working hands

[jennija]

just a random thought as Im surfing the forum....who's hands have gone to crap from scrapping?? over the last three years, from scrapping my hands have turned so leathery from callouses and i seem to always have a plethora (yes plethora) of new cuts......I wear gloves when I can, but you know as well as I that that doesn't always work while breaking down....circuit boards are SHARP!!! Cant wait to see what they look like ten years from now if they already look this way.....

[Carhuntr]

my hands are not fireproof yet but i tell ya what this past year has been heck on them i used to be ok at writing but after having fridges smash into them and shaving knuclkes down to bone my handwriting could pass for a drs in the morning and cold weather at best. and not much better when its warm so definitely a hard job for hands but i have great pride in my scars because i know that its a small price to pay to put food on the table and clothes on the backs of the people that i love!

[Patriot76]

My hands are so swollen I cannot text on my cell phone. In fact I am typing this using a pencil attached to a wrench. And no it is not my wife, it is a Craftsman.

[Sirscrapalot]

My hands are so swollen I cannot text on my cell phone. In fact I am typing this using a pencil attached to a wrench. And no it is not my wife, it is a Craftsman.

LOL...Patriot just might have to take over the comedy hour on my next vacation.

Not the right line of work if your wanting to be a hand model. LOL. My hands were done before i started scrapping, an will be fully gone by the time I stop. It's the price of the trade. We bleed, we hurt, we ache, we profit. So goes the siren song of the scrapper.

Sirscrapalot - Night comes to the desert all at once, as if someone turned off the light. - Joyce Carol Oates

[doyousmellit]

My hands are beat back. All you see when you look at me from the elbows down is scars and tattoos. I don't even bother with gloves anymore I can darn near lose a finger and not feel it. My woman used to holler "don't touch me that hurts" haha but now that she's used to it her and my daughter love the backrubs its a simultaneous scratch and rub.

[bluemeate]

i have gnarly bmx calouses on my palm. fun to hang scrap metal off them

also my copper ring only fits on whichever finger is cut and swollen at the time, lol

[happyisthealero]

The best advice I could give would be to not wear gloves for a couple months in the spring and summer time. Let them become scratched and soar, you will eventually learn how to handle items, when to use and not use gloves, and strengthen them all at the same time.

Maybe I might have a warped view point??? lol

[bluemeate]

just remembered, the other day i sliced my finger open trying to move a piece of scrap out the way of my toolbox so i could reach my gloves :/

[bcrepurposing]

i wear them loading and unloading or if i am handling sharp cut metal / sheet metal. otherwise it is no gloves for tear down. they are too bulky for me doing e scrap. i do wear them for appliances though.

[jord0690]

Mechanic hands here. No gloves for anything except to protect against the cold.

[Damotademon7]

Mechanic hands here. No gloves for anything except to protect against the cold.

Same here. Always have a cut on my hands. They get real dry in the winter.

[newattitude]

My knuckles are so huge now and my fingers/nails are always cut or torn.

I actually had to cut my wedding rings off with bold cutters they are so swollen now.

[Patriot76]

I took my wedding ring off 28 1/2 yrs. ago because my wife insisted. Never had to use bold cutters.

[newattitude]

whoops, meant bolt cutters!

[Patriot76]

Newattitude, Sorry I could not resist. The other statement is true, no rings on these hands after catching a ring on a piece of metal shortly after I was married. Necklaces are not welcome as well because of the dangers they present. Come to think of it, ties were out of the question as well as a principal. They always suggested you would follow the pack and I did not want to pay that kind of money for a napkin hanging around my neck. Seriously, jewelry is dangerous in our type of work. If you wear it you will find out the hard way someday.

[mseashell]

After scraping for 10+ years I have pretty much made my hands into a solid caluis. I can usually scrap my finger or palm of hand on something and it don't even cut into skin, unless its a deep cut.
Although I have. Noticed in the past few months my left hand goes numb for no reason. Wife said it was carpul tunnel from constantly using my hands. If I had a fam dr to go to, I would have it checked out.

As for the ring, I took my nice 16 K gold wedding band off years ago. Now I wear a TI spinner And it seams to work ok, nothing to get cought on, and it can't get smashed on my finger near as easy as gold. I do take it off when welding or working with electricity. Forgot to take it off one day, using a welder. Needless to say I didn't wear my ring for about a month. My hand swelled up, and my ring finger was badly blistered

[doyousmellit]

I'm sporting a 30 dolla tungsten wedding ring. Its basically a part of my hand. No accidents caused by it yet even though it never comes off. Idk if bolt cutters would even do the job this rings indestructible.

[bcrepurposing]

i got a tungsten ring as well. i talked to the jeweler about removal if required. i was told to use a ball pean hammer and give it a whack on a hard surface. it will shatter.

bolt cutters unless maybe a 4 foot pair will not cut it. the rotary / air saws for casts can cut it with a diamond blade but will mangle you finger.

[newattitude]

Newattitude, Sorry I could not resist. The other statement is true, no rings on these hands after catching a ring on a piece of metal shortly after I was married. Necklaces are not welcome as well because of the dangers they present. Come to think of it, ties were out of the question as well as a principal. They always suggested you would follow the pack and I did not want to pay that kind of money for a napkin hanging around my neck. Seriously, jewelry is dangerous in our type of work. If you wear it you will find out the hard way someday.

I don't wear any jewelry at all either any more and I also pull out hoodie strings as well, I've had them get caught in scrap when loading/unloading. Thats something I'd never have thought would be an issue but it is so removing them is safer.

[auminer]

Well... I just did a close inspection & found 27 cuts/scrapes/holes/imperfections on my right hand, and an even 10 on my left.

That's counting the dozen or so splinters/metal shards I dug out and the one half-infected sore with unknown cause that feels lots better with whatever-it-was-in-there outta there!

On a side note... this time of year my fingers dry out BAD and split by the nails... hurts like the ****ens. Best treatment I've found is a dime size chunk of lard. Rub it in just like hand lotion right before bedtime, then, after about 10 minutes letting it soak in, rinse it off with water just as hot as you can stand, no soap, then go to bed. Any splits that still occur, poke a safety pin in a vitamin E capsule & squeeze some of the juice out right on the split. Do this several times a day, and it'll heal quicker.