Getting Cut!

[YT2095]

how often do you get Cut?

I`ve been cut twice now with the same knife, now I`ve had the knife for quite a while and it`s basically the only knife I use daily.
my Mother keeps telling me to get rid of it! (one incident put me in hospital).

I`de like to know who has been cut with "Their Knife" a few times, as we all have our personal favorite blades.

did you ever get told to get rid of it, did you even think this yourself?

I`m More Than sure i`m not the 1`st or last to have done and been told this, I want to hear about YOU and Your experiences.

 

[GB]

I have a friend who used to say there are two kinds of cooks. Those who get cut and those who get burned. I am one of the lucky ones to fall into both categories.

I think of getting rid of my knife because it has never been the knifes fault that I have cut myself. Every single cut I have gotten has been because I have been careless. Luckily it does not happen often and it has never been serious.

 

[Uncle Bob]

John I ususally come down on the side of "it's not the fiddle, it's the fiddler"! I did have a little 6" chefs knife one time, that just seemed to want to cut me. After two, not so serious ones and several near misses, I tossed it! So far so good. No more cuts

 

[ChefJune]

You need to pay more attention to wht you are doing, but also, you need to keep your knives razor sharp. You are far more likely to get seriously cut by a dull knife, because you have to push harder to get it to do its job. this means if it's attacking your finger, it's more likely to do more damage.

The only times I've ever been cut seriously I was looking up and talking to a customer while I was cutting. Silly me! Thank goodness the knife was extremely sharp. and there was an emergency room nearby!

 

[Buck]

YT,

Your knife is possessed. You need to take it to an exorcist.

Do not leave it in an unlocked drawer at night.

 

[Katie H]

I never get cut and I'm the one who does most, if not all, of the cutting/mincing/chopping here. But, as ChefJune said, I keep my knives ultra sharp. They practically glide through even the toughest/densest foods.

 

[Constance]

My youngest daughter always says, "it's not meal until Mom slices her finger."
I am actually doing a lot better since I learned from watching Food TV how to tuck my fingers under when I slice. I still do it, though. The other night when I was seeding avacados, I whacked the pit with my chef's knife and it slipped off the seed and right through the peel, cutting my thumb.
One night, when we had guests, I was chopping lettuce on a cutting board and sliced off a piece of my thumb. Here was this little piece of meat on the cutting board, my thumb spurting like a fountain, and we were all too trashed to drive to the hospital. Fortunately, the gal was a surgical nurse, which helped, but no one could find the heavy-duty bandages that I had stashed someplace. They were all searching every cabinet and drawer, as she repeatedly reminded me to "Hold your hand above your head!" and "Keep the pressure on it!"
She would have sewn it up, but there was nothing to sew...just a missing piece. I ended up with a bandage made of Bounty paper towels (very absorbant) and duct tape.

I burn myself, too. One evening, I absent-mindedly laid my hand on a burner that I'd just turned off to see if it was cool enough to set a plastic bowl on. When I jerked my hand off, I had the shape of the burner branded on my palm. Duh! I immediately put it on ice, while DH cut some aloe. I doctored it with the aloe and kept the ice on it for several hours, and did not have so much as a blister the next morning.
I also picked up my hot curling iron by the wrong end one day.

I make some dandy messes, too...like dropping a whole pan of hot grease on the kitchen floor. Or putting out a grease fire on the electric stove by turning a pan of boiling potatoes over it. My dad about went bellistic over that one.

So, for those of you who think you are clumsy in the kitchen...Don't feel like the Lone Ranger!

 

[GrillingFool]

I sacrifice friends to the Case XX 8-400.

Seriously, it has twice cut friends who were warned that it was sharp,
but played with it anyway.

Although I did come close the other night. I caught the blade with my
index fingernail. No blood, but close.

I tend to make more mess than blood in the kitchen, thank goodness!

 

[buckytom]

i'm of like mind with gb; every time i've cut myself i was being careless. usually trying to hurry, often when trying to do too many things at once.

i've never had any serious cuts from a knife, but i am surprised that i still have 10 fingerprints considering how many times i've sliced off the tips or edges.

 

[Andy M.]

I'm in the same boat as GB and BT. I cut myself when I'm careless. I burn myself for the same reason. What other reason is there? We are not stupid. We know stuff is hot and knives are sharp. Unless you are into pain, carelessness is the only reason you get cut or burned.

BTW, I don't buy into the "dull knives are more dangerous" maxim. I cut myself with equal facility whether the knife is sharp or dull. Knives dull slowly over time. As they dull, you accommodate your movements to deal with that.

 

[jpmcgrew]

You need to pay more attention to wht you are doing, but also, you need to keep your knives razor sharp. You are far more likely to get seriously cut by a dull knife, because you have to push harder to get it to do its job. this means if it's attacking your finger, it's more likely to do more damage.

