The Safest Way to Carve a Pumpkin
Stupid things I do October 25th, 2007
Question: What’s the safest way to carve a pumpkin?
Answer: Let your husband do it.
I am not good with knives. I don’t know who’s looking out for me, but I have thrice dropped knives on the floor mere inches from bare feet. My luck may not last forever. I see a missing toe in my future.
The last time I held a slasher-movie-sized knife was Easter Sunday circa 1981. I was hand-washing dishes after our holiday meal and I was cleaning a 10" long serrated knife. I somehow let go of the dishcloth while I was wiping the smooth edge of the knife, and the cloth slipped out of my hand.
The knife kept right on going. And so did my hand. Slicing through your fingers in warm water feels exactly like nothing. It wasn’t until I looked into pinkified water that I wondered what happened. Quite a bloodfest.
Because I cut my right index finger in an unfortunate place, right where the top section of the finger bends, I needed several stitches. Living so close to a hospital, I got sewn up in no time at all.
Since Dave and I don’t live across from a hospital, I leave all the knife work to him. He has his own issues with injuries, but he seems to have slicing and cutting under control. Yea! It means we get to enjoy at least one Mr. Happy Face Pumpkin Head for the season.
Stumble it!
October 25th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Eek.
This is why our pumpkins are all painted.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:21 am
Jenny — Now THERE’S an idea. I could show my arty side -and- keep all my digits. Thanks for dropping by!
October 26th, 2007 at 12:33 am
OMG this post made me wince. I always make my husband do the heavy cutting.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:35 am
@ Marie — It wasn’t the cut that bothered me the most. It didn’t even hurt. It was seeing the pink water and then having to get it cleaned and stitched. Odd, huh?
October 26th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Ugh. We don’t normally have pumpkins. Too messy and.. ugh.
We have other decorations.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Regan — It’s probably safer anyway. I wouldn’t trust your mother walkin’ around with knives. A no-blood Halloween is a fun Halloween.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
This post made me curl my toes in fear. Never use a knife without shoes on!
October 26th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Cardiogirl — Luckily the handles on all the dropped knives have been heavier than the blade part. So when I drop them, they at least hit handle-side down first. Yes, there is always the risk of catching a toe with the blade, but at least it won’t be a full-on stab. It’ll be a graze.
October 27th, 2007 at 4:55 am
You haven’t seen one of the ‘pumpkin carving kits’ at Safeway? Nobody uses knives anymore. They have little teeny hobby saws with plastic handles. You have to be pretty drunk or otherwise incapacitated to get injured. Granted the little saws work for about fifteen minutes before they get irreparably bent. Next year you’ve gotta’ get another one.
October 27th, 2007 at 9:59 am
@ Mike – My husband wouldn’t consider it authentic to carve a pumpkin without a knife. I most likely wouldn’t even use a kit. I’d somehow figure out how to hurt myself with plastic. Better for me to use Jenny’s suggestion and paint a pumpkin. I might get a little messy, but at least I wouldn’t bleed 🙂
November 5th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Yah, I’m not too good with knives either. My little sister spent her 10th birthday in hospital after a row over who got to cut the cake. I had the handle, she grabbed the blade, well you get the picture…
November 5th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
CC — Oh my. That post was hard to read. I winced while reading it and if I think about it, I can feel the knife go through my palm. Ow-ee. What a dreadful injury!