No. 11's are quite sharp. They will cut into the meat of your thumb if you are holding something and pulling the blade towards you. ANOTHER LESSON LEARNED FOR THE LLL. Does this qualify as a sports injury???
Ouch! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter how many years we've been at this hobby, (sport?), the unintended occasional slice seems to still happen. Boxcab E50
I drove a number 17 X-Acto knife blade (the chiesel blade) through my left thumb while removing detail parts off a switcher shell. It went in one side, and came out the other. I bled like a stuck pig and uttered four of the Seven Dirty Words , but the wound healed. I now have a spot on my left thumb that shows parralel scars, with the skin in between still attached to the thumb, but lacking feeling. I've also worked with surgical scalpel blades (I AM in healthcare), and the sharpness between those & X_Acto are about the same. Translation: they both draw blood real well! This could also qualify as one of the Stupid Mistakes listed in the N Scale forum. Could this be the beginning of a thread called "Stupid Model Railroader Tricks"?
YIKES!! Boy does that bring back some vivid memories. Wish I had a dime for everytime I've stabbed myself. At least when it happens with a new blade it cuts fast and you don't feel it, as well as less chance of infection from god-knows-what on the blade. Nothing like the realization that that #11 is barried halfway to the handle in my palm. I'm suprized I haven't seriously maimed myself. BTW: If you get hurt while working on the railroad, does that qualify for workmans compensation???
I just love how the #1 handle will roll off the desk and impale the blade straight into the floor. Only once was I barefoot!!
Yes but have you noticed that when they roll of your work space they always head for a foot. I moved my foot so it wouldn't hit it and it went right up to the handle into the other foot. As others have said, thank goodness they are really sharp as you don't really feel the cut; but they seem to draw more blood than any other cutting tool.
Jim- String a bunch of cups around your ankles to catch the blood dripping from higher up. In that way, you may either recycle or use it for weathering gondolas after it dries and you pulverize the same.
I know this about X-acto. I have matching scars on the pads of both index fingers, one needed stitches it was so bad.I use those rubber triangular pencils holders for my exacto handles now so they wont roll away.
My favorite story is about a phone conversation I over heard in a train shop. The guy behind the counter was talking to a customer on the phone about an order. The customer was at their work station while on the phone. This is what I heard the train shop guy say. "Oh, are you OK?" "Well, you better pull it out and clean up the wound." "Ewww, I heard that. I think it squeeked!"
One solution I like is to take those big, fat grammar school square erasers and put them on the end of the round handle. That way, the knife won't roll. You can do the same thing with a piece of styrene, but the eraser holds better to the handle.
I never did that with an Xacto knife, but I did manage to ruin my thumbnail with a pocket knife. It will never grow right again.
not that i know from experience but a dremel with a cutting wheel is also sharp, can cause a person to require 4 stitches!!
Best thing is always keep some super glue handy. When you cut yourself slap some on and it seals up the cut. I know from experience. Dan
My experience: I was about 14, and my younger brother (12) had an Ozzy Ozbourne hat that I sought revenge on (for some legitimate reason I'm sure). So I put the part of the hat that goes on your head over my knee and pulled the bill towards me - to make it taut. The I proceeded to impale the hat at the seam of the bill and the cap part with sharp downward jabs in order to seperate the two parts. I was using the #28 curved blade (yes, that's the curved one used for curved shaping) Can you guess what happens next? Let's just say it DOES reach an artery in the upper thigh region.
I've nailed myself bad a few times, very clean cuts and hard to stop the bleeding, great way to alter yer fingerprints !
I have cut myself on x-acto blades a few times. One lesson learned was that even though it hurts when you cut yourself, it is more painfull to realize that you just stained part of your layout with blood where you didn't care to have red!
By the sounds of things, we could have a Trainboard get-together at our local hospital's emergency room Between us and the docs, we could keep each other in stitches. We could be the craziest bunch of cut-ups the nurses ever saw.
