Vigilance: AKA Don't be a dumbass like me

**The Stig** · 05-11-2011, 07:31 PM

So last night I was using the chainsaw to cut out some sapling/small trees and general underbrush.

I had worked for about two hours and was getting tired so I decided to set the saw down and just spend the rest of the time cleaning out junk by hand.

After 5 minutes of that I got into a section of saplings that was covered in grapevine. Having a flash of brilliance I decide to fire the chainsaw up one last time to make several large cuts of the hundreds of vines/small tree trunks.

Guess where this is going.....

So in the process of this I turn in such a way that I get my upper thigh under the blade. I just felt the prick of the blade as I pulled the saw back up.

Glancing down by sweat soaked BDU's now had an inch long tear and blood began seeping through.

Swell.

Turns out I got very very very lucky and only nicked myself. I've had worse shaving cuts.

But I won't lie...scared the crap out of me.

It was also a good reminder to:
1) Listen to yourself when you know you are getting tired

2) That had I really laid myself open I was thirty yards from the house and would have bled out before I got there

3) I was a dumbass for not having a first aid kit while working with a chainsaw (despite having $10,000 of medical gear inside the house).

4) Had this been post hurricane cleanup or some other similar SHTF event I would have been royally F'd. No calling 911 then.

So let my stupidity be a lesson to you fellow preppers.

**mitunnelrat** · 05-11-2011, 08:35 PM

I'm glad to hear that it wasn't more serious, and thank you for sharing. I've heard it said that a smart man learns from his experience, and wise men learn from the experience of others. Being comfortable enough to share our mistakes provides golden opportunites for others to learn in ways success stories cannot impart.

A thought though, aren't there chaps now designe to deflect saw blades? If you're cutting often enought that may be a reasonable proactive response to just such an issue, where trauma supplies are, by their nature, reactive.

By the way, I hadn't read this thread yet when I commented on "sharpening the saw" in the other thread. Bad timing on my part.

**RedJohn** · 05-11-2011, 10:12 PM

Man, this is a lesson learned. I am glad it is all OK with you.

**alaska** · 05-12-2011, 02:03 AM

Glad all is well.
also, you made up my mind for me. Ya know I have a couple of these 2 way radios. The other day I knew I would be moving some stuff by my self and almost turned on the kitchen one and took one of the alternates with me. I was like " naaaaaa" im only gonna be about 30 or so yards from the front door. I wont take it for granted again. Shit happens that quick.

This is the kind of interaction and discussions that we all come here for. Awesome Awesome Awesome
Again, glad your ok and thanks for sharing

**bacpacker** · 05-12-2011, 02:50 AM

Glad you are OK Stig. That woulda scared the crap outta me. I don't use my saw a huge amount each year and have gotten to the point I will not use it more than an hour at a strech and not more than 4 hours a day with decent amount of breaks in between. Chainsaws are so dangerous and I don't use them enough to stay in shape for using them for long streches at a time.
I don't have chaps, but after reading this post I am considering getting a pair.

**biggcarl** · 05-12-2011, 05:39 PM

About 10 years a family friends' nephew, who used a chainsaw often, cut his femoral artery. Bleed out before before he even reached the car. He was only in his early to mid 20's. Every time I pick up a chainsaw, I pause, say a quick prayer and think of him. I can't tell you the number of times I start to do something not correct with the saw and see his face. I immediately stop and correct myself. I have a very healthy respect and fear of chainsaws.