The only times I've ever been cut seriously I was looking up and talking to a customer while I was cutting. Silly me! Thank goodness the knife was extremely sharp. and there was an emergency room nearby!

I agree the knife has to be sharp or it will slip and maybe you knowing the knife is sharp you are more careful.Next you must use the right knife for the job after that technique is very important.Every time I have cut myself was because I did not pay attention or was in a hurry or left the blade where I accidentally hit the blade lying close by while Im doing something else.You can be fast with a knife after much practice but you still need to concentrate.
I think the next two dangerous pieces are the mandoline and the electric meat slicer.Two pieces you must pay attention to when using.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

I have been stitched up more time than I can think of stricly by being ignorant and not paying attension to what I am doing/multitasking.The last 30 yrs I have a knife made in Japan that is seven inches long and sharp like two razors and it has never cut me once I respect it a lot.and I trim my meat and filet my fish with it and slice and dice with it
and I have been lucky

 

[keltin]

I have a friend who used to say there are two kinds of cooks. Those who get cut and those who get burned.

Well that explains it then. I’m in the burn category. Always been something of a fire-bug, and I still love fire. She’s a tough mistress and makes herself known on many occasion. I had a dream, interestingly enough, last night where I cut my finger rather badly on a 3” curved paring knife. I haven’t actually cut myself in a while, but burns are a different story, and being somewhat obsessive compulsive about washing my hands doesn’t help the healing process!

 

[YT2095]

well this blade is indeed Razor sharp and it`s own weight is often enough to slice through food (or anything else in the way), and yes the 1`st time I was extremely tired and not 100% with it, the last time a few days ago, I was cleaning the onion peelings up and wiped the blade off over the trash can and have no idea how I managed to slice down my thumb?

the blade is square ended at both tip and handle ends, I was on the safe part, it seems I must have caught the part where the blade starts.

I have to smile though, I get burns also, so it seems I`m in good company

 

[Jeekinz]

I've cut myself a couple times wiping the food off the blade with my finger. I hate when that happens.

 

[auntdot]

I learned to cut stuff by watching the TV guys. And by tucking my fingers in I almost never cut myself.

When I do, well, I have opened the wine to make it breathe, it has to do that. And one cannot in good conscience serve a wine without tasting it, can one? Hardly.

Need I go on?

But being inherently lazy I have learned to do almost everything quickly. It leaves more time for testing the wine.

I can cut an onion into even pieces in a nonce, OK, a nonce and a half.

What amazes me while watching shows like Top Chef is how slowly those folks dice an onion. Good grief, they are supposed to be professional chefs and I could dice three onions in the time they take to mince up one.

I consider my technique focused laziness.

At least I still have my fingers.

 

[TexanFrench]

I usually cut/burn myself once or twice a year when I am both very tired and also trying to hurry with the cooking.

That said, I am firmly in the camp that a knife that is not sharp is more dangerous than any other, because when it doesn't cut well, it is more apt to be used for multiple strokes (where a sharp knife would cut the first time) and it is more apt to slip in doing those strokes.

It can also be a question of balance/control in your hand. I like a more "slender" knife configuration, and my husband likes something "brawny." My hands are smaller than his! We have both kinds of knives is our kitchen, and we rarely share.

And are you using the right knife for the job? Not trying to slice a watermelon with a paring knife, for example?

 

[GB]

I am with Andy that it does not matter if the knife is sharp or dull.

Yes, if the knife is dull then you will use it improperly and will be more likely to cut yourself because the knife will slip, but you can just as easily cut your self because you did not tuck your fingers in and a sharp knife will go right through those fingers whereas a dull knife might not break the skin.

 

[AllenOK]

I think the next two dangerous pieces are the mandoline and the electric meat slicer.Two pieces you must pay attention to when using.

Don't forget the slicer attachment for a power mixer! I've got a good story to tell about that one!

I only cut/burn myself when I get tired or careless.

It's also really easy to burn yourself when there's four people on the line, and you're rockin'-and-rollin' trying to get tickets out. If your situational awareness isn't that good, you might not realize that the pan of scallops/salmon on the counter just came out of the 500 degree oven, and even the handle is scorching hot. Not to mention that once the pan is moved, the stainless steel counter-top is also hot. Any time you see a double plate (one top of the other), ALWAYS assume the top plate is HOT!

I've gotten to the point that a 9" pair of tongs is like a third hand. I can grab all sorts of things with it.

Don't get me started on cleaning a flat-top with a grill brick.

 

[elaine l]

I love to buy these little red knives from the outdoor store. They are great for peeling and slicing. Wicked sharp...at first. So whenever I buy a new one I get cut. More than once.