Well... I did it.

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Blinky

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Today I was snap cutting pieces out of a pine leaning over a carport. I was making the second cut on a piece right in front of me when I noticed it starting to break prematurely... I caught it with my left hand and somewhere in there the saw (spinning down) jumped out of the cut and caught my left leg on the inside of my knee... ruined my favorite climbing pants.

I knew I was cut but it didn't hurt so I considered finishing the tree because I was almost done. I checked it again and decided to let the ground know I had a problem, my pants leg and boot were soaked. They had peroxide, gauze and towels waiting on me when I got down and were insisting I go to the ER... which for me was a non-starter.

Hell, I figured some betadine and bunch of steri-strips and then I'd go back up and finish the tree. It really wasn't a bad cut, it was just bloody and they were freaking out because it was a CHAINSAW cut. A Sugoi could've done a lot worse.

Long story short, I cleaned it, bandaged it up, ate lunch and went to see my buddy who is and ER doc and also happens to be a wood turner who I've supplied with some really nice hunks of wood. He irrigated it and sewed me up in his bathroom... hurt a lot worse than the saw did. Only six stitches... in his words, "That's not a chainsaw cut, that's a chainsaw kiss."

The only thing I think I could've done differently to avoid the cut would've been to rig the piece instead of snap cutting and chucking. I'd already made a dozen identical snap cuts, this piece was apparently just angled enough to make the cut break before it was supposed to. I wasn't in a rush, I had both hands on the saw while cutting. Left leg, inside knee.

Just an aside, my doc friend, who's seen lots of chainsaw injuries, said it's really tough to stitch them because the tissue is usually so mangled. He says the most important thing you can do once blood loss is under control, is to irrigate the cut with tap water as quickly as possible and clean it out.

Pic below...













SawCut.jpg
 
Glad you're ok. You're lucky. A bad cut on the knee could haunt you for a while.
 
Nasty little bite but it looks not bad at all. I have first aided a few chainsaw cuts in my time. Worst I ever saw I never worked on, it was my uncles face through the window of a sealed door while he was being kept in a germ free sealed room because the cut was so massive they couldn't dress it at first. That was something I'll never forget.

Anyhow a good wake-up call for everyone, never forget what the saw is about. Glad you weren't hurt badly.
 
Just an aside, my doc friend, who's seen lots of chainsaw injuries, said it's really tough to stitch them because the tissue is usually so mangled.

Yeah, a chainsaw doesn't so much CUT flesh as it does REMOVE flesh, and spit it out like sawdust.
 
Glad it ain't too bad, what kind of saw was it though ?
 
Gee thanks, heck I have'nt even been drinking yet. Saw, what kind of chainsaw was it ?
 
That will slough off soon enough unless those stitches hold it together long enough for a blood flow to be established.
 
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Yeah... it's only a flesh wound... I've ad worse.

I'll be back at work tomorrow... mostly it's just uncomfortable when I move. The stitches are mainly to get it to heal fast. The doc figured steri-strips and betadine would've done the job.

Hey.... does this mean I'm not a rookie anymore? ... or does this mean I'm a rookie for sure.
 
Warning! Picture included.



Yuck. Glad it wasn't worse for your sake and mine.
 
Dang Chip, that was a close one. Keep that thing clean and you'll be in action in no time. Here is my last red badge, from a tiny stub.............I could still use it for all the important stuff. Your the man for no novicaine when getting it stitched up, I bet that really FRICKEN hurt:O
 

Great saw, but they can bite! Ouch, Blinky, glad you had a friend that could sew you up. From the picture you can tell exactly how the chain cut, those three small incisions below the larger one. OUCH. Keep it clean, and let it heal. So glad it was not worse.

:O Be safe out there guys and gals.

Oh, and FYI, we like to give Darin a heads up on pictures like that.
 
Hey.... does this mean I'm not a rookie anymore? ... or does this mean I'm a rookie for sure.
A rookie, for sure. If you grow another eyeball you might see a way to prevent it next time. Shut the saw off sooner, finish with a handsaw, something like that...

No worries though, the hair will grow back over the knee and cover the scar.8)

Wounds are worse news for us bald-bodied boys.
 
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