Happy I train with both hands...

M

MLeake

New member
... since I took my strong hand out pretty well last night.

Important safety tip: If you have a spring-assist type knife, it might be a good idea to keep it in a sheath instead of a pocket. My SureFire knife opened up on me last night in my front pocket, without my knowledge, and I cut the heel of my hand right below the thumb when I went to adjust a belt holster.

Several stitches later, I have no effective grip in my right hand, probably for the next few days at least.

Left hand holster is being broken out.

I usually shoot about 25% of any given range session left-handed, so while my abilities are slightly downgraded, they are still pretty good.

I can't write all that well, of course... good thing I mostly type.

Don't ignore training with your weak hand - it might just be the only one you can use in a given instant.
 
First rule of folding knife safety. All folding knives are always open.

Ok, just kidding... :D

I'm guessing that they didn't find any nerve or tendon damage or you would have mentioned it. That's good and means a full recovery is almost certain. Nothing left to do but heal quickly...so get to it!
 
No, I cut the meat below the base of the thumb. If I had to get cut, that was probably the best possible spot. No near-surface tendons, ligaments, or major blood vessels.

Still bled pretty nicely... but ultimately not a big deal.

Only concern now is avoiding infection.

Thanks for the well-wishes.
 
MLeake

Happy I train with both hands...
Click to expand...

I'm good with about 10% weak handed.

Won't talk about Italian switchblades in the back pocket, while being stationed in Naples. :eek: OUCH.

Hope your OK..
 
Assisted? Was it tip up or tip down carry?

My only assisted knives are tip up, if they open it's in the pocket. While there are more vitals there, you'll know it opened before it gets serious. Hope it's a quick recovery.
 
Tip down.

Blade opened about 90 degrees, and just cleared the top of my pocket.

Thanks, I think the recovery should be fine and relatively quick. My only worry is that a friend contracted a MRSA strain here last year. So far, no signs of a problem, but the doc and I will be keeping a close watch on it.

Edit: Meanwhile, went looking for a decent knife pouch today. Didn't find what I wanted, but did find a nice 8 Hook tool (with pouch) for cutting straps, etc. Figure I'll pair that up with my 5" SOG Spec Elite folder, and just avoid the spring-assist issue entirely.
 
Ouch... Wishing you a speedy recovery!

I think situations like that are why I don't carry assisted-opening knives or auto-knives. I own a few of them to round out my collection, but I don't feel comfortable carrying them. An employee of mine had his assisted knife open up in his front pocket. It cut a hold in his pocket and boxers. I'm guessing it could have been much worse! :eek:

Assisted opening knives that have to be opened with the thumb stud make me really uncomfortable. It is impossible to have a firm grip on the knife as it opens and blade snapping open makes the knife want to slip out of my hand. I also feel that the blade is going to snap open and I will slice my thumb off as I continue the motion of pushing the thumb stud. The only exception is flipper styled knives which allow me to have a better grip and open the knife with my index finger. The problem with those is they also tend to open up accidentally if the flipper gets pushed.

My issue with auto-knives is that many of them have safeties that can be accidentally activated or difficult to deactivate quickly. Many of them also require the release button to be depressed completely. I have a Benchmade and Microtech that are both like that. Auto knives are also hard to close with one hand.

I have gotten so used to opening my manual knife that I can do so as quickly as an automatic knife or assisted knife. I usually carry a Benchmade 710 which uses the Axis lock. It is easy to flick open but will not open accidentally. It is also very easy to open and close one handed.

bm71021.jpg
 
If you're looking for something that isn't spring loaded, but can open fast, I'd suggest looking at the crkt m16 line. The flippers make them open like an assisted, but there nothing to make them open on their own.
I cut the same spot with a benchmade auto 5-6 years ago.
It definitely sucked, but now it's just one more road on the map.
Don't push it, and feel better soon.
 
1. My assisted opener - opened in my luggage. So now it is just a tool around the house.

2. I totally agree with training with both hands. I broke my wrist. I was scheduled to do two classes, so I did with my other hand.

Fortunately - the first one was for injured shooters - how convenient.

The second was Mas' LFI-1 Stressfire component. What bugs me is that sometimes I shoot better with the other hand.
 
Ouch, hope it heals quick. My pocket knife is an assisted opener but it has a lock on it so that it does not open in the pocket. It's a Gerber, might look into that in the future.
 
I keep mine clipped inside my waistband SOB. Maybe I should rethink that :)

Actually I miss butterfly knives. I could open it with one hand and I never had an accident.

33760.jpg


Since they are illegal now, mine are relegated to wall decorations.

Anyway, here's to a speedy recovery.
 
This kind of thing isn't exclusive to assisted opening knives. I've had a typical slipjoint folder open up while being removed from a pocket. The tip of the blade was just a tiny bit above the blade channel in the handle. Just enough so that the tip caught on the material of the pocket and since the knife was small and the spring wasn't very stout, that opened the blade as the knife was withdrawn from the pocket. I ended up holding the opened knife in my hand which was something of a surprise. I used a small file to cut a bit of metal off the choil to make sure the blade set deeper into the channel when the knife is closed and that fixed the problem.

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine, but his knife was larger and the spring was stiffer. He felt the blade opening and he let go of the knife. Unfortunately that allowed the blade to snap closed on his finger and he suffered a minor cut.
 
I've never had a spring assisted pocket knife opening up in my pocket.

However, since it does happen (as evident by your post), I make it a habit to constantly check the tension of the pocket clip + make sure that the blade is resting HARD against my pocket.

The Kershaw Tactical Bump and Zero Tolerance 350 are renowned for their clamp like pocket clips. You might have a little more faith in those 2.
 
As noted, I have a Spec Elite SOG with Axis lock, so I'll just use that for a cutter, and I've picked up a BenchMade 8 Hook for cutting belts or straps. No more spring assists for me, unless in a dedicated pouch...

Meanwhile, one of the safety guys at work has just given me the new call sign, "Slash."
 
Nice thing about aikido and arnis - equal time practicing with both hands. (Except, of course, for bokken, as all Japanese swordsmen are right-handed by tradition.)

I can't write or throw left-handed (at least, not well). Tying my shoes is a bit more challenging.

OTOH, I can fly from either side of the cockpit. (Left is better, now, as that lets me grip the yoke with the left, and only worry about levers with the right.)

Again, thanks for the well-wishes.

Cheers,

M
 
I have *always* been worried about that. I carry a tip-up automatic in my back pocket next to my wallet, and I have formed a habit of checking it CONSTANTLY. I notice when I don't have it with me, everyone probably thinks I'm wearing a thong for the amount of times I "fix" my behind in a day. :rolleyes: I've poked myself with it a couple times, but nothing like that.


FWIW, I think an automatic knife is just sweet compared to a good assisted knife, it really becomes an extension of your body when there's no fiddling involved getting it open. Tip-up autos are the way to go :cool:
 
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