milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
Was gonna say my worst one was a saw... DAMN those things are sharp when they are new!
Bonsai Injuries
Was gonna say my worst one was a saw... DAMN those things are sharp when they are new!
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
HOLY MOLY!
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
ColinFraser
Masterpiece
After starting this thread this thread this morning, I have something new to add to it already this evening! I got home late today and went out into the garden to check my trees. In the dark, I stepped on the edge of a large rectangular mica training pot I had left on the ground after a repotting - if you're picturing a cartoon where someone steps on a rake, you're on the right track! The Whole pot pivoted up at great speed and the opposite edge smashed right into my shin 
Fortunately it hit slightly off to the meaty side, so it didn't split the skin, but its swelling, and I'll probably have a lovely bruise to show for my carelessness . . . at least I didn't fall and hit my head on a bench!
Fortunately it hit slightly off to the meaty side, so it didn't split the skin, but its swelling, and I'll probably have a lovely bruise to show for my carelessness . . . at least I didn't fall and hit my head on a bench!
ColinFraser
Masterpiece
She's probably saved your life twice by now
One afternoon, I found myself in shorts and flip-flops running a chainsaw through a collected stump when I suddenly had a moment of clarity . . . I put the saw down and backed away slowly!
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Ha you reminded me!
They are!
I cut myself good with the Back side of my Stanley.
It has since been covered with tape for prevention.
Sorce
LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
Managed not to hurt myself yet. 'Bout the only thing damaged so far would be my "pride", but since I have no "shame", the moment passes quickly!!
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
The worst ones are the Mexican fan palms - we removed all of those from our property years ago.
Palm Tree Worker Suffocated
bonhe
Masterpiece
You need to see this article http://www.advancedbio-treatment.com/deaths-among-palm-trees-safety-precautions/
Bonhe
CWTurner
Omono
I Googled a pic of these. Did you mean 10' spikes? Spikes are the leaves/palms, right?
Just another way to die in sunny CA.
CW
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
The palm frond on Canary island date palms can be 12' long. The outer 90% of the frond is soft and feathery and relatively lightweight.
However the base of the frond - the inner 4' or so - is rigid and completely stiff and covered with spikes. These spikes come to a needle point and are so stiff they can drive through thick leather. Even when green they are not bendable. In the event of having to survive in the wilderness I would use them as needles, spear tips, etc.
When I trim my trees, you have to remove the fronds one by one, very carefully. Then I cut the sharp thorny end off and throw it in one green can while I chop up the frilly (much longer) section into multiple parts and throw it into another can. I think my palm trimming days may be over however since the five palms I own have now grown too tall for me to safely trim with a pole saw from the ground. I won't climb a palm to trim it - that's what money is for
However the base of the frond - the inner 4' or so - is rigid and completely stiff and covered with spikes. These spikes come to a needle point and are so stiff they can drive through thick leather. Even when green they are not bendable. In the event of having to survive in the wilderness I would use them as needles, spear tips, etc.
When I trim my trees, you have to remove the fronds one by one, very carefully. Then I cut the sharp thorny end off and throw it in one green can while I chop up the frilly (much longer) section into multiple parts and throw it into another can. I think my palm trimming days may be over however since the five palms I own have now grown too tall for me to safely trim with a pole saw from the ground. I won't climb a palm to trim it - that's what money is for
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augustine
Chumono
Be careful of your eyes, I've used concave cutter and a piece of the brachflew off fast, lucky I wear glasses
ColinFraser
Masterpiece
This is a big one. I seem to invariably get sand and dirt in my eyes when raking the bottom of a nursery pot rootball - even got some kind of eye infection once!
I was going to the garage this morning to get a saw to cut the tubers off the gross ginseng ficus my brother gave me a few years ago, when I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle. I didn't hurt that bad, so I carried on with my task. Later, we did some shopping and went out for dinner. By the time I got home, I was hobbling and my ankle was swollen like a balloon. 
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Yeah, the stretchy ace bandage is a pretty hot number.
hemmy
Omono
Bump!
Scratched my cornea May 2022 on a redwood bonsai branch poke while loading it in the van. It still reoccurs and has not fully healed. I’m putting off surgery in favor of less invasive healing methods. I wear glasses for most all bonsai work now.
Scratched my cornea May 2022 on a redwood bonsai branch poke while loading it in the van. It still reoccurs and has not fully healed. I’m putting off surgery in favor of less invasive healing methods. I wear glasses for most all bonsai work now.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I can't remember how many times I've wrenched my back lifting a particular large bald cypress. The pot is 24" wide and weighs about 60 lbs. Apparently the width of the pot aligns my back and arms in a perfect configuration for lower lumbar disaster.
Wicked tendinitis episode (flare up of an old slip-and-fall-and-catch-yourself-with-your-hands injury) from cutting off thick work-hardened copper wire (it was like 4 or 6 gauge). I was using wire cutters that didn’t have enough mechanical advantage. Solution: get yourself some wire cutters with long handles or the kind that have a mechanism that amplifies the mechanical advantage and use them.
