Feels longer, but just two weeks ago (6/8/24) I was processing some sycamore between heat cycles on a batch of custom knives. I slipped and ploughed my hand, knuckle first, into the moving bandsaw blade. I didn’t have time to assess the damage before I covered my hand with a shop rag. Thanks to adrenaline, I was able to quench one last blade before realizing it was actually really painful. Feeling faint, I closed my shop, walked briskly up the hill to let my wife know I may need a ride somewhere. If you are lucky enough to know her, you know how calm she stays. But, after a quick look at my hand my babe briskly shifted into overdrive. We got to the nearest walk-in clinic and they turned us away, telling us to go to the emergency room.

At the ER, I was seen immediately and X-rays confirmed bone was involved and after a few hours, I was sewn up and on my way home. Two days later I met with a hand specialist who recommended surgery ASAP as there was extensive damage that would, in a matter of days, make my finger essentially useless. Here I am, turning 40 soon, supporting my wife & daughter. Almost three years ago, we traded a dual income in for a family and home centric life. It’s been nothing short of amazing to raise our daughter while working in the backyard with my partner as an amazing stay-at-home-mother. I knew it was a risk yet I naively felt immune to catastrophe. The hands that support us are no longer able to do what I’d been training them to do for the last decade. Mentally I went into the darkest corners of my mind, wondering when I might make wake up from this nightmare. I was devastated.

I had my surgery (6/13/24) and they cut and looped tendons, repaired sagittal bands, knuckle caps and carved and cleaned out fragmented bone from my wide-open left index finger. It was my first experience in an operating room and I’m ok if it’s my last. Very impressive but nothing I want to ever experience again. By the time I woke up from my surgery, the last three remaining knives had been purchased by three generations of the family of a neighbor turned best friend we met in Athens, GA more than a decade ago. That was the start of the community outpouring. I am so incredibly grateful for this community. From home cooked meals, rides, childcare, lawn mowing, gift cards, cash and heart felt hugs, to sympathy cards and deep, meaningful conversations, I've realized that the darker the clouds, the brighter the lining. Encouragement from Curtis Buchanan & Jason Knight (two of my most solid mentors who have both faced debilitating injuries at some point in their careers) reassured me that in time, I'll gain not only new skills but a new perspective.

Meer days after the surgery, my friend Kevin Johnson (who filmed a video to share the process with you both ten years ago and more recently) surprised my wife and me with a GoFundMe campaign. At this point in time, friends, family, neighbors, customers and total strangers have banded together to help raise over $15,000 to support my family in covering the incurring medical expenses as well as lost income from being out of work for what could be many months during recovery.

I am looking forward to being on the other side of all of this, but good stuff takes time. A few days at home proved that going stir crazy is a real thing but is also entirely preventable with enough visitors and sympathy cards. I keep trying to process my current predicament but it seems to just demand time.

Perspective shifts are happening already. I’ve taken my mobility and independence for granted all these years. I do not know how this will play out long term, but I do know everything will be okay. I will continue forth with an even greater appreciation for what community means and is capable of and try to live up to the new precedent for how I treat others when they are in need. My family and I are grateful for our friend who felt compelled to make a difference in our situation by pooling complete strangers together to lift us up. In turn, my mental state was pulled up from the depths and even if I never make another knife, I will know the difference that community can make. While slowing down is not what I want, it seems to be what I have to do.

thanks for tuning in & supporting,
Will Manning, knife maker

PS. The GoFundMe campaign to help support my family through the recovery is linked here