Close Call with Hedge Clippers, Trimmer 1 / leg 0

[Varsity L&G]

Well after years in the business I finally had a close enough call that I have ordered PPE for use while using saws and hedge clippers.

Here is how it went down with photo's to follow later in photo forum.

Was Trimming some shrubs with my Echo 150 with the IPOD blasting into a set of noise canceling head phones jamin some Hank III when I hit a dead branch that broke off then WHHAAAMMMMM.

Clippers came down out of the shrub through my pants, through the headphone cable, off the IPOD, through my underwear and into my leg.

So here I am in the middle of this ladies yard, leg throbbing, clippers off, no more music and expecting blood to gush out any minute.

I quickly drop my pants in the middle of the yard to find the IPOD saved my leg. Just a little skin missing along a 5 inch area. IPOD has a nice new nic and cracked edge.

I will never do this again with out PPE. $60 bucks for chaps is cheaper then a $600 dollar trip to the ER.

Yes the IPOD survived but the headphones were toasted. Time to get new ones. Any recommendations.

[freshprince94]

Sorry. Not to be rude, but that's exactly why I never listen to music with equipment going. Good luck.

[Varsity L&G]

Listening to music with NC head set on is no different then just using the NC head set, except this time it kept me from almost trimming my own bush.

Gets you in that hedge trimming mood!

[Sweet Tater]

I quickly drop my pants in the middle of the yard.

oh my :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Yes the IPOD survived but the headphones were toasted.

bet your shorts were pretty full too.

Glad that your ok. that could have been really nasty

[Martin Mowing]

Thats the kind of thing that keeps us (Firefighter/EMT) in business.:nono:

Just kidding, actually sounded like a close call, glad you escaped with minimal injuries and losses!

[Mike's Lawn & Snow]

Gotta be extra cautious with those things never realized how sharp they really were till last year when i cut a 1/3 off my index finger. Now i wear heavy leather gloves and leg protectors.

[PaperCutter]

Yeah, they'll bite you. Ten years ago I slipped on a wet hillside with the trimmers running full throttle and slammed them into the top of my left thigh. I've still got the U-shaped scars to prove I was stupid.

[lawnprosteveo]

8 stitches in the left knee one summer, 6 in the right forearm the next...havent done it since thank God...Echo HC1500's

[Varsity L&G]

The Result!

[Az Gardener]

;) My 10 yr old cut himself with a hand saw today and it looks worse than that. Good thing you could enlarge the pic to illustrate the trauma.

Sorry couln't let that slide. *trucewhiteflag* Glad it was no worse, get that protective gear.

[Varsity L&G]

Yea, keep it up. I didn't mean for it to be that big of a pic. Just uploaded that way.

[Faded87T]

http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Earphones/SEModels/index.htm

I have the SE 110's and they work great. They aren't noise cancelling per se, but they fit like ear plugs and effectively block most outside noise.

I don't have to turn mine up very loud to hear them well, on the ZTR unlike the standard IPOD headphone. The Shure's sound amazing, two thumbs up, and watch those implements of destruction!

[Varsity L&G]

I was really looking for something over the ear Safety style. Try to hide the fact that I am listening to the IPOD.

The last ones were like the sure cept NC. You could just put them in and turn them on with out music and cut out alot of sound.

[topsites]

Sorry to hear that, I feel fortunate thus far never, not with the clippers.
The mower and the string trimmer's another story :p

Sorry. Not to be rude, but that's exactly why I never listen to music with equipment going. Good luck.

I stopped doing it, too.
And I used to jam good, but I realized it's just too much at risk.

[J&J Customs]

not noise canceling but like the other guy said works really well to block out other noise i bought these and love em plus doesnt slide off your ears http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?showAll=Y&g=123900&i=018INEAR2&tp=2674 if you like bass though dont buy them not the best for that thats the only bad thing about them

[Richard Martin]

That's kinda what it looked like when my (at the time) 12 year old Border Collie accidentially bit me. Never step into the middle of a dog fight.

Of all the tools I have the hedge trimmers are the ones I watch the most. They're heavy, unweildy and subject to going places that you don't expect them to. I keep mine super sharp so it probably wouldn't take much for them to take a finger off.

[Charles]

Listening to the radio or playing music while mowing or trimming can be a dangerous distraction as you found out. Maybe it contributed to the accident and maybe it didn't. Most likely it did. You have to be completely focused on the task at hand

[Stillwater]

Bose Noise canceling headphones are the way to go

[vbmike]

I did this recently while trimming a monster azalea wedged tightly between some boxwoods; that is, myself wedged. If I wasn't wearing heavy denim work pants it would have sliced the flesh thoroughly. When I brought it down on my leg, the blades where fully open and it grabed the entire chunk of my leg. Fortunately, the Shindy didn't have enough torque to keep going through what it grabbed!

EDIT: sorry about the picture size, I don't have software to edit. Not sure why it doesn't look as purple in the picture as reality. The second picture shows the monster welt this thing is.

http://ecrabtree.com/images/DSC02649.JPG
http://ecrabtree.com/images/DSC02650.JPG

[deere615]

Ouch I had a close call, about a week and a half ago put a little slice in my leg, it was pretty scary