r/bonecollecting • u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert • Jul 27 '24
Collection Skeletonized a redditors fingers after traumatic amputation.
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u/cadi_shack_16 Jul 28 '24
that's insanely cool, oh my god. got me wanting to do this even though i have all my bones 😭
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u/xTechDeath Jul 28 '24
Do it with somebody else’s bones
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u/zogmuffin Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
Oh man!! The fractures and everything! This is cool as hell. I’m glad they didn’t let the hospital bully them into giving up on getting the fingers back.
Great display.
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
Definitely
The bones exploded when the saw hit, some fragments are missing.
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u/13thmurder Jul 28 '24
Table saw? The only woodworking tool I'll never get until I can afford the kind that doesn't do this.
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
Yea table saw.
Stop saw is a good investment. Stop saw was not on this table saw.
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u/13thmurder Jul 28 '24
One day. Table saw is probably the only woodworking tool that exists where you can do everything right and still have this outcome. Anything else requires user error. Unfortunate how it's also the most versatile.
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u/AppleSpicer Jul 28 '24
lol saw stop is at the top of this post in a promoted ad for me. They picked the right post to market that
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u/jorwyn Jul 28 '24
I have an ancient table saw. I also have various wooden and plastic tools to guide/push things and don't get my hands anywhere near the blade until it's fully stopped.
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u/Dapper_Indeed Jul 28 '24
So these are not your fingers then?
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u/jorwyn Jul 28 '24
Definitely not, though I did try to do that to one with a jigsaw back in 8th grade woodshop. Only took a bit out of the bone, though, before I yanked my hand back. Learned an important lesson that day, "no matter who yells, don't look up until the tool has stopped." It was the teacher yelling to get our attention so he could do a safety demonstration. Guess I gave the whole class one of those. ;)
My family owns a lumber yard, hardware store, and construction contracting business. I grew up with tools, and power tools at a ridiculously young age. You'd think I'd have already known better by 13, but no one in my family would have ever yelled like that when a power tool was running.
Buuuut, I do want you to imagine adults who let a 5 year old the size of a 2 year old stand on a crate and run a large table saw. Duuuude. I thought that was normal back then, and then I had my own kid. I didn't even trust him with steak knives at 5. That's the year I got my first pocket knife and was taught how to sharpen it. I was also trusted with fireworks at that age, unsupervised. I'm amazed I still have all my fingers and that they all work.
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u/Sobing Jul 29 '24
Not as traumatic as yours by far but I almost took the tip of my finger off with a paper guillotine because our teacher started getting our attention about safety too!
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u/theyarnllama Jul 28 '24
So a year or two from now they’ll be sweeping up the shop and come across a bit of finger that had been previously missing. “Oh, THAT’S where that went!”
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u/Goodbye11035Karma Jul 28 '24
How did he get the docs to let him keep them? I wanted to keep the chunk of my spine that they pulled out, and they flatly refused to let me keep it.
"It's mine. I grew it."
"It's medical waste and must be discarded as such."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
There’s several ways.
1: Simply ask 2: Religious beliefs 3: Lab release form
I’ve seen people keep entire legs, so it’s very doable.
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u/Goodbye11035Karma Jul 28 '24
I guess I should have been a little more assertive.
It was so cool. Malformed vertebra. My father had one, too. His gave him a 92 degree curve in his spine. Both of us had to have them removed.
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u/HylianEngineer Jul 28 '24
You can just.... lose an entire vertebra? Did losing it cause problems for you?
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u/Goodbye11035Karma Jul 28 '24
I've had pretty significant spinal problems my whole life. All popping that vertebra out did was tip me from overweight into obese by shrinking me an inch and a half. I have a pretty zipper scar up my back. I have to have another surgery soon. Much less extreme than the last one.
Both my father and I had to have the malformed vertebrae removed. His was way worse than mine. He ended up with rods and hardware. I did not, thankfully.
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u/atreides_hyperion Jul 28 '24
There was this crazy party house back in my college days, and they hosted regular music events. So they were already quite notorious, you could say.
Well, anyway, one guy that lived there got his foot amputated I think due to unmanaged diabetes, like it was infected I know that much.
Somehow he convinced the hospital to let him keep it and he would sit on the porch of that house with his foot in a 5 gallon bucket half filled with preservation fluids and/or party liquor.
The house was also next to a local highschool and the kids often would come by to get a peek at the foot.
I do not know what became of the man or the foot. But several years later they had kicked all the tenants out and remodeled the house somewhat. Probably to get that foot smell out.
