
There has been a lot of talk about carving gloves lately, so here is my 2 cents.
Being in the woodcarving supply business, I receive safety equipment to try before I buy. I test carving gloves by trying to cut a finger off the glove. When I tested the heavy Kevlar glove, it dulled my carving knife. The 'lighter-weight Kevlar with rubber dots' did cut through after several attempts. I cut the finger clear off the 'Kevlar with woven wire' with one slice.
I have a good friend who wears three gloves, first a light-weight cotton glove, followed by a metal 'chain-mail' glove, and finally a light-weight kevlar with rubber dots.

This is the best protection I have seen used. The 'Chain Mail' glove will prevent ninety-nine percent of all cuts, including punctures. The cotton glove allows the chain mail to be worn comfortably, while the kevlar with rubber dots protects the carving from the chain mail and provides good grip.

Sorry to hear about your accident Chris.

Guess I should really look into getting a glove. All my years of whittlin and now carving and I haven't had any bad accidents yet but all these posts are making me nervous and the nicks and scratches on my thumb guard are definitely better than when they were on my thumb.

[mdallensr]

The worst accidents I've seen and heard about involved carving in the round, with a knife. It's so easy to lose your grip when roughing a carving you can hold in one hand. The glove will make a big difference when that carving spins out of your hand and the knife keeps going. I started wearing one after reading all the comments on this message board. I've been lucky for several years, and now I'm not going to push that luck.

[icarve2003]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!!

Thanks for that info. Rick. I think I'll do that with the three layers.

Here are the gloves that I currently use.:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...amp;category=1

They are the second pair of kevlar gloves I've tried. The first ones were very poor quality.

Thanks again,
Chris.