Your topic made me curious. I just counted to scars on my right arm from elbow to fingers. 17. I am right handed, so most of them are burn scars. The worst of which, and also is not really a scar and thus not counted, is obviously the knife callous on the base of the index finger.
The most painful injury I ever had was when I was teaching a girl how to saute some fish. I turned my back for a minute while she had a salmon filet in a pan. When it was time, I went to give the pan a shake and the hot oil literally coverered my hand. Turns out she had half an inch worth of oil in the thing. My hand literally bubbled up an inch over the entire back of it for the next few days. Since then, I've been hit with hot oil on that hand many times over and it doesn't bother me for more than a few seconds, if at all.
The most heinous scar I have is on my left index finger from way back when I wasn't too good with a knife. Carving a raw top round with a very sharp 14" slicer knife, I lopped off the knuckle closest to the hand. Doctors said I was less than a milimeter from damaging the tendons or something along those lines. I still remember putting super glue on it and trying to finish out the work for the day but those above me demanded I go to the hospital. When I got there, the doctor asked me to describe the pain on a scale of 1 to 10. I said 0, it didn't hurt at all. He gave me a scrip for vicadin. Whatever. First and only time I've been to the hospital for work related issues.
I think cooking is easier, perhaps nearly requires, a numbness in the digits. I am somewhat clumsy in the first place with regards to my own safety (never others safety), but I also have a high tolerance for pain. I burn myself way more frequently than I should, but after a while, it just doesn't hurt as much, if at all.
The scars are both a badge of honor and an embarassment. It shows that I can tough it out, but at the same time, it shows I should be a lot more careful. The only one I think is important is the knife callous. All good chefs should have one or have a **** good reason why they don't have one.  |