I’ve only had a couple of whoopses over the last two years. The worst nearly took of the tip of my right pinkie when I was sharpening a long straight jerky knife. As I neared the end of an up and away stroke, I got careless with the position of my pinkie. I learned to do straight edges in sections, so as not to have to deal with a floppy blade and also to keep my pinkies on the finger blocks, regardless of the knife.
One minor slice I got just the other day, when I was trying to wipe the dust from a pretty well sharpened edge so I could use the handheld microscope to check for chips. Dust particles will be drawn electrostatically to sharp metal edges and at 200X, they’ll hide a significant chip. Rags and lint-free paper towel weren’t doing the trick, so I tried a piece of that drawer liner foam that was laying nearby. As I moved it along the blade, the blade sliced right through it and into my index finger like a hot knife through, uh… your finger! Didn’t see that coming!!
Nicks and cuts are part of the job. Most important is to avoid the really nasty accidents, like severed tendons and nerves. I haven’t heard mention of any here, but I’ve only been on this forum regularly for a few months, so maybe there have been accidents. Best advice is to keep your workspace neat so that you’re never reaching across the far end of the blade. Don’t put anything over there that you might need.
Once you’ve removed a sharp knife from your vise, put it in its sheath or other container. If the owner didn’t provide a container, I’d place a strip of masking tape along the edge.
I am only a hobbyist. If I was doing it as a business, I’d certainly wear Kevlar gloves. Mark76’s blog
convinced me of that.
By the way guys… My wife showed me that the best way to removed dust from a edge… is with a Swiffer duster! Looks dopey as hell, but it sure works. Gonna trade my denim apron for gingham.
.
