[TheForge] Rodent Wrist

[gblacksmith]

Philip:  No surprises on the electric knives....they suck as hand tools.  I 
make number of special order meat slicing knives, usually from ATS 34 or 
L-6.  Based on customer feedback and looking at packing-house knives, I use 
a design with an upswept point section and an elliptical grind, which my 
customers say is fatigue free.  I could just imagine carving that many 
roasts with an electric knife, which would really be unwieldy on the 
draw-cut.  The pain must have been awful, and compounded by the vibration of 
the knife.  Well, you're and expert on knife fatigue now......at no small 
cost.  Take care of that wrist.  Grant
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phlip" <phlip at 99main.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 7:38 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Rodent Wrist


>
> Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...
>
>> My rodent wrist has gotten worse, I spent the afternoon at the ER, I was
>> doing some hammering and lost my grip on the hammer. My wrist swollen up
>> and then I went to the ER. They gave me some anti-inflamitories and told
> me
>> to keep my appointment with my hand doctor.
>> Plus they told me to stop hammer, telling an artist of fire and iron to 
>> do
>> that, you might as well pee on my anvil.
>>
>> Jerry, better known as lefty
>
> Jerry, I don't know if this will help, but it may be worth a try. At 
> least,
> it's not very expensive ;-) Yesterday, I was helping cook for a big SCA
> event, and, since I'm pretty good at carving, I was put to carving up the 
> 21
> beef roasts for the second course. I was supplied with an electric knife,
> which, bar none, was the most ergonimicly incorrect tool I have every 
> tried
> to use. In addition to its handle, which was WAY too large (and yes, I 
> have
> fairly large hands), it had a safety switch on it that required you to 
> hold
> it strangely, in addition to pulling the trigger, and to top things off, 
> the
> blade was angled oddly, so in addition to my wrist being in a bind, my 
> whole
> arm was configured oddly, so everything else was tiring rapidly as well.
>
> The first roast was doable, but uncomfortable. By the third roast the pain
> started. By the 6th roast, I had to check with the Head Cook on the 
> intended
> timimg, and take a break- I was in so much pain that I couldn't continue-
> and I don't have anything in partiular wrong with my wrist- and I have a
> fairly high pain tolerance.
>
> At the suggestion of one of the other cooks, I borrowed a wrist brace from
> Jaji, the head cook. All it was, was a black and elasticized band that
> velcroed closed, and supported my wrist.
>
> It was wonderful. Not only was I able to pick up the damned electric knife
> and continue, but I was able to finish the other 15 roasts conveniently, 
> and
> use my wrist fror the other things that needed doing (when you're cooking
> for 200 people, you don't use 1 qt saucepans - a lot of the equipment is
> pretty bloody huge- 20 gallon stockpots and the like ;-)
>
> At the end of the event, I asked Jaji about the bands, and they're for 
> sale
> at Walmart for about $12, in the section dealing with things like 
> ergonomic
> shoe inserts, near the pharmacy.
>
> My suggestion, then, is two-fold:
>
> Have someone watch you when you're hammering next time, to make sure 
> you're
> using your biceps to do the work, instead of your wrists- many people 
> hammer
> wrong- males are particularly susceptible to doing that sort of thing,
> because you tend to be able to compensate for inefficient movements with
> your larger muscle mass- was very obvious in horseshoeing school.
>
> And second, try one of those wrist braces. At the price, it's worth 
> finding
> out if they'll either help, or maybe even cause your wrist problems to
> disappear. A little support can be a wonderful thing ;-)
>
> Saint Phlip,
> CoD
>
> "When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
> Blacksmith's credo.
>
> If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
> cat.
>
> Never a horse that cain't be rode,
> And never a rider who cain't be throwed....
>
>
>
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