Kissing a Fool...

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends,

Well, tonight was it; a gentle reminder from my Spyderco Warren Thomas Karambit that regardless of how good I *think* that I am, there is always room for improvement.

I should have known better than to spin a live blade tonight. I spent about two hours during the course of the day practicing with a trainer, spinning, flipping, extending and retracting. Normally this proves no problem, but I noticed towards the end of the practice that I was getting tired and sloppy. Indeed, in a *most* unusual turn of events, I actually tagged myself in the wrist several times towards the end of practice with the trainer. This typically just does not happen to me.

As I was downgearing from the day and unloading my pockets, I pulled out the Spyderco and did a couple of typical spins - nothing unusual - I had done it a thousand times just earlier today.

I dropped my guard for a second - that was sufficient. I lost control of the ring on a retraction and...well, you know the rest.

Granted, I don't train with live blades often, but I *do* train with them occasionally. If you don't, I am of the firm opinion that you can and will get sloppy in your technique. There are no real consequences to being smacked by a trainer.

In any event, the cut was minor and shallow (I regained control of the ring at the second of impact), and a couple of minutes of direct pressure took care of the minimal bleeding.

I patched myself up with a bandage in case the bleeding started again. I then proceeded to pick the live blade back up and execute the techniques I had tried before; I did so with no problem, keeping my head about me this time. A bit of the "hair of the dog that bit me", n'est-ce pas?

Ah, well. Tomorrow is another day. Be well, my friends. My very best to you all!


Warmest regards,


Hannibal Lecter (Karambit Extremist)

[jaislandboy]

*ouch* Hannibal, hope it heals up quickly....

[Lostification]

As my mom would say. "See what happens? Go! GO do it again. Next time cut your whole finger off ! Go, do it again! What were you thinking?"

:o

[David Lowry]

Nice job getting back on the horse after falling off. You gotta get back on and not be afraid. You just have to respect it.

I used to ride Motocross and everytime you get a little too "cocky" the bike would show you who was boss. ;)

Respect.

Nice work Hannibal.

[cobrajoe]

Well Han, you are not the only one to be reminded about the sharpness that can be had by a spydie. I was cutting some packaging foam with my brand new Caly Jr micarta SE today, and wasn't quite careful enough with my off hand. I got a great little slice from the PE portion that didn't start bleeding until I got the band-aid on, then it bled through in aobut a minuite.

I'm gonna love using that little blade :D

Heal quick!

[bigkahunasix]

I can't say a word, I had the same issue with the Scorpions Tail last week.
Now I feel in good company.

In truth it was just showing some jealosy, it watches you play with the trainer
and it wants to play too.

Heal quick my friend.

BK6

[ghostrider]

Glad to hear it wasn't too bad a wound Doc. I should have picked up one of those when they had them discounted.

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: It's plainly spyderco's bloodthirstiest knife. I don't spin mine, I train to use mine in a more standard MBC reverse edge way but I've certainly fed mine my share of blood! :spyder:

[tonydahose]

it bit me too...just playing around and spinning it...no matter how many times i read not to do that..:rolleyes: . glad to hear it wasnt too bad doc.

[Agent Starling]

Glad to hear it was only a minor Spyderbite, Doc. Happy and safe spinning and hope it heals quick. :)

Agent Starling

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends,

I very much appreciate the wishes - no major harm done, other than to my pride and dignity. :D

This morning the point of impact shows itself as a minor puncture wound in an interesting V-shape. It really wasn't the, ahem, discomfort of the initial cut that was so disconcerting; it must have been the unusual "crunch" sound the blade made upon impacting my flesh. :eek: The point of impact is a bit sore this morning, but only if stretched out somewhat by bending my wrist backwards or scraped against something.

I agree that this is positively Spyderco's most bloodthirsty knife of all time; in fact, I have probably heard of more karambit-inflicted lacerations than all other Spyderco cut stories combined.

I feel a bit stupid, really. As I mentioned, I had no business spinning a live blade last night given the fatigue in my hands, and I knew it at the time. My daughter and I had been previously working out some with gloves and target bag, rubber training knives, garrotes, and jo staff, and this workout happened after the two hours of karambit trainer practice on and off all day long (about half of it during my commute). In the grand scheme of things I kind of asked for it. :o

So, this morning I am back to square one again - more karambit practice en route to work. I am very much looking forward to training with KaliGman again this weekend, and I believe karambit is one of the things we will be working on.

