If you’re making Stained Glass Art, an occasional glass shard or splinter in the old finger (or back of your hand, or your foot, or your knee…don’t ask…or, or, or…) is an inevitability. Here’s a few tried & true methods to remove them!
Before we get into this….
Full Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, so ask yours. Cutting, scraping, stabbing or otherwise attempting surgery on yourself is not recommended. Do most of us do it? Yes. Is it smart. Probably not. The point? You’re on your own if ya try any of these.
How To Get a Splinter Out with an Xacto (Craft) Knife
I can still picture the drawer in my Dad’s big hockin’ five zillion pound metal desk where he kept his most useful tools. Things like mini screwdrivers, rulers, & my favorite…his Xacto knife.
Why was the Xacto my fav you ask?
Cuz it took away one of the most annoying things to happen to ya throughout your day.
Worse than sloppy socks bunched up in your shoes, worse than underwear that keep falling down, worse even than an eyelash floating about in your eyehole (at least ya can wash that out).
The dreaded, pokey, stabby little spliiiiiinterrrrrrrrrr!
Dad would pull that trusty little craft knife out of the drawer, throw some flame on it with a zippo to sterilize it, and then…
With the precision of a surgeon, he’d grab ahold of our damaged digit & ever so gently swipe the edge of that blade across the splinter, in the opposite direction of which it entered.
Worked.
Every. Freakin. Time.
So that’s how I got glass splinters out of my fingers for the longest time too.
And it almost always worked.
But sometimes, the glass would make a barely audible little crunchy noise, the tip sticking out would break off, aaaaaaand….
Then it required some actual minor surgery to remove it. A little slice, a little dice & now we’ve gone from puncture wound to full on gorge.
I maintain the craft knife still works fairly well…particularly for wood splinters, but a student of mine told me about a much less invasive way.
Removing a Splinter with Tape!
Yup. Tape.
I often use painter’s tape cuz I have it in the stuuuuuudio, but it works remarkably well for pulling little glass shards or splinters out of your hand.
Simply lay a piece of tape over the shard, rub the tape in the opposite direction it went in, and then pull the tape off again, in the opposite of the direction it went in.
Here’s an illustration:
Works like a charm!
But we have another option too!
Last week, one of our Peace, Love & Stained Glass Community Members, Kimberly, told us this discovery.
(Side note: If you’d like to hang out with other glass hoarders & learn to make beautiful stained glass art too, come join us in the Peace, Love, & Stained Glass Community! )
The Bug Bite Thing
She had a glass shiv all up in the side of her finger that she just couldn’t get out. And it was making the typing portion of her day job reaaaaaallly annoying.
So annoying that, in a fit of sheer desperation, she attempted to suck the offending sliver out with her mouth!
For the love of Pete and all that is holy don’t do that!
Terrible idea…but that terrible idea sparked a brilllllllliant one.
She tried her Bug Bite Thing. All the suction, none of the glass in the mouth.
The Bug Bite Thing
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A few little pumps on that magical contraption & Voila!
Splinter gone.
Sounds pretty freakin’ fantastic right? Sucks out bug venom & glass splinters? Imma go get myself one!
Peace, Love, & Stained Glass,
-Shannie
P.S. – Since the less glass ya keep in your fleshy bits the better…I wrote a whole post on How To Keep Glass Shards Out of Your House (& Yourself) for ya.