When Liberating Your Sony Headphones From Their Plastic Shell, Be Careful Not To Stab Yourself With An X-Acto Knife
My colleague came to work waving around a new pair of Sony headphone's he'd bought on the way over, still new in the blister plastic packaging. He was excited because he got such a good deal on them, and tried cutting through the package with a pair of heavy duty scissors. The plastic was unusually strong and was resisting even our most well made scissors (we work in a printing facility, and have lots of types of scissors, all high quality). He switched to the x-acto knife after the scissors were unable to pierce the thick bonded plastic.We also use these knives regularly and have never had an accident. Well the plastic was so strong he needed to apply a large amount of force to the blade, which caused his hand to slip toward his body and into his abdomen. The cut was deep and he bled through his shirt; we found gauze in the first aid kit and dressed the wound using sterile wipes and pads until he was cleaned up enough to go to the emergency room. I had to use the x-acto knife again to open the package all the way, and it took me nearly ten minutes of precise, careful cuts to get the headphones out, and I use these knives almost every day as part of my various craft hobbies. I literally had to slice all the way around the perimeter of the package, and that was not easy. I doubt somone without a lot of cutting experience could ever have opened this package safely.
This is not a directed complaint toward Sony specifically, but to all manufacturers to make your packaging reasonably easy to open for customers that spent money on your products. More directly, you should be able to open any package with a pair of scissors in a minute or less. If not, your packaging becomes hazardous by causing people to resort to sharper utensils like knives and rasors. My colleage is recovering well and does not plan to pursue a lawsuit.
We are not surprised. Liberating consumer electronics from their protective armor can be a Sisyphean struggle. Fortified enclosures help retailers by deterring theft and making products easier to ship, but rob consumers of their ability to delightedly tear open a present. Retailers should develop a better way to cocoon their products, one that discourages consumers from accidently stabbing themselves.
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Ouch!
Not pursuing a lawsuit? That is remarkable! In the United States???
This is why one should always, always cut going away from the body instead of towards it.
It doesn't change the fact that I still manage to stab myself with either a sharp piece of the plastic packaging or the knife every time I open one of those blasted things.
While I understand some of these packages are sturdier than necessary, you should never cut towards yourself (or towards your coworker either for that matter). Also, I'm not sure what kind of heavy-duty scissors they used, but most decent pair of scissors would have been better than this flimsy knife. Even if the guy were cutting away from himself, the blade could have easily broken, and things could have gotten a LOT worse. They should have used a box cutter, as this was clearly not what an x-acto knives were meant for
You have got to be kidding.
This is precisely why I support legislation to make it mandatory for all passengers and crew members to encase themselves in blister plastic packaging for the duration of the flight. It would mean being able to take our toenail clippers with us again!
Sometimes, every now and then, someone just feels too stupid to file suit.
But at the same time, god I hate getting into those plastic pacages. "You want these headphones? Huh? Well you're going to have to eeeeeaaaarn it."
I believe there is a special place in Hell for people who distribute thier products in Clamshell packages.
"Not pursuing a lawsuit? That is remarkable! In the United States???"
One suspects that someone who spells the word "razor" with an "S" instead of a "Z" is in fact Canadian. No?
It's not always best to cut away from your body.
Better you stab yourself than someone else.
Consumer Reports did a thing on this not too long ago, as I recall. I've yet to find the package that won't yield to my big EMT scissors (they carry them to cut through seat belts, and they're also the sort that used to be advertised on TV as being able to cut through a penny), but the sharp edges of the package are just about as deadly. It's just getting insane, what they'll do with all the damn packaging. I'd prefer a box.
Not for nothing, but I second the comments about not cutting towards yourself. That's blade-handling 101.
Then we see the blade in question: indeed, it's an x-acto knife, which is primarily for delicate, deliberate cutting (or "for precision cutting and trimming" according to their website). I would say he's lucky the blade didn't snap, except that may have been preferable in this case. Get a damn box cutter.
That doesn't excuse the packaging: I shouldn't NEED a box cutter to open my headphones. At the very least I may cut the cord! But still, he claims to use these knives regularly yet he's cutting towards himself with a blade unsuited for the job?
well geez, i dont think ive ever had to resort to an exacto knife to open one of those plastic containters. usually if i can cut through where the plastic is sealed along the outside, i can just rip the packaging off with my hands.
Reason that this sort of packaging is used is ostensibly to reduce shrinkage.