I'll let everyone know if I get "kissed" again anytime soon. If I manage to get a significantly worse one I'll provide pics to those interested... :p

--------
Hannibal

[KaliGman]

Sorry to hear about the bite, Hannibal. If you play with live blades long enough, you are going to get kissed. Everyone here knows that I have been known to practice with a live karambit on occasion (I even was nuts enough to film myself doing it:eek:). For those who want to know if I have ever been cut in training--ABSOLUTELY, RESOUNDINGLY YES. Training blades should be used for the majority of blade training, but there does come a time when sharpened steel must be used in training so you are comfortable with the actual tool that you will use in a true self defense scenario, should one arise. As I carry a variety of different knives, depending on my attire, the environment I will be in, what I feel like carrying that day, etc., I have practiced with a lot of different live blades (lately from the Spyderco Lava and Boker Trance size range up through the CAS Iberia Barong short sword range, with Mr. Manix, Mr. Chinook, Mr. Karambit, Mr. Military, et al somewhere in the middle).

We will work on karambit this weekend, Doctor.:cool:

Take care

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Tuhan,


We will work on karambit this weekend, Doctor.:cool:

My anticipation is positively palpable... :D

--------
Hannibal

[Piet.S]

Must have been a lovebite, K'bits are very passionate.
What it might be capable of in anger is better not imagined shortly before bedtime.
You are in good company Sir, quite a few good people have been K''bitten''.

[zenheretic]

It really wasn't the, ahem, discomfort of the initial cut that was so disconcerting; it must have been the unusual "crunch" sound the blade made upon impacting my flesh. :eek:

That was just scar tissue from the numerous past spyder bites, nothing to be worried about....





:D

[KaliGman]

That was just scar tissue from the numerous past spyder bites, nothing to be worried about....


:D

That was evil. Wish I had thought of it:D.

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends Zen and KaliGman,


That was evil. Wish I had thought of it:D.

I feel the love, guys. I really do. :rolleyes:

ROTFLMAO!

--------
Hannibal

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends,

I am just today in receipt of a gift from one of our esteemed forum family, Doc Snubnose. He thought I might enjoy experimenting with a Mantis Karambit and so graciously sent one to me for my evaluation and play. :D

After a quick deburring of the sharp corners (I spin the things pretty hard and if there is a sharp corner on it I will find it - painfully so) I proceeded to do a few extensions and retractions. So far so good.

Guess what happened next?

Yes, my dear friends, you guessed it. While worrying too much about the state of the dessert in the oven for KaliGman's visit tomorrow, I lost my presence of mind and promptly cut myself. Again. :rolleyes:

Very minor, and no crunching noise this time! LOL! I must have missed the existing scar tissue - I am instead generating more!

I will say this karambit is *very* nice - I find that I prefer smaller rings on my karambits and this one is similar in size to the Emersons I have handled (I have comparatively small hands for a male). Very fast with no oscillation on the spins at all.

After applying a band-aid I proceeded to pay a bit more attention and started spinning again - *very* nice indeed. I touched up the edge a bit (smart move, hmmm?) and have it in the left front pocket, zip-tied.

My sincerest appreciation to Doc Snubnose for the gift!

--------
Hannibal

P.S. - By the way, friends - does anyone manufacture a wrist guard for karambit-spinners? Sort of like training wheels for the karambit? ROTFLMAO!

[Piet.S]

P.S. - By the way, friends - does anyone manufacture a wrist guard for karambit-spinners? Sort of like training wheels for the karambit? ROTFLMAO!

Sure, Medieval style wrist protection.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n202/Piet-S/pef_745pols.jpg

Available at re-enectment suppliers.

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,




Sure, Medieval style wrist protection.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n202/Piet-S/pef_745pols.jpg

Available at re-enectment suppliers.

Now THAT'S funny! LOL!

--------
Hannibal

[bigkahunasix]

My Friend, Are you sure you do not want me to send a gross of bandaids
instead of the Ayoob? Or maybe a quart of Nu-Skin. My wife just offered to
knit you 2 wrist covers, but she only has PINK yarn, is that ok?:rolleyes:

BK6 :p :D :p :D

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear BK6,


My Friend, Are you sure you do not want me to send a gross of bandaids instead of the Ayoob? Or maybe a quart of Nu-Skin. My wife just offered to knit you 2 wrist covers, but she only has PINK yarn, is that ok?:rolleyes:

BK6 :p :D :p :D

The Ayoob will be fine, my friend, since I can't spin it. I should mention that I am well-stocked on band-aids for the moment, not that I expect that condition to last at the rate I am going. :p

Please extend your Lady my sincerest appreciation for the offer of the wrist covers; if she can get the yarn Kevlar-reinforced then pink would be more than satisfactory...

--------
Hannibal