My Mallet - aka - Bone Crusher

One of my favorite tools in my shop is also one of my most hated.  My mallet.  I use it for so many things, it's the most versatile hand tool I have.  I'm talking hand tools here.  The mallet serves as a hammer, a mallet (duh!), a plugger hammering in thing-a-jigger, a weapon of mass destruction, a gavel while arguing with my help (my kids) and I even use it for stretching the shoulders and upper back.  In fact, scary thought - I have been known to accidentally put it in my purse and carry it around with me (unknowing of course).

Right Foot broken toes

left foot broken toe

I have two mallets.  One is shinny and new and never ever used and there is the "Bone Crusher" or as I refer to it as the "Toe Smasher".  It has earned this name in July of 2013 when i accidentally dropped it on my big toe on my right foot.  I broke my toe.  Then in August of the same year, I did the same thing to my left foots big toe.  That one broke too.  Have you ever had a broken toe? Other than taping it to it's neighbor there is nothing that can be done.  You hobble along and go on with your business.  Thankfully I broke the phalanges and not the knuckles of them both - so the hobbling was at best a cute shuffle.  The worst part of it all was not being able to get a pedicure because of the healing.  I had to keep them as straight as possible.

Broken Thumb

Broken thumb

Then on December 23rd during the Christmas rush of getting all the bunk beds ready for deliveries for Christmas Eve I smashed my left thumb.  What a royal job I did too.  I was separating a top bunk from a bottom bunk - because I build them tight, I had to use the mallet to get that extra umph.  Sledging away I was beating the block and wham, full force right on my thumb.  Looking back it may have been better to use a clamp to keep the block there, lesson learned.  But for that time after working a 9 hour shift already, I didn't have that hindsight.  I threw the mallet across the room, my face and thumb felt like it was going to explode, I drooled, I couldn't breath - it hurt so bad. Then the breath came, and I cried and screamed like a girl.  I am a girl so I will not apologize for that.  After 10 minutes of sniffling and realizing my thumb was indeed broken and numb.  I put some duct tape on it and finished the bed i was working on and another one.  I finally went to bed 5 hours later.

The next morning however, my thumb was obviously swollen, very hot and the pressure I felt was unreal.  I felt as if the skin was going to tear at any moment.  I was hoping that binding it would work, but I knew I needed to have it drained.  So unlike my toes, I had no choice but to visit the ER.  They burred an nice hole in the nail and let it drain.  That day's work went so smoothly because the entire thing was actually numb and I couldn't feel anything.  Just a little medical tape on the knuckle to prevent it from bending and I was good to go.

3 months healed

Again, in hindsight I really should have gone to the orthopedic.  Here it is in March (3 full months later) and although all is healed per say, I still have no feeling in the tip of my thumb.  I still can't press my truck's key fob buttons with that thumb.  When I do, I can't feel my thumb tip on the button, but this shooting pain goes from just under the nail to the base of the knuckle when I press. So I have some damage there somewhere.  But it is usable and I have no issues in using the pad of the thumb for anything.

Since I'm a firm believer in rubbing dirt in the "owies" anyway or repairing a good cut with super glue (Do not use gorilla glue - you will have a little bump in there forever) I am happy with the outcome.  One thing I am really happy with though, having broken both my big toes, I now have to routinely go in for pedicures to help with the nails growing properly.  Ahem..I'll take that punishment any day! I gave up on having nice finger nails a long time ago, but I love pretty toes.