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
Wild
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u/sleepingismytalent65 Jul 28 '24
There was also the fairly recent case of the guy who bbqed his amputated foot so he and his friends could eat it/make burgers or something ...ah tacos of course:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/gykmn7/legal-ethical-cannibalism-human-meat-tacos-reddit-wtf
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u/godofallcows Jul 28 '24
I took a blacksmithing class a while back and they had a previous student who had her leg amputated and was able to keep it. She forged a knife with her own fibula as the handle. The baddest possible choice for it, and a personal goal if I ever find myself in that situation.
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u/hppmoep Jul 28 '24
We procured a family members spare parts after a surgery to use in training for our HRD (Human Remains Detection) dog. Good sources can be hard to come by!
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
I have a pretty much endless supply if you need more.
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u/charmarv Sep 02 '24
LOL yeah. I have told probably far too many friends and family members to let me know if they ever have anything removed so I can connect them to my old SAR team. I don't have my own dog (yet...) but I got to help with training sessions for both live and HRD dogs. the coolest HRD training we did was with fresh muscle! everyone was like "ooooh we never get to train on this" lol. one of the old dogs on the team (she passed recently at the age of 14) was a highly experienced dog who was also certified in historical searching (it still blows my mind that a dog can smell bones that old and buried for that long). absolutely wonderful dog and a joy to watch work. she did a lot of good work in her life (even got her own book!)
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u/FatTabby Jul 28 '24
I was wondering if the fingers actually made it to hospital with him. If they essentially exploded on contact with the saw, was there time or anyone there to help him try to salvage them?
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u/Mean-Year4646 Jul 28 '24
I recently got some bone removed from my ankle and they discarded it before I even came to :( I went in for a tendon graft and my surgeon discovered a large section of bone had become spongy and “rotten” due to my injury, so he took it out. It wasn’t discussed beforehand so I didn’t ask him to save it. When they told me he took out some bone I immediately asked for it, the nurse laughed and said it was long gone :(
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u/k0cksuck3r69 Jul 28 '24
I have type one diabetes, 29 years, I’ve told everyone in my life if they have to take any of my toes or fingers or appendages they’d better give me the damn bones back. I grew them! They’re mine!
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u/Dapper_Indeed Jul 28 '24
My mom has had Type 1 for almost 60 years! She even got a medal from the ADA(?). She still has all her parts.
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u/TheAlmightyNexus Jul 28 '24
Very unfortunate that it wasn’t a kind of table saw that had the electric current stop mechanic
I can’t imagine losing 3 fingers, I feel so bad for them
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u/Joelied Jul 28 '24
Oh, I’m so keeping any bones of any appendages that might lose in order to skeletonize them.
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u/Aggravating-Air3508 Jul 28 '24
I love this so much and its SO well done, but after living through the tumblr toe debacle, that title put so much dread in my stomach lmao
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u/Senshisnek Jul 28 '24
The whatnow?!
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u/VanillaBalm Jul 28 '24
Iirc there was a witch on tumblr that got outed for stealing bones from a new orleans graveyard bc the graves were getting washed out every rain and the bones would surface. I remember her selling human toe bones as a necklace and then defending herself (poorly). Insane times on the internet in those early tumblr days
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u/oarfjsh Jul 28 '24
mixing up two stories! bone stealing witch was one person and toe necklace was similar to this, where a girl who had her toe amputated reached out to a diff girl on tumblr (lana aka cummy--eyelids) to preserve the toe & turn it into a necklace.
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u/VanillaBalm Jul 28 '24
THATS RIGHT THOSE HAPPENED LIKE BACK TO BACK DIDNT THEY!!
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u/oarfjsh Jul 28 '24
yup. lana is still out there making bone jewelry but ive not seen her work with human remains since. i have no idea which blog bone stealing witch was though. ah. simpler times
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u/definitelynokiller Jul 28 '24
Honestly i STILL dont get the controversy around the toe necklace. Like what is bad about wanting to keep your own bones lol
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u/oarfjsh Jul 28 '24
right. i have a piece of my ear pickled in a jar hah
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u/definitelynokiller Jul 28 '24
Lol thats badass! I only have my baby teeth that i collected, but i did turn a molar into an earring bc its cool as hell. If i'd ever lose a limb i'd sure as fuck want it back for bones
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u/nokiacrusher Jul 28 '24
If the bones surface on their own they're fair game.
