I was chopping down some elephant grass in the front yard with my Craftsman handsaw but had difficulty cutting it. It is very difficult to cut down, it's as strong as small bamboo. If it's not cut down every spring, it will die. I tried using my Fiskars (AKA Gerber) Brush Hook machete, and a chop deflected it up off the hard grass and into my hand before I could react. I had a lanyard on the sharp knife to act as a mechanical advantage as a longer lever for greater force; with a half grip on the very end of the handle with the 550 cord lanyard around the wrist aiding in the retention of the chopper. The bad news is, this also caused me to be unable to release the knife as it deflected, and the momentum continued it into my hand, before I could react it had hit me. I was unable to stop, much like when you think you can brace yourself for a car impact, but later when it happens you find out that you can't. I felt the impact, which was a numbing in my hand. I was afraid to look at first, and I hoped I had been hit below the blade at the top of the handle, because it was numb and didn't hurt very bad. I looked and saw that I'd been cut, realizing the strait edge at the bottom of the blade did it. If it had been closer to the end when it impacted, it would have been a force multiplier for greater damage. Worse still if it had hit at the very end, where the hook is. It has a curved edge, and causes a shearing affect as it cuts. The curve causes all the energy to be focused on a smaller area which moves as the curve forces it to as it chops, much like a kurkri. I tried to hold my hand steady to minimize bleeding, and hurried to the house, leaving a dripping blood trail on the way. Dad drove me to the hospital, and I ended up getting 9 stitches. The numbing solution they injected me with felt like boiling water. I was chopping down some elephant grass in the front yard with my Craftsman handsaw but had difficulty cutting it. It is very difficult to cut down, it's as strong as small bamboo. If it's not cut down every spring, it will die. I tried using my Fiskars (AKA Gerber) Brush Hook machete, and a chop deflected it up off the hard grass and into my hand before I could react. I had a lanyard on the sharp knife to act as a mechanical advantage as a longer lever for greater force; with a half grip on the very end of the handle with the 550 cord lanyard around the wrist aiding in the retention of the chopper. The bad news is, this also caused me to be unable to release the knife as it deflected, and the momentum continued it into my hand, before I could react it had hit me. I was unable to stop, much like when you think you can brace yourself for a car impact, but later when it happens you find out that you can't. I felt the impact, which was a numbing in my hand. I was afraid to look at first, and I hoped I had been hit below the blade at the top of the handle, because it was numb and didn't hurt very bad. I looked and saw that I'd been cut, realizing the strait edge at the bottom of the blade did it. If it had been closer to the end when it impacted, it would have been a force multiplier for greater damage. Worse still if it had hit at the very end, where the hook is. It has a curved edge, and causes a shearing affect as it cuts. The curve causes all the energy to be focused on a smaller area which moves as the curve forces it to as it impacts, much like a kurkri.I might have lost fingers or my hand if it had hit there. I tried to hold my hand steady to minimize bleeding, and hurried to the house, leaving a dripping blood trail on the way. Dad drove me to the hospital, and I ended up getting 9 stitches. The numbing solution they injected me with felt like boiling water.

I was chopping down some elephant grass in the front yard, and after my Craftsman handsaw had difficulty cutting it, I tried using my Fiskars (AKA Gerber) Brush Hook machete, and a chop deflected it up off the hard grass, and into my hand before I could react. I had a lanyard on the sharp knife to act as a mechanical advantage as a longer lever for greater force; with a half grip on the very end of the handle with the 550 cord lanyard around the wrist aiding in the retention of the chopper. The bad news is, this also caused me to be unable to release the knife as it deflected, and the momentum continued it into my hand, before I could react it had hit me. I was unable to stop, much like when you think you can brace yourself for a car impact, but later when it happens you find out that you can't. I felt the impact, which was a numbing in my hand. I was afraid to look at first, and I hoped I had been hit below the blade at the top of the handle, because it was numb and didn't hurt very bad. I looked and saw that I'd been cut, realizing the straite edge at the bottom of the blade did it. If it had been closer to the end when it impacted, it would have been a force multiplier for greater damage. Worse still at the very end, where the hook is. It has a curved edge, and causes a shearing affect as it cuts, because the curve causes all the energy to be focused on a smaller area which moves as the curve forces it to as it chops, much like a kurkri. I tried to hold my hand steady to minimize bleeding. I was chopping down some elephant grass in the front yard with my Craftsman handsaw but had difficulty cutting it. It is very difficult to cut down, it's as strong as small bamboo. If it's not cut down every spring, it will die. I tried using my Fiskars (AKA Gerber) Brush Hook machete, and a chop deflected it up off the hard grass and into my hand before I could react. I had a lanyard on the sharp knife to act as a mechanical advantage as a longer lever for greater force; with a half grip on the very end of the handle with the 550 cord lanyard around the wrist aiding in the retention of the chopper. The bad news is, this also caused me to be unable to release the knife as it deflected, and the momentum continued it into my hand, before I could react it had hit me. I was unable to stop, much like when you think you can brace yourself for a car impact, but later when it happens you find out that you can't. I felt the impact, which was a numbing in my hand. I was afraid to look at first, and I hoped I had been hit below the blade at the top of the handle, because it was numb and didn't hurt very bad. I looked and saw that I'd been cut, realizing the strait edge at the bottom of the blade did it. If it had been closer to the end when it impacted, it would have been a force multiplier for greater damage. Worse still if it had hit at the very end, where the hook is. It has a curved edge, and causes a shearing affect as it cuts. The curve causes all the energy to be focused on a smaller area which moves as the curve forces it to as it impacts, much like a kurkri.I might have lost fingers or my hand if it had hit there. I tried to hold my hand steady to minimize bleeding, and hurried to the house, leaving a dripping blood trail on the way. Dad drove me to the hospital, and I ended up getting 9 stitches. The numbing solution they injected me with felt like boiling water.