God Bless Karl Elsner !

[Styerman]

Funny thing happened to me on the way to the Forum . For the last few weeks I have been deeply ionvolved in a renovation project , on a bulidging thats been abandoned for eighteen years . I have been trying to rehabilitate the drain lines , much sediment has hardened up in the lines , and most of the large bore copper pipe has been stolen ( always in the worst possible places ). I have been spending long hours with drain augers of various sizes and types .

Long story short , bout 7 hours into an eight hour shift , I got the slightly frayed cuff of my work glove caught in the cable 0f a 5/8" "Electric Eel " drain auger . Took my foot off the dead man switch , machine still went about another three turns . The gauntlet got very tightly wrapped round my right wrist . I couldnt reach the reversing switch , or orient it possitivley , circulation felt totally cut off . In effect I was in one hell of a tight arm bar . I yelled for help , no response .

With some difficulty , I was able to reach the rescue tool on my right hip . ( I was wearing a work belt over bib front overalls , items were hard to orient possitrivley ) . I readily got the rescue blade open against a seam of the overalls . It proved to be ideal for sliding into the body of the glove , and slitting he palm and finger sections open . I now only had a trapped thumb , and circulation restored to the rest of the hand . By this time my hand was fish belly white , obviously no circulation ! I then made a couple of cuts to free my thumb .

Just a bad scare and a nasty bruise !

 No other blade on site could have done as neat a job of freeing my hand , while being one handed open , and operated in a challenging left handed position . If any of the box cutter/utility knives on site had come into play , I would have probably got severely lacerated , probably requiring a lot of stitching , and very likley a NASTY  infection ( we are talking anchient drain lines - lots of nasty bugs ! ) . The Vicki. had the perfect ergonomics and blade profile for the job . A regular SAK , or Swisstool RS would not have worked as I would not have been able to open it one handed . and the ergonomics wouldnt have been right for the job .

Bottom line , the near perfect ergonomics probably saved my hand from anything ranging from loss , to serious injury .

I took a number of lessons from the incident , I am now much more chossy about glove type and fit for different tasks . I now carry my rescue tool in one of two places - left front hip , when dressed in shirt and trousers ( pouch properly "squared away " so it remains oriented ) , or the breast pocket of overall or bib overalls . Obviously ambidexterous access is a must !

Had I been a law abiding Englishman , I prolly wouldnt have dared carry such a tool as part of my daily round . What constitutes a "good reason " afterall ...  In that case , I would have been very seriously hurt - lawmakers and LEO's take note - there are many totally legitimate uses for one hand opening folders !

God bless the Elsner family , thank God I can still give you guys two thumbs up !

Chris

Othere rescue knives simply have the wrong blade shape and tip profile for the job .

[Anthony]

Wow awesome story! 

Makes me want to research rescue blades for EDC.

[WhichDawg]

eeeep! glad you came out okay mate
good story and outcome, do you still have the cut up gloves?
I'm a little confused how you did it and why that style blade worked
but am glad it did!

[Styerman]

When machine came to rest , my right hand was wrapped but good , palm aspect upwards . I forced the blade under/into the glove , with the  curved spine against the flesh , and cut upwards and outwards .

Still got the glove - was a freebie that came with a Rigid /Kholman 3/8 " drain gun , cuff frayed on lengthy contact with water . Totally unsuited for that type of work !

The last few minutes were witnessed by a  lovable , but rather flustered British trained master electrician . Wanted to have at the situation with a Stanly utility knife - most likley would have slipped off the stainless cable , and cut the crap outta me ! Despite his trade qualification , and considerable time spent as a boy scout leader - had no clue how to use a pocket knife under stress .

Chris

[WhichDawg]

I got it! wow and kudos to you for being prepared!

[Styerman]

Not my debut at accidents , tho mostly I have dealt with those that happen to others . Have also done quite a bit of cutting involving animals and birds trapped in monofiliment , etc .

While I can get very upset and tatally disfunctional at some everyday domestic an financial challenges , I tend to keep pretty cool for the really nasty stuff . Character deffect I guess .

As a personal tribute to all Elners great and small , I plan to pull the trigger on a  Swisstool RS .

Chris

[silentio]

Wow... glad it ended up ok for you. Now I'm thinking if I should carry my OHT more. The only thing that's stopping me is that it doesn't have a clip.

[J-sews]

Wow, scary story Chris! That could easily have turned out a lot worse. Just imagine if you had been carrying a knife less-suited for rescue.....or even worse, no knife at all. It just goes to prove that one always needs to be prepared for the unexpected. 

[Leatherman123]

Great story, Chris!

[Styerman]

I truly wish leglislators and LEO,s would listen to me . There are many legitimate reasons to be prepared for the unexpected . Calling 911 and screaming like a schoolgirl is not always a viable option .

Chris

[Benner]

Glad to hear the RS served you well. 

[Biru]

This is EXACTLY the reason one-handed opening blades are so important. I don't know if it's the myopic view that a one-hand blade is merely a tactical fancy or what, but actual TOOLS can benefit from a one-hand blade, especially ambidextrous ones. I don't fancy my Wave half as much as my Swisstool, but I can't get over the lack of a one-hand blade. Freeing yourself from wedged seatbelts after an accident, cutting a climbing rope or even slicing a wild animal during an attack (don't laugh-been there close but didn't have to use the blade) are all situations where a one-hand blade shows its use.

I'm glad you emerged relatively unscathed. Best of luck, Bill.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I agree- I was thinking last night that I would have loved to have had a one handed opening flathead screwdriver on my Surge.

Def

[Roadie]

Great story! And i'm glad you got out of it

I agree- I was thinking last night that I would have loved to have had a one handed opening flathead screwdriver on my Surge.

Def

Can't you get at the tools one handed? I can with my Wave and would have thought it would be just the same as the Surge (with a slight adjustment for size and weight )

[Biru]

I've been mulling mounting some kind of thumbstud or upside-down metal "L" to the blades of my Swisstool. I didn't know if you were kidding about the Wave tools or not, Roadie. I carry the old Wave daily and the inside tools are practically impossible to access, especially the flats. Still, the OH knives alone are the reason I carry it.

[Dunc]

Thats a great story and I'm so glad it worked out ok  Just goes to show how good Victorinox products are really capable .

Dunc

[Roadie]

I didn't know if you were kidding about the Wave tools or not, Roadie. I carry the old Wave daily and the inside tools are practically impossible to access, especially the flats. Still, the OH knives alone are the reason I carry it.

I was serious, its not quick but i can get at all the tools with one hand, I was talking about the New Wave though, the old one is as you say nigh on impossible!

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Great story mate, and i'm glad you've still got all your digets to let us all know how good the Vic really is