[benway]

I started a new job this week and on my first day for whatever reason I left my knives in the car not knowing whether I'd need them. When we had a break I ran out and got them but in the meantime I was lent one. The knife was very dull and after an hour or so of having to muscle my way through vegetables with it I developed a blister on the bottom of my right index finger where the back of the knife met it.

Just wondering has anyone else ever had this injury? Any tips on treatment to keep it healing while I work?

[Bigbenny]

Yeah i remember those!!!!, just gotta grin and bear it until it heals..... a good solution for your own knives is to head to your local hardwear/auto supply store and get some wet dry sand paper and round the edge off the spine of the knife where your finger sits!!! works a treat!!!

[Blueicus]

Any cook who uses a knife with any regularity will have a knife callous at the bottom of their right (or left) index finger, provided you use the standard grip. Of course, you can't have a callous without a blister, so you're on your way. A sharp knife will help prevent it, but it will be inevitable, so you'll have to learn to live with it. Once the callous becomes established you shouldn't have any more problems.

[Titomike]

Harden up, bro'....wait you you start sticking your arms in da oven!

[Gunnar]

or start saute on a french top grill..man those things get hot. first grill I had to use a towel to grab anything.

[kiwisizzler]

Rite of passage. I don't know a decent chef without a permanant callous in that spot! Don't worry tho...won't hurt for long.

[Just Jim]

Yep, it's-a-gonna happen.
What's worse is after you develop a callous, sometimes it's splits.
To give you a buffer just wrap a bandage around it.
The little bit of padding on the blister/callous will get you through your day.

[Pete]

As stated above, you can't escape it. Luckily though it will eventually turn into a callous if you keep doing knife work and the pain will disappear. Even now, after 9 months of being out of the kitchen I still have some callous left. It will eventually disappear and when and if I get another job that requires lots of knife work I will have to start rebuilding my callous again. Can be kind of painful at first, but trust me it will eventually turn into a callous.

[Blueicus]

I like how the callous is sort of like the "secret mark" of a cook. Makes me feel "special"

[Just Jim]

Originally Posted by Blueicus

I like how the callous is sort of like the "secret mark" of a cook. Makes me feel "special"

I've had more than one chef put out his hand at the beginning of an interview and when I put mine out to shake his, he flipped my hand over, palm up.
When I was a rookie i thought they were checking to see how clean mu hands were.
Now I know they were looking to see if I held my knife right, and for any extended period of time.

[DC Sunshine]

My brothers aren't cooks, but used to spend a lot of time playing steel string guitars. They would have much the same thing until their fingertips got calloused. What helped them was putting some vinegar on once they were done for the session and letting it dry.

Worked for them!

Keep it uncovered as much as possible when you're not working, let it dry.

[benway]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like everyone has had this before. I've done my fair share of knife work in the past but never ever hurt myself with a dull knife THIS way. Its not the pain I was worried about--I was just wondering how it was ever going to heal when I still chop and have salt rubbed in it everyday. Its already healed quite a bit it seems as if you all were right on.