
What do you do when you drop a kitchen knife?


My mom taught me and my brother how to cook from a young age, and one of the first things she taught us was to NEVER try to catch a sharp knife. You don't have the coordination to grab it safely out of mid air, so the best thing is to jump out of the way and get your feet and legs out of the knife's path IMMEDIATELY. I have dropped knives in the kitchen before (we all have), but jumping out of the way has always saved me from injury.
A quick story...
One time when I was chopping vegetables, I turned to put something in the pot and I managed to brush the chef's knife I was using off the cutting board and I jumped out of the way immediately. When the knife fell, the weight of it stabbed itself into the linoleum floor and it was literally standing straight up in the air. The crazy thing is, all I was wearing on my feet were socks and I had been standing in the same position for awhile, and when the knife fell it stabbed itself right in the middle of a "steamy" outline where my foot had been standing. If I hadn't acted quickly, that knife would have stabbed right through the top of my foot. And if I had tried to grab it, I could have missed and cut my hand, or I could have knocked it mid air into my leg.
So yeah, ALWAYS jump out of the way. Avoid this advice to your peril...
YIKES! Glad your foot was ok.
So am I! 😂
Being a chef at one time, it is a item on my training program. Freeze and let it fall. The chance of it doing damage from a fall is minimal if existent. Once I saw the guy next to me go for a falling knife and came back up with it through his hand. He found out he was allergic to the -caine family of anesthetics that day.
Yikes!
I don't think I have ever dropped one. But if I did I'm pretty sure I would jump out of the way.
My husband did not. He went for the catch method. Big mistake. Several hours in the hospital. Not worth it!
Yikes! I bet!
I'd back as far away as possible. I've dropped a butter knife on my toe once and that shit hurt bad enough. I can only imagine the damage that a much sharper knife could've done.
Oh I bet
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I actually find that funny, since every time I have ever dropped a knife, darts or any sharp object that has some kind of handle... I always have instantly grabbed to catch it. I have rarely been successful with darts, but I have had better luck with knives. It is just that every time someone sees me do so... they freak out and scream "He tried to catch it!" Making me miss and all... No, I have never been cut or pierced by anything I have gone for.
Sounds very dangerous
I try to catch it, and if unsuccessful, jump out of the way. Then, pick it up off the floor, rinse it off, and put it in dishwasher. Unless it has a wooden handle, in which case I wash it by hand. I don't use a knife that's hit the floor until it's washed.
I've always been successful... no cuts dropping a knife.
Lucky!
Not just lucky... my instinctive reaction when I drop something sharp is to back away from it... let it hit the floor... then I'll pick it up.
It won’t cut your hand just from a free fall. Let’s see this through physics. It simply won’t achieve a high enough velocity to have the momentum to cut your hand because if a kitchen knife falls, the maximum height it would fall from is 100 - 150cm and gravitational according isn’t enough to allow it to achieve a high enough velocity in convering that low of a height.
Although if it does fall from a large height, let’s say, 10 metres then it could cause some damage. And I believe it’s terminal velocity should be high enough to cut your hand but the way a knife falls in daily life, it wouldn’t reach terminal velocity, not even close to it.
So to conclude, you’re safe if you grab it while it’s falling.
*gravitational acceleration
You are saying a dropped sharp knife isn’t going to cut your foot? Not buying it.
Not me, physics! And it needs a certain magnitude of velocity (speed) to gain the necessary magnitude of momentum to cut through skin.
That velocity can’t be achieved just by falling from 100-150 centimetres. And the drag will only slow it down even more.
As momentum=mass x velocity
@Nightroads watched a guy cut his hand catching a falling knife
@exitseven nor my fingers!
@loves2learn The only reason that happened is because he accelerated his hand towards the knife, so that would increase the knife’s relative velocity with respect to his hand, and hence, he cut his hand.
Just don’t kick your foot or punch your hand into the knife, and you’ll be just fine
Still sounds suss. I’ll back away from falling knives still thankyouverymuch.
Don’t worry! I’m not going to make you to the subject for my experiment😂
But @Nightroads himself also said that you will be fine if you don’t move, so there you go the guy told you from experience.
@loves2learn But hey, an important point, there are some exceptions to this, if the knife is identical to a 10kg machette then that is an exceptional. That would surely cut through you.
So it depends on how heavy the knife is, but normal knives shouldn’t cause any real damage
The dude went for it while it hit the floor handle down literally push his hand down onto a knife.
@loves2learn See? @Nightroads too says he rammed his hand into the knife. So it knife collides into your hand but you don’t collide your hand into the knife, you’ll be fine
I try to get out of the way of falling knives. 🔪
If you drop a knife it means you will be having a visitor. 🥂
My SO says it will be a man visitor.
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/drop-a-knife-get-ready-for-a-visitor-11088
Ha!!
Considering my kitchen floor consists of peel and stick slumlord special vinyl flooring over 70s linoleum (the kitchen is one of the last rooms we have to fix up in our 125 year old house), and my knives are all of the "as seen on tv" variety, jump out of the way. Could care less about the floor, and not going to be upset if a knife breaks/bends.
I can remember 3 times when I have dropped a knife. Once I caught it by the handle, once by the blade and once I dropped it.. The time I caught it by the blade I remember it was like a Quentin Tarantino movie with all the blood spurting out.
Yikes! How long did it take to heal?
I ended up in A&E (the UK equivalent of ER) because I'd lost so much blood. I can't remember exactly how long it bled for but I was told if the wound hadn't of congealed when it did, any longer I would have needed a blood transfusion.
Oh my! Glad you are ok.
