The other guitarist in one of the bands I'm in...
...slipped while repairing a washing machine and dragged the back of his hand along the edge of one of the pieces of sheet metal the machine was made of.

Pints of claret issued forth, and terrifyingly, the index finger of his left hand hung uselessly as he'd severed all the tendons on the back of it, right by the knuckle.

He's okay now - had it strapped at odd angles for ages to let the tendons heal, then physio, and now he's still able to play amazing stunt guitar, so no harm done. I can only imagine the horror of those first weeks though, I know that I'd be convinced I was never going to be able to play again O_o
(Professor Kenny Martin Hmm? What?, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 16:50, 3 replies)

I live in almost constant terror
of damaging my hands too badly to play guitar

I'd rather lose both legs

and an eye
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 13 Aug 2008, 17:02, closed)

...And then there's Pete Townshend...
...Windmilling his hand so fast that he impaled it on the tremolo arm, completely running it through...
(Mousy Tongue ...Generally bemused by life..., Wed 13 Aug 2008, 17:14, closed)

I was wondering
only this morning whether it's possible to split a finger on a string...

I like to do a lot of over elaborate slides on the bass (probably to make up for a lack of ability or something), and, sometimes if I haven't practised and the old callouses have faded a bit, it feels as though my finger's going to burst open.

Doubt it's possible, but it's always there at the back of my mind.
( Moey, Thu 14 Aug 2008, 9:46, closed)