I know some of you will laugh, and even I chuckled a bit. While cutting some frozen beef shank, one rolled on me pretty violently and I dang near cut my finger off. That friendly saw put a nice gaping wound on my finger (sorry, no pics, lol).
I pulled my hands back and almost started cutting again when I looked down and saw that there was a gash in my gloves (I wear 2) with blood starting to pour out. My manager was wrapping when he looked up at me. I said "Check it out!" and pulled my gloves off so I could check out the damage. Someone mentioned if I needed stitches, and I probably did, but I sure as hell wasn't going to CareNow (the store's medical place). They'll just make it worse--it's like one step up from black market surgery. I bandaged it up good and went back to work, blood filling my new gloves. I later re-bandaged it after boss told me to take a break.
Our youngest guy asked if it hurt, and I said no. Interestingly, it didn't, and still doesn't. My boss laughed and replied "Totally different generation!" I promise you anyone other than my manager or our "old dog" would have left for the day. I need to get paid. Personal time is for vacations.
I take a lot of pride in work safety through proper technique (and quick reflexes) and have never had more than a nick or small cut. This is my first semi-serious injury in my 13 years of meat cutting. Knock on wood...
Sorry to hear about your injury T-bone. Hope you're OK. Yep, those shanks are dangerous. I saw a guy get cut on the saw back in 1983 the same way you did, except they were fresh shanks. Veal shanks are the worst. The saw really grabs the meat and tries to pull you into the saw with it. With (fresh) beef shanks I always like to knife it first and then cut the bone on the band saw. Some guys do it opposite. They cut the bone only and then knife the meat. Easier on your knife that way, but I think you get a cleaner cut my way. Yep, you're old school for sure. Most guys today would go to the doctor. I've been extremely lucky SO FAR (don't want to jinx myself). Yet to get a cut bad enough to send me to the doctor. I've had my share of minor cuts.
gotta watch that round frozen stuff Our produce man was going to cut a frozen jd sausage roll, and I told him to be carefull it don't roll on you-ya ya I know!! Soon as the saw blade hit it, WAM! spun out of his hand and into the deli door. If someone was to come out at that time, it would have killed them! Hey Mike, Let me do that before somebody gets killed!!
say you got yourself a little nasty gash !! GLAD it wasn't a finger loser !!! about you kept working, I like that lol In the old days ( I love that phrase lol ) any cut that didn't need over 5 stitches was taken care of by packing salt into it from the sides of pork bellies we kept on hand, put a bandage around it and keep cutting. the next day you had a hard black scab, no pain in it, few days it would fall off. I think in those days, frozen oxtails were the worse thing to cause you to cut yourself if you tried to cut them on the saw. best to disjoint with a knife.
once I had a meat hook tear me open in the shoulder , ( that is a story in it's self lol ) had 10 stitches on the outside, 7 on the inside, the next day I was working meat case with arm in sling, never miss a days work.
another time I put a boneing knife 6 inches into my thigh, next day I was at work on a walking stick working lunch meat. GUESS nowadays I could get off with pay for two or three weeks lolol
I've been to the ER 4 times in my career (once for a hernia). THe worse was cutting ice pack fryers on the saw as a rookie. Took the entire knuckle of my thumb off! My hands were so cold, not only was there no pain, but it didn't bleed much either!
If you're for safety why didn't you use the, as we call it, push guard. The thing that fits the bansaw and pushes the meat against the back guard while protecting your hands when you're getting close to the blade. Only took me once to learn my lesson when i had a femur bone with a crack in it split into a hundred pieces and almost pull my entire hand in. haha ****ty.
I did almost the same thing in my early days with a frozen shank . Had 7 stitches on the inside 10 stitches on the outside of my finger and was back to work that same day making cube steaks one handed LOL .... a guy has to get payed
some of you guys are crazy lol 5 years and no major injury's here. hat's off to the trooper's who kept working even though you should have maybe rested your wounds.