Thank you L2L, I appreciate that, and I forgot to wish you a happy Thanksgiving.. (I forget because we don't celebrate it here)
Thank you! :)
Most of me doesn't move an inch, just my feet. Nope I don't make any attempt to catch it. A ceramic steak knife isn't that hard to replace. But it's a pain in the ass to have to work for the next several days with a hand taped up to hold the fluids in.
Playing with knives is dangerous, if i was married my wife will be a housewife, if i find her someday blerding cause she cut herself by fault, i'll rush to help her and if she needs hospital than i'll take her so she receives the needed aids and after that i'll buy her a big bottle of fresh juice so she replaces the blood that she have lost 😊
Be careful with knives miss loves2learn cause your husband and kids needs you 😌
I've taught myself to overcome the "catch reflex" when something falls. I also have a cut-resistant glove to wear when handling sharps in precarious situations.
Smart!
As a Massage Therapist, I've learned it's better to keep all your fingers- they come in handy (no pun intended).
Indeed!
Being the idiot that I am, I instinctively try to catz it, but at the same time start moving my feet away.
I've caught the knife successfully a few times, and cut myself only once.
Yikes!
Never try to catch it. Just step out of the way and be careful with any bouncing. My dad did work putting in windows at high stories at some point, someone dropped the window and he tried to catch it; His entire wrist was slashed open and most of the muscles and veins were torn. They had to manually reattach them one by one in the hospital and while he can use it in daily life, he still has issues from it once in a while. Not worth it, just let it fall.
Imagine trying to catch it with your hands. while its about to stab your feet
😬😬😬😬😬
I have gotten a small concussion when I dropped a knife while wearing socks on the tile floor. But I've never been cut by a falling knife.
A concussion or contusion? Lol
A concussion I think, I just slipped when I backed up haha. What's a contusion again?
Oh no. Slipped and hit your head after you dropped a knife?
Contusion is like a blunt force injury like if the knife handle hit your foot and left a bruise.
reaction was to catch it, I did cut my hand some but nothing much,
Yikes! Glad you were ok!
I've always been succesful. When I tried at least XD
Playing with fire! 🔥🔪
I flinch. Im not gonna attempt to catch a falling knife
Sorry I don't drop knives in my kitchen. All my countertops have rare earth magnetic knife holders to prevent knives from falling.
Lmao fancy
I pick it off the floor and wash it before cutting anything else with it.
A kitchen knife, if sharpened, can't be grabbed by the blade.
I always catch it before it hits the floor. I'd say out of 10 times, I get cut once.
Damn lucky!
Rule of the kitchen “If it’s falling, let it.” Just get out of the way.
Seriously, just who in their right senses would ever try catching a falling knife?
@nawtee_me
I do hope and trust you don't make too much of a habit attempting this extremely dangerous feat.
Some do it on purpose and some it’s just a reflex.
@loves2learn
Goodness me. How absolutely absurd.
I move out of the way and let it fall. Better the knife break then me getting cut. If the knife is intact, I can just wash it.
Let the knife fall, cause when I sharpen a knife its dangously sharp.
Just let my knifes hit the floor
Edged weapons and guns. Once dropped, let them fall.
I try to jump away, trying to catch it would be probably worst idea.
Happened dozen of times but I never got any injury and I love razor sharp Japanese blades
I usually pick it up and wash it off cause I want prevent a injury from happening
I immediately jump out of the way. I invested in nice knives and I know they will easily mess my feet up.
I don't ever try to catch a falling knife. I move my foot out of the way, pick it up off the floor, wash it and continue using it.
I clean it off in the sink if it falls on the floor.
Move my hands away from it so I don't accidentally try to catch it and step back
Try to side step it then pick it up. Never tried to catch one though.
A falling knife has no handle. I back away and let it hit the ground.
I believe a mix of trying to catch it and moving my feet away
Most likely, gravity wouldn’t be enough to pierce your skin too badly.
Jump out of the way then cry because mine are EXTREMELY high end and brittle
Hope for the best really as I've tried to move before and mkced into the way and nearly got myself.
I’d try jumping out of the way, knifes can be really sharp and can cut super easily which makes them so dangerous
Jump out of the way of course. But, don't drop it in the first place! :-)
catch it and throw it into the bad guy before he draws his gun because your a super spy and catching and throwing knives is what you do!
Lay on the floor 🧍🏻♀️
And hope it gets you? 😬
🥸👍
Awwwww don’t do that hun
Move out of the way while swearing quite a lot.
Don’t catch it! I jump away
Here I thought you would say catch it with your penis. 🤣
I am severely lacking in that skill Ms Loves! 😯 😂
Maybe if you dropped it though… 😏
🤣🤣🤣🤣 that’s funny to imagine you running penis first at a knife I dropped
Lol, that’d be hot 🥵 😏
I'd jump out of the way.
Kick it up with my feet before it hits ground
Ninja style
Heyya
I jump back. I went risk it cutting me
I make sure my feet are not it it's path.
Jerk my feet out of the way... jump back.
probably move my closest foot out of the way
I have successfully caught many knives.
I just leave it there for later.
Make sure my feet are way out of the way
Pull it out of my foot
Move my feet quickly.
I move, especially if I'm not wearing shoes !!
Was always taught to back away
I never have... it's a sin
Sin to drop a knife? Lol. Accidents happen.
aren't well all sins as well? lmao...
and many of us are accidents as well
I suppose lol. I was planned. 😇
But wait, are you saying we are all sins or all sinners? I have to disagree and say we are not all sins.
not an expert in religion but yes
I think that's what the "original sin" is
we are all born with sin or something, except Jesus
Born sinners but not sins to be born. 😇
semantics... lol
Just let it fall. Why am I gonna cattch it?
Same thing when you drop the soap
Don’t bend over? 🤔
jump away like it's a grenade lol
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