Looks to me like this fellow was a mere 12-15 inches from having another kind of shrinkage. Seriously though, one can do some serious damage to themself or worse someone else, all to (supposedly) deter shoplifting?
There has to be a better way.
while it was stupidity, i do feel about 95% of those blister packs are WAY too "secure"/hard to open. It should be such an ordeal.
and yes, NEVER cut towards yourself! geez. they teach that in first grade, don't they?!
-Isn't there an annual thing called the Oyster Awards given out to companies whose packaging is notoriously hard to get into?
-If you work for a printing company, why didn't you just put the package in the hydraulic paper cutter?
I'm a fan of the lexan clamshells we use at my Job#2 that we keep the printer ink and flash drives in. We take them off when a customer buys the thing and after that they're free to open the item however they wish. These work out great because there's less waste for the consumer and the environment(the bulky plastic boxes get reused over and over instead of getting thrown away) and still gives a sense of security. Plus, though I hate the system immensely, there's the added benefit of the boxes being fitted with a copper coil so that it trips the alarm every time and can't be deactivated.
I have kids, I have to open a lot of those. I absolutely hate them. Don't ever use exacto knifes for anything but cutting paper with a metal ruler and even then be super careful. Wire snippers, big arse scissors, or tin snips should be used and then you have to dodge the plastic shards which will cut you too...
I hate the plastic packaging on electronics because it just seems like overkill.
Work in a printshop, eh? Why didn't they just use the big paper slicer that every shop has. You know, the kind that can cut through two reams without a problem?
I'm thinking my new hobby is going to be purchasing products in this sort of packaging, making it obvious I attempted to open the package, then return it to the store because I couldn't get it open. What fun!
HEY PICTURE BOY!! PULL YOUR PANTS UP THAAAAANKS!!!1
I don't need to see your hairy nether regions to appreciate that you did in fact stab yourself above the waist.
Earlier I learned not to get into dark cars with strangers in the middle of the night. Now, I learn how NOT to stab myself with a knife. If only there was a post on how to rid myself of these disfiguring scars...
You don't realize how much I hate Christmas.
Burning or cutting myself on old screw in light bulbs (Do not put them in your bed), setting the kitchen on fire with buttered rum (Do not put the bottle on the stovetop), and the pints of blood I lose opening a game controller or some sort of memory stick (Do not cover your ginsu knife with butter, no matter what you read on the interweb).
Oh, and don't get me started on Halloween. That pumpkin is not going to be carved with safety scissors.
I am reminded of various Japanese electronics manuals. Those pictures are great.
Hint: Place treasure on a flat, hard surface. Use a box cutter, one with a thumb grip so you can use reasonable pressure. Cut just inside the edge on three sides. The secret is to cut away from your already bleeding/bruised/broken body. Remove treasure.
4. Profit.
Consumerist: Saving lives.
There has to be a better way.
There is a better way. My wife's 95 year old grandfather has one of these. It apparently works quite well. I, personally, still use my pocket knife.
As others have said, never slice toward yourself with ANY sharp object. That being said, I think this should have a category of "Darwinian". I've done some stupid things in my time but this is just stupid IMO.
One day I was checking out at my local Office Depot, and saw this tool called an Open X. It's got a small retractable razor blade for cutting open DVDs/CDs, and then the top is designed to be used to open the plastic cases by cutting a small opening and then running it along the periphery. It's better and safer than just regular blades at least, since I've also cut my thumb once pretty badly with a knife on a plastic package.
I just did a search to see if they still make these (got mine a few years back), looked like they do:
[www.myopenx.com]
@j03m0mma: Here here! That's "cutting things 101"
I think it's almost comical that a person who works around extremely sharp objects all day would be stupid enough to handle and an exact-o knife in such a reckless manor.
"I had to use the x-acto knife again to open the package all the way, and it took me nearly ten minutes of precise, careful cuts to get the headphones out, and I use these knives almost every day as part of my various craft hobbies."
If you really knew what you were talking about you'd know that exact-o knives are primarily used for straight edge trimming and small minor object trimming.
I used to work in retail and dealt with "blister packs" all the time. A box cutter would have easily made short work of it.
Ouch, embarrassing accident.
I usually scrape myself on the packaging itself, after getting frustrated chopping away with scissors for 5 minutes.
Remember those Ginsu Knives they used to sell on infomercials? I had a roommