Necessity Is A Mother, or my recent tale of Woe.

[newey]

So, it's been hotter than Dutch love around here recently, and we have a 13 foot by 30 foot deck on the back of the house stained dark brown. In the summer sun, it gets unbearably hot to walk on, and bare feet are completely out of the question. Mrs. Newey wanted me to DO SOMETHING! So I dutifully bought a big roll of indoor/outdoor carpeting in a lighter color, and proceeded to lay it out on the deck.

Some trimming was needed, so I was down on my knees with a carpet knife . . .

No, I didn't cut myself with the carpet knife. In retrospect, I wish I had, if it meant avoiding what I actually did.

What I actually did was drive about a half-inch wood splinter from the deck up under the fingernail of my left 4th (i.e., ring) finger. And, it's up under the nail all the way to the quick. I trimed the nail back to the point of bleeding, and dug around under the nail with a tweezers, looking to snag the end of the thing, to no avail. It's in there good, and my only hope is that it works its way out before the inevitable infection sets it and I'm forced to a surgical solution.

Meanwhile, it hurts like hell. Literally, the old "Bamboo splinters under the fingernails" torture brought to reality. So, I've got it all bandaged up, hoping it will work its way out. I'm less than optimistic that this will occur. I spent a considerable time trying to dig it out.

So, I had my guitar lesson tonight, and a band-aid over my left ring ringer not being conducive to playing many things, I thought I'd grab a slide to take to the lesson. It usually goes on that finger anyway . . .

Somewhere in the music room there are 3 guitar slides- 2 glass ones an a steel one. Of course, I couldn't find any of the three in the time before I had to head out to the lesson. So I ended up buying another glass one at the music store before heading into my lesson. Now I have 4, but at least I know where one of them is.

The prior lesson plan was therefore scrapped in favor of some slide stuff, Thoroughgood and others. That was OK, but I still need to deal with this so I can get it healed up in the short run.

Anyway, no big "moral of the story" here (other than to wear gloves),but I thought the buying a slide on the fly due to a bandaged finger merited a mention in the category "Necessity is".

[blademaster2]

OMG - just thinking of that injury hurts!

I would soak in warm salty water and use something like Polysporin in the short term. Maybe it would heal faster after medical intervention, otherwise it would probably work its way out if infection can be avoided but that might be a long time.

Dunno - I never attended medical school.

If you play keyboard I think you referred to it as the 4th finger since they count the thumb (but for guitar/violin I understood it is the 3rd).

I hope it clears up, and ceases to be painful, in the shortest timeframe possible

[newey]

Thanks. I called it the 4th finger out of habit, not from keyboards but from worker's compensation law here, where the thumb is #1.

[JohnH]

Ouch that sucks!

Actually, talking of suck, the technician in my head wonders if there might be some kind of suction that could be applied to draw it out? I once got a splinter out with a solder sucker!

[newey]

Might work, if I could get at the end of it, but it's well and truly buried.

[musogreg]

Ooooowwww!!! Not that I've ever had to get a slinter of that size in that location out, but Dettol cream is a good for working splinters out (not the liquid!! They are different!!). making and modding guitars and splintes go hand in hand (pun intended lol!) and I like to play guitar as well. Dettol cream has been good for both the pain and the removal of splinters.

[ashcatlt]

How is this pain compared to a hot deck all summer long?

I also have about four slides...somewhere...

[pj]

Yikes nothing worse, except maybe the desire to remove the offending body.

Have you exhausted all options on that front? Personally I tend to find the longer left they are the softer they become and it is more likely to break up and you'll not get the whole thing. I've resorted to all sorts of implements, or just going to minor injuries at the hospital for them to try. My friend got a thorn in his finger gardening and lost the top knuckle portion, so I started taking such things more seriously where I'd have a previously busked it. Got a tick head stuck in my arm recently only thought it was a bite till it started dartboarding. Last splinter I got up the back of my nail I levered out with a jewellers screwdriver using my finger end as a fulcrum. It was fine enough to get on top of it but blunt enough to not severe the available end.

Always liked Dave Holes slide approach which apparently started when he was in a cast. Though there's many benefits to having it on your pinky, there's also alot to be said for the Duane Allman/Joe Walsh stick it on a strong finger and get on with it approach.

[newey]

Tried tweezers, and excavating under the nail with a needle. I'll try the jeweler's screwdriver idea, that sounds promising. But I think the jeweler's driver is in the same place as my three slides . . .

[reTrEaD]

You need the right tool for the job.

SPOILER: Click to show

Note: Anesthetic may be required.

SPOILER: Click to show

[pj]

Good luck hope you get some relief. Make sure you get a video of the removal on you tube, don't waste the potential income.

As my eldest daughter and her friends tend to say 'pics or it didn't happen' lol.

It's no fun when it messes with guitar time though. Some years back I lost balance loading the van and put my finger through the bulkhead ripping it to shreds on burrs. We were in the middle of a contracted Christmas residency at a hotel and I had to limp through the remaining dates.

[newey]

Update: Got most of it out with some time soaking it in warm soapy water, and then further excavation. Still about 1/4 inch up under the nail, but it's much better and doesn't hurt anymore.

[blademaster2]

Good news, met with vicarious relief.

So, does the new slide get 'stored' with the other slides?

[sumgai]

bm2,

Jun 26, 2018 15:02:53 GMT -5 blademaster2 said:

So, does the new slide get 'stored' with the other slides?

Now, now, let's not kick the poor man while he's still down. The courteous thing to do would be to wait until his finger appears to be back to normal, then ask him for a sound sample with the new slide... and see what happens.

[newey]

My slide playing is a work in (slow) progress. But now, I'm back to my usual ham-handed runs and scales.

[blademaster2]

Jun 26, 2018 18:19:53 GMT -5 sumgai said:

bm2,

Jun 26, 2018 15:02:53 GMT -5 blademaster2 said:

So, does the new slide get 'stored' with the other slides?

Now, now, let's not kick the poor man while he's still down. The courteous thing to do would be to wait until his finger appears to be back to normal, then ask him for a sound sample with the new slide... and see what happens.

Apologies - I inadvertently revealed my own bias against slide guitar (mostly because my guitars have low action and slide playing never works well on them so I rarely explore it). I also own several slides, but I only know the whereabouts of one of them and I never use it.

[reTrEaD]

Jun 26, 2018 15:02:53 GMT -5 blademaster2 said:

Good news, met with vicarious relief.

So, does the new slide get 'stored' with the other slides?

Probably. Right about the time his finger heals to the point where he can go back to playing without a slide, Newey is likely to finally find the others. And he'll probably store the new one with the others. And subsequently forget where he put all of them, the next time he chooses to do some slide work.

At least that's what Murphy tells me.

[newey]

Oh, I could definitely lay my hands on all of the slides given enough time. The problem is that they are most likely in the cubbyholes of various guitar cases. But, there's like a dozen or so. It becomes like the guy in the subway with the three walnut shells and the pea. Which one do you look in?