You-Tube K3wl's fingertips blown off by "blasting cap"

[Positron]

Jesus H. Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro889KPZX6g

Notice the comments posted by the video's author:

"i tryed to open it and then i blew in my hand"

He also says " nån tändhatt försvaret/militären använder."

I recognize the word "military", so I assume the guy was hacking apart a professionally-made detonator to get at the k3wl powder inside.

Sad. I'm glad he still has use of his hands. I wonder about his ears.

By the looks of his other videos, the accident makes perfect sense. He's that type you know? The type of guy who you just know is gonna screw on a steel end-cap with some active material in the threads...

Analyzing his fuck-up, I'd say he was holding the cap tightly within his left fingers (that's obvious), and digging the thing apart with some kind of tool in his right hand. I say that because in addition to his blown-off left-hand fingertips, it looks like his right thumb is half-gone too...

Perhaps his right hand was fisted up wrapped around the tool (screwdriver or something equally as stupid), which protected his other fingers.

His days are numbered.

[Mr Science]

Thank God he is alright, could have ended much worse for him.

I think such videos are overall a good thing to have on youtube, showing people's injuries resulting from stupidity. We all know of the countless videos of idiots dangerously using explosives, destroying property, etc, and the average kewl sees only such videos (without showing any of consequence), they probably assume there is nothing to worry about. Once they see the dangers, hopefully such acts of stupidity will decrease. Now I'm not saying people should not use or handle these things; people should simply be aware of the potential consequences of their actions, thats all.

[ChippedHammer]

Pulling apart a commercial blasting cap is one of the most counter productive things you could do, getting your hands on them is like finding gold.

[joffe]

I remember one oaf I went through basic training with (how he was accepted into the military is beyond me - I guess they were in desperate need of men), during my first stint in the military. He was trying to remove sawdust from a non-electric blasting cap and he did this by knocking the open end of the cap against a rock. He blew of the first joints of his thumb and first two fingers. So how this Swedish guy held the blasting cap is in my opinion pretty much open to speculations.

[Kaydon]

Wait, what? He was KNOCKING the cap against a ROCK? How could anyone be that stupid. Reminds me of that idiot a few years ago that bit down on a cap and it blew his teeth out.

[joffe]

Yup. A complete moron but strong as an ox and with an incredible endurance. But how that imbecile managed to complete basic training is way beyond me.
The drill for sawdust-covered blasting caps was as follows:

Look into the blasting cap, if there is sawdust inside, grab the blasting cap with three fingers, opening pointing downwards. Knock your wrist gently against your forearm. If there are still sawdust in the blasting cap, then the blasting cap is probably wet and should not be used. If you don't mind risking a dud, you could let it dry in room temperature and use it later. Knocking the blasting cap against a hard surface was not according to the manual.

A French NCO I knew, who had worked in Africa in the 60's and 70's told me how the local rubbish passing off as soldiers thought is was the manly thing to do to crimp the cap on the fuse with their teeth. If they bit over too much, they not only lost a few teeth but also their lives. He showed us a picture he had enlarged showing the effects of such manly action. It was hard to see clearly what had happened, but much of the lower jaw was gone and several teeth in the upper jaw had been blown away and bone fragments had penetrated his brain, killing him instantly. Anyway, he was no longer a ladies magnet if he had fancied himself as one.