I protected the heavy steel splitting wedge from unslightly scratches by keeping my thumb between it and a wildly unbalanced block of wood. Note: if you roll a 140 pound block of wood into an area 1″ too short you will learn a valuable lesson. Yes, I carry a first aid kit. Also, if you damage a finger on a 27 ton ram and it happens when the engine is off, that’s about the best case scenario. (Also, I was wearing heavy leather gloves too. I hate to think what would have happened without them. My hitchiking career would be over!!)