Have you ever noticed

[Jeepnik]

So, I had a very small project that I just finished. Simply putting a cane holder on my scooter. No problem, take off the armrest and slip the clips between the rest and the arm. But of course, the holes in the clips are too small for the bolts that hold down the armrest. No problem, just make the holes ever so slightly larger.

Grab the drill and the appropriate size bit and go at it. Of course the first attempt results in the bit binding twisting the drill and busting open the knuckle of my index finger and thumb. Then amazingly after that everything were smoothly.

My dad had a saying, and it's always proved true. "Blood is the lubricant of a successful job."

 

[bigbillyboy]

I will say this , your father's saying rings true , I would say at minimum , I draw blood at least twice a week at my job . If you throw in oxcy - acetylene torches and the burns , oh well you guys that work with your hands get it ......

 

[Ale-8(1)]

For me, it has always been that no project is complete until at least one person is bleeding . . . usually me.

 

[Fox Mike]

Seems as though no matter what leather project I am working on I manage to draw blood and have to stop so as not to stain the leather. I won't even talk about working on anything mechanical; blood is a given.

 

[Mobuck]

The skin that regrows after serious burns gives new meaning to 'thin and tender'. Anything and I mean ANYTHING can/will cause a bloody snag.

 

[Jeepnik]

Don't know if it's old age, or as mentioned the skin that grew back after I coated my hands with molten sulfur. But the skin on my hands tears really easy. I try to wear gloves, but all too often I just don't have the dexterity when wearing gloves to do what I want.

 

[blume357]

I learned years ago to never ever near the end of a job say or think, "well at least I have not cut myself on this one......."

 

[Mobuck]

Jeepnik, I wear gloves 90% of time outdoors. My hands don't 'tan' so have to prevent sun exposure in addition to the tender skin. I use the cheap leather palm/stretchy fabric back gloves and often go through a pair in 7-10 days (duct tape patches add a few days) but at least they provide a layer of protection. Moving up in both dexterity and cost, Son bought me a couple pairs of 'FLEXILLA' gloves this summer. They're great but I can't justify the expense for everyday use.

 

[redfernclan]

I spent 10 years as a diesel mechanic working at a saw mill in my younger years. I remember looking forward to vacation because it gave my hands a chance to heal.

 

[contender]

Miss Penny says I need to stop doing the things I do because she sees the bandaids, or scabs or whatever from my daily work. I got lucky yesterday,, only 3 small bleeders. Nothing bad. And I have a fingernail that has been slowly getting replaced from a good smashing 2 months ago. Then there's the,,,,,,,,,!

 

[RoninPA]

When I come in from clearing brush (and wild raspberry bushes that aren't producing anymore) the wife yells at me when she sees my arms and asks why didn't I put on a long sleeve shirt. I just say "Didn't think about it - but I did wear my leather gloves" and show her my hands. "See not a mark on them" and shes throws something at me . Like the times I helped my FIL put up hay on his ranch at Clark, CO (at about 7250 ft in the Rockies), I wore short sleeve shirts and my arms got tore up - but long sleeves were just to dang hot.

 

[Randyzzz]

My go-to saying is “It ain’t yours till you bleed on it”.

Let’s see…I’ve currently got a tear on my left hand middle finger knuckle that’s finally healing up after re-opening it a gazillion times. And the blisters on my right palm, thumb, index finger and middle finger are just about gone with some tender pink skin taking their place. I won’t even start on smashed toes and blisters…

 

[coachk64]

I'm well-known in my company for leaving my DNA on anything that I work on. And since the things I work on are made of sheet metal and are used to heat oil, there are plenty of opportunities for minor injuries.

 

[AJGUNNER]

For me it would have been at least 3 trips from shop to house trying to find a battery that had any life in it. Then I would have grabbed a corded drill, but then probably would have needed to fetch an extension cord.

 

[Fox Mike]

Jeepnik, I wear gloves 90% of time outdoors. My hands don't 'tan' so have to prevent sun exposure in addition to the tender skin. I use the cheap leather palm/stretchy fabric back gloves and often go through a pair in 7-10 days (duct tape patches add a few days) but at least they provide a layer of protection. Moving up in both dexterity and cost, Son bought me a couple pairs of 'FLEXILLA' gloves this summer. They're great but I can't justify the expense for everyday use.

Look into military flight gloves. Leather palms and nomex cloth backs. Thin, comfortable, warm in winter, but not hot in summer, and last quite a long time.

 

[Jeepnik]

Look into military flight gloves. Leather palms and nomex cloth backs. Thin, comfortable, warm in winter, but not hot in summer, and last quite a long time.

Used those for the entire time I was in the air force. Whether in flight or under our silver gloves. We'd hook the silvers to our proximity suit sleeves and when we needed more dexterity we could just shake the silvers off and still have some hand protection. The problem with the leather palmed nomex gloves was in order to have the best "feel" possible they were subject to tearing and even snagging on things. For pilots, there are intentionally very few sharp items in a cockpit.

 

[Watertender]

My hands have always had cuts and scrapes on them.
One time I was repairing a dental unit and sliced the entire top of my middle finger off on a sharp edge inside the cover.
I wrapped my finger in a wet paper towel and secured it with electrical tape. I finished the repair and asked the dentists secretary where I could go to get my finger put back on.
She freaked out and then told me where to go. The place she sent me was in an old bank building from the 1920's that had a Westinghouse elevator that creaked and rattled as I rode it to the 7th floor.
The doctor was an old timer who had been a combat doctor in WW2 and Korea. He was smoking a big old stogie and had a permanent hole in the side of his mouth where the cigar rested. He put a set of hemostats on the stogie and put on gloves.
The guy was so gentle as he sewed my finger back on and explained everything as he was doing it. He told me that he was going to sew it loosely instead of tight so I could bend the finger after it healed. He gave me a tetanus shot and a handful of antibiotics and pain pills in a couple of small envelopes and sent me on my way.
This was on a Thursday so I missed work on Friday and went right back to work the next Monday.
I was engaged to my 1st wife at the time and she fussed over me so much for the 3 days that I was off. She was so intent on taking care of me that we ended up getting married within the next couple of months because her nursing care started our family early shall we say!!

 

[Fox Mike]

The problem with the leather palmed nomex gloves was in order to have the best "feel" possible they were subject to tearing and even snagging on things. For pilots, there are intentionally very few sharp items in a cockpit.

On flight status from 1971 till 1997. Spent LOTS of time dodging sharp and pointy things. Never tore a glove. I still use them today as driving gloves.

 

[Jeepnik]

On flight status from 1971 till 1997. Spent LOTS of time dodging sharp and pointy things. Never tore a glove. I still use them today as driving gloves.

It ended to be around broken glass & plexiglass, torn steel and so on. The silvers were all but impervious to that stuff. But some time you just sacrificed your gloves but got to keep your skin intact.

You could drive the crash rigs in a proximity suit but not with the gloves. So when you were driving it was just nomex. I found out why things were done that way when a hot brake blew and took out the driver side window of an 011-B.

 

[Gopher]

Why is it always the fingers on the left hand?

 

[Jeepnik]

Are you left handed?

 

[RoninPA]

I loved my flight gloves (I got them from friends who were C-5 loadmasters and crew chiefs and they could get as many as they wanted. Still have several new pairs but I repair my old ones until I can't. I did find on Amazon leather gloves that replicated flight gloves and got some and they were nice and really not expensive. Wore them out and now need to refind them. Until them I wear the flight gloves for specific tasks as to not wear them out.