The knife and the victim in recovery...
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A cautionary tale...don't say I didn't warn you.
I'm in the kitchen last night, slicing a piece of ham for a snackie. Stupidly, I have this little boneless ham with the cut side up, the rounded end down, holding it with my left hand, and I'm slicing TOWARD MY LEFT HAND--not cutting downward--with a good, sharp knife in my right hand. I get the first two slices without a problem, and as I'm cutting the third slice, I'm thinking, "better be careful, you need to let up on the knife before you finish that slice, otherwise..."
And the knife slips out of the ham and slices the top of my left index finger, between the nail and the first joint. The knife is so sharp that I feel the pain well before the bleeding starts. In fact, I'm able to apply pressure before ANY bleeding starts. I do that for 5 minutes. When I release the pressure, I start to get some bleeding...I clean it as best I can and apply a Band-Aid. And my finger is throbbing for the rest of the evening.
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In the next few days, you're going to be using (hopefully) a very sharp knife to carve a very large turkey. You're going to be in a hurry and under a lot of pressure. All the side dishes are ready, everyone is hungry, Uncle Dave is watching your carving technique, and you've got to get that turkey sliced, onto the platter, and into the dining room while it's still hot.
Please be careful on Thanksgiving Day! This PDF from the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi offers some great tips on how to work SAFELY with kitchen knives.
Careful Cutting: Knife Safety Tips
Let's be safe out there, people!
