C Craft
Well-Known Member
Haven't hit a lick in the shop or on much of anything else since I stuck a machete in my ankle 5 weeks ago. I had some vines on the fence that my neighbor installed 20 yrs ago. The place has changed hands three times since I have lived here and the last one was bad about keeping the place cleaned up! A fence line in Florida that isn't cleaned regularly is just a brier vine and small tree haven! So one of the neighbors tree had fallen across the fence on my side and even though I had mentioned it to them six months later it is still there. The place just sold again and figuring the new owner shouldn't be responsible for what the last one was too lazy to take care of. So I decided to clean it up and while working on it the discovered that the vines were getting on my side.
So I went to get my machete and the plan was to cut the vines and pull the fence back up! The machete was not cutting well so I took it back to the shop and sharpened it. Came back and man it was going thru the vines like hot butter. I was standing parallel to the fence and swinging between the fence and my body in a downward motion!
Then I went thru a vine and hit the fence that was doubled under where the tree had pushed it down. The fence kicked the swing of the machete sideways. I was doing well to control the swing but at the bottom of the swing it slipped from my gloved hand. I felt a pain in my ankle and wasn't sure I wanted to look down or not!
When I did look down the machete was sticking in the ground along side of my foot! That is when I noticed the piece of flesh about the size of a 50 cent piece hanging from my leg. So I walked into the house and hollered at my wife to give me a hand. Well I take blood thinners for my heart and I was hot, so needless to say the place was bleeding. I had left the kind of blood trail you like to see when hunting but the kind the will freak out the wife.
After I got it sterilized I pushed the chunk of skin and flesh back into the ankle and bandaged it! With the wife's help and her telling me every few seconds that I needed to go to the emergency room!
It has been slow to heal as that is the leg they took the veins from when they did my quadruple bypass about 6 yrs ago now! That leg has never has as good of circulation since and and then it got a small infection and etc., etc.
The moral to this story is a sharp machete will cut you without hurting much, so be sure of what is beyond what you are swinging at!!! Also I have never been too much on the idea of thongs on a knife but when I get where I able to get in to the shop again there will be a thong put on that machete!!!
I will be so glad when this thing gets healed and hopefully my yard won't take over the house before I get where I can mow it again! LOL Sometime laughing is about all you got left!!:biggrin:
So I went to get my machete and the plan was to cut the vines and pull the fence back up! The machete was not cutting well so I took it back to the shop and sharpened it. Came back and man it was going thru the vines like hot butter. I was standing parallel to the fence and swinging between the fence and my body in a downward motion!
Then I went thru a vine and hit the fence that was doubled under where the tree had pushed it down. The fence kicked the swing of the machete sideways. I was doing well to control the swing but at the bottom of the swing it slipped from my gloved hand. I felt a pain in my ankle and wasn't sure I wanted to look down or not!
When I did look down the machete was sticking in the ground along side of my foot! That is when I noticed the piece of flesh about the size of a 50 cent piece hanging from my leg. So I walked into the house and hollered at my wife to give me a hand. Well I take blood thinners for my heart and I was hot, so needless to say the place was bleeding. I had left the kind of blood trail you like to see when hunting but the kind the will freak out the wife.
After I got it sterilized I pushed the chunk of skin and flesh back into the ankle and bandaged it! With the wife's help and her telling me every few seconds that I needed to go to the emergency room!
It has been slow to heal as that is the leg they took the veins from when they did my quadruple bypass about 6 yrs ago now! That leg has never has as good of circulation since and and then it got a small infection and etc., etc.
The moral to this story is a sharp machete will cut you without hurting much, so be sure of what is beyond what you are swinging at!!! Also I have never been too much on the idea of thongs on a knife but when I get where I able to get in to the shop again there will be a thong put on that machete!!!
I will be so glad when this thing gets healed and hopefully my yard won't take over the house before I get where I can mow it again! LOL Sometime laughing is about all you got left!!:biggrin:
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