I had a half frozen pork hock pull my thumb onto the back part of the saw blade, left a black mark on my thumb for awhile and scared the $^&@ out of me. I am as careful as possible but you never know.
we have a guy in our hardware store, 20 years as a meatcutter etc, he was just finishing some work on a miter saw a few months ago when he cut off 4 fingers in less than a second, he is back to work and accepting it quite well, but c'mon what a crappy thing. I told him at least it wasn't on your first day as a cutter!
first scare was on sunday. I was a cutting rib end on band saw my finger sliped as i was finishingpushing through. Should have probablly got stitches but I wrapped it up and finished my day. Put about a 3inch slice down the length of my pointer finger.
Damn jactro, be care there !! that is a very important finger ( wink ) have a beer on me for keeping on working most would be off on medical leave for two weeks !!!
I know it doesn't take much fo rthe saw to grab you when cutting frozen product. I always say the saw doesn't respect anyone you have to respect the saw.Hope the healing is coming along.Been at it for 32 years and must say I have been blessed with no major accidents.I know a lot of places wear gloves and a few of our cutter do, but I haven't.Feel more free without it.
I'm with you KB, I don't wear them, can't stand not being able to feel what I'm holding. An the good Lord has let me take home the same fingers I came in with for 51 years !!
mmmmmm my first, thats so long ago it's hard to remember, o yea, I was with Panty Pride in north west Fl., i was boning a round out, off the rail, i had a meat hook in my left hand holding it, my knife slip on me and went into my left arm causing me to have 9 stitches.
-- Edited by the_meat_pimp on Tuesday 5th of April 2011 11:58:25 PM
aaaaaaaaaaaah my first and only to date I didn't even do..lol...Breakin hogs I reached out for my piece same time buddy beside me reached for his with his knife as the table was rollin and stabbed me in the wrist lol...Funny thing he was the one freakin out...Chased my tail out of the room gettin ahead of me to get our first aide guy....Stitches..(check) Finished the day (check) When we were made to wear MORE safety gear..They jokingly said it was because our company let a women have a knife (me) so now we all have the safety gear...I gently remind them I'm the only one that has yet to cut themselves...But I have been stabbed by someone else :P Now lets suit up n gitter done! :D lol
My first scare happened when I was second man trimming for the first cutter while he was working the saw. He was a very quiet but pretty friendly guy. You could work 6 hours together and the only thing you might say to each other was "I gotta go piss." or I'd tell him "Dude, slow down". One of those "Dude, slow down" days, he slipped while cutting shanks on a slant saw. Took his thumb off at the knuckle. He wasn't very quiet or pretty friendly when he realized what happened. I grabbed the bit of his thumb and gave it to the manager to take to the hospital. They reattached it but it looks pretty gnarly. I look at a saw while I use it.
Sorry about that dude! I took much of the tip of my middle finger off on a band saw once. worse, it happened around 2 am and the next day the store manager gave the night manager hell for taking me to the hospital and told him he should have made me wait fro an ambulance! The docs wanted to amputate the first digit of my middle finger but I insisted on a consulatation with a specialist. I got one of the top hand docs in the country and he suggested that while I was recuperating at home to take a manicure stick, or popsicle stick, and just gently push down on the scar tissue while watching TV at night and a fingernail might just come back and grow over the whole ugly mess. He was right! So now if you look closely you can tell something is different but i still have most of my finger.
i was on an old hobart saw cutting chickens for the deli. someone bumped my elbow from behind with a lunchmeat cart. my left ring finger went strsaight into the blade. 8 stitches later and a little bone piece floating in my finger im fine...
Here's some advice. If you have to get hurt, try not to get hurt on a holiday! Just as at the shop, it's quite common for the "least senior" doctor to be working the ER. I had one experience on a holiday where the doc tried to tell me I could not have severed any tendons in my hand because I could still straighten my fingers. I was SO tempted to let him stitch me up so could go home but I manned up and INSISTED he call another doctor because I had seen my tendons hangng out of the wound before they retracted by the time I got to the hospital. They finally got a surgeon there who explained to him I was right and he was wrong. Another tip: when you get to the ER and they triage you and ask you how you feel, tell them you feel faint think you are going to pass out. I learned that the hard way. If you play it strong you might wait hours, but they don't want anyone passing out in the waiting room and will take you right away!
most would be off on medical leave for two weeks !!!
