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A Warning...watch yer fingers (for Dummies)

I did the mandolin slicer thing to my index finger too. Luckily the tip was still attached by a tiny flap of skin so it made healing MUCH easier. Professionals can use those however they want, but I ALWAYS use the little poker/plunger guide thing that came with it now.
Did the same thing with a paper cutter that had the safety rail removed when I was cutting up a roll of proofs at the photography studio I worked in. Turned around to say something to somebody and sliced the tip of my leftforefinger off. A little bit was hanging on so when they took me to the nearest doc in the box the intern there sewed it back on and a splint on it. Hurt like hell. When I went back for a checkup an older retired doc was there and when he looked at he said,"now they told you that won't stay on " meaning the tip of my finger. I said no they said the opposite. Sure enough a week later the tip turned white and fell off, luckily leaving some meat there and all the bone. Took a long time before I could play more than 30 minutes or so without felling pain every time I fretted a note. Eventually built up a good callus there but it took about a year to do so. Thankfully one of my basses can handle very low action! Jim
 
I used to be one hell of a finger-style guitar player. That was before several broken fingers (thanks to my fondness for Great Danes; beautiful creatures who don't realize how strong they are), and a bizarre snow shoveling mishap that killed about 50% of the function in my right thumb. The majority of work-related accidents are to the hands and fingers, and I would guess that applies to the household too.

Like I used to tell my music students, especially those who played organized sports, "Take care of your hands!" Try as you may, it's the luck of the draw.

Maybe this guy was on to something.

5x2_George_protecting_his_hands.png
 
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So a number of years ago - playing our 2nd set - I would do a cymbal choke on a splash way far to the right of my set. 2 songs later our rhythm guitarist freaks out - blood on him - blood all over my white Pearl drumset and me - didn't notice - I had split my pinky 1/2" right down the middle thru the nail - duct tape is a wonderful thing!
 
Seriously guys.....these slicers all come with safety guards....use em!!!! I have used commercial slicers for 25 years.....I have pro stuff at home......I find a damn vegetable peeler my enemy! Or the simple box grater.....just knuckle scrapes though. I have needed stitches 3 times in all my years and always on my left hand from doing stupid things without thinking.....Like cutting a pc of cryovacked filet out of a package without looking and nearly taking off a finger in the way.....stupid stuff!
 
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Seriously guys.....these slicers all come with safety guards....use em!!!! I have used commercial slicers for 25 years.....I have pro stuff at home......I find a damn vegetable peeler my enemy! Or the simple box grater.....just knuckle scrapes though. I have needed stitches 3 times in all my years and always on my left hand from doing stupid things without thinking.....Like cutting a pc of cryovacked filet out of a package without looking and nearly taking off a finger in the way.....stupid stuff!
Agree 100%.
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The little round food holder/guide thing at the bottom may seem silly, but it' turns a Mandoline from a finger guillotine into a safe and useful piece of kitchenware. If for some reason your mandoline doesn't have one, you can order one here:
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Possibly the smartest $5 you will ever spend!
 
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A 28 ounce framing hammer with the waffle head is a big threat. Especially when you are using it both right and left handed because of space and geometric issues. Both hands survived, perhaps because I got all the damage out of the way with lighter, smooth faced hammers before moving onto the hammer of the evildoer.

When I was fresh out of college, work was pretty hard to come by. It was the recessionary times in the early 1980s, and I worked in a deli, among other odd jobs, to avoid living under a bridge. The deli was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was frequented by people who had a somewhat inflated sense of self worth. One woman was insistent that I slice up the end of a salami, because she wanted the smaller diameter slices. In order to do that, I would have had to use my fingers to push the very short piece of salami into the slicer, because the guard/pusher wouldn't get the end close enough to keep slicing after a certain point. So, I refused to do it. It didn't go over well, and the deli manager, who was about a year older than me and just as broke, came down pretty hard. I told her she could stick her fingers into the slicer if she wanted, but I wasn't going to do it. Funny how people see the light when their skins are at risk. Plus, an hour of my time was worth less than a half pound of tuna salad to the deli. It wasn't worth taking any risk or any nonsense. I started driving a cab shortly after that. It was a step up, believe it or not.

Moral of this story, don't let anybody else put your fingers at risk, either.
 
A 28 ounce framing hammer with the waffle head is a big threat. Especially when you are using it both right and left handed because of space and geometric issues. Both hands survived, perhaps because I got all the damage out of the way with lighter, smooth faced hammers before moving onto the hammer of the evildoer.

When I was fresh out of college, work was pretty hard to come by. It was the recessionary times in the early 1980s, and I worked in a deli, among other odd jobs, to avoid living under a bridge. The deli was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and was frequented by people who had a somewhat inflated sense of self worth. One woman was insistent that I slice up the end of a salami, because she wanted the smaller diameter slices. In order to do that, I would have had to use my fingers to push the very short piece of salami into the slicer, because the guard/pusher wouldn't get the end close enough to keep slicing after a certain point. So, I refused to do it. It didn't go over well, and the deli manager, who was about a year older than me and just as broke, came down pretty hard. I told her she could stick her fingers into the slicer if she wanted, but I wasn't going to do it. Funny how people see the light when their skins are at risk. Plus, an hour of my time was worth less than a half pound of tuna salad to the deli. It wasn't worth taking any risk or any nonsense. I started driving a cab shortly after that. It was a step up, believe it or not.

Moral of this story, don't let anybody else put your fingers at risk, either.

Next time push the small salami thru with a bigger salami!!
 
I tripped at home and put my hands out in front of me to catch my fall. What caught was the pinky of my left hand on the end of a bookshelf which bent it out and back. It didn't break, but it hurt like hell. I iced it and went to see a doctor, verified nothing broken, just hyper extended. Had to tape my pinky to my ring finger for weeks because doing anything with that hand hurt like hell, took months before I could play comfortably again. I'd never compared my hand spread before, but the pinky on my left hand extends another 20% or so further than the one on my right hand. Was it like that before from playing? No idea, but it's like that now.
 
My wife has forbidden me from cutting/chopping/slicing anything in the kitchen that could injure my hands. If an onion, potato, mango, or anything else round and slippery needs cutting, she does it. I know how to properly use a chef's knife, but it's not worth me missing a gig over.