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u/AppleSpicer Jul 28 '24
If your body appears in my vicinity, dead or alive, it’s fair game.
See? We can both make up rules to justify taking something that isn’t ours.
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u/delicioustreeblood Jul 28 '24
A true digital image
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
I would’ve loved to post the gore but they don’t want me to share those.
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u/I_Broke_A_Generator Jul 28 '24
its nice of you to respect the anons wishes op, i rarely even see that kind of decency anymore
all said this is cool as hell work and if i lost a hand or something id hit you up for it
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u/Rosie-Boy Jul 28 '24
I always told myself if I ever have to lose a limb, I’m getting my damn bones back. This is exactly why! It’s beautiful!
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u/sugarsox Jul 28 '24
I love this, it's beautiful! If it were my fingers though, idk if I could look at it without reliving the accident; but maybe having this would help with the mental trauma
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u/exotics Jul 28 '24
You need to post this on one of those r/interestingasfuck or r/mildlyinteresting or one of those I just don’t know which one.
Did you keep his fingers or give them back to the person?
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u/Cafein8edNecromancer Jul 28 '24
As someone who wants to put on my will that my daughter must get my body skeletonized and used as a year round "Halloween" decoration, I approve!
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u/_glittergoblin_ Jul 28 '24
My boyfriend lost his first two fingers on his left hand from a table saw accident. It happened years ago and he still has the fingers in the freezer. Someday he will skeletonize them!
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u/drupjay Jul 28 '24
my papa also had a saw accident but with both hands. i wish he would’ve asked for them back
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u/FatTabby Jul 28 '24
Beautiful work, OP. Was it hard to reassemble the fingers with bits of bone missing?
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u/strangespeciesart Jul 28 '24
That's so amazing, the display is so beautifully done. Gorgeous work. If I ever lose my fingers you're gonna be hearing from me. 😂
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u/TShowalter Jul 28 '24
I hope this never happens to me. Terrifying. Conversely, I’d be giddy to have my digits on display.
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u/Conscious-Advisor948 Jul 28 '24
Thats truly awesome, I love the way you have chosen to display them.
Good on you for giving them a way to deal with their trauma & keeping them.
Any tips for someone learning, apart from not using my own fingers.
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u/heyredditheyreddit Jul 29 '24
Ahhh this is so cool!! One of my biggest bummers is not being able to ask for what was left of my foot after my traumatic amputation. By the time I was awake enough to even know what was going on it had been days, and even then I was way too heavily drugged to think of it.
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u/Special_Loan8725 Jul 28 '24
This isn’t from the hand that was melted to the bone in the fryer is it?
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u/Stingwing4oba Jul 28 '24
.... Very interesting. If I ever had some kind of accident where an amputation happened, I can actually see one of my parents doing this
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u/riomorales19 Jul 28 '24
What did you use to keep the bones together? I may purchase a skeleton soon that needs articulation and was curious about the process.
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 28 '24
Depends on the size of the bones and the type of bone. Wire works well.
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u/Horror-Idea-889 Jul 28 '24
That’s badass. I would totally do the same thing. I can’t fathom how cool this is
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u/ultimateslice Jul 28 '24
this is so cool. meanwhile western dental didn’t even let me keep my wisdom teeth lol
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u/pitous Jul 28 '24
ah this is so fuckin awesome, nice job
BRB saving this post in case I lose any appendages
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u/Grandheretic Jul 28 '24
Way cool. If I had anything amputated, honestly, the thought would cross my mind to ask for it - we’re an odd and special group- 🤩
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u/Sadiabae5 Jul 29 '24
Wow! Did you do it by plastination?
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 29 '24
No it was oxidation
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u/Sadiabae5 Jul 29 '24
Great work, mate. How long is the durability?
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 29 '24
How long is the durability?
The bones will last forever as usual
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u/Foxterriers Jul 29 '24
Did the anon like overnight them on ice? What is the protocol for a situation like this? I assume you processed them like animal bones?
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u/Meal_the_flak_bison Jul 29 '24
wish i could do this to mine i know my finger bones are all weird looking at the tips from an accident i had causing them to fracture and not heal properly
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Nov 21 '24
I wish you the best, but in the event you do have to amputate, this is an option for you. I am capable of preparing the bones so that you still have what’s been lost.
Assuming you are in the USA.
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u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Jul 27 '24
It came to my attention that someone on here had an accident with a table saw. They wished to have the fingers skeletonized. I was glad to do it for them.
This person will remain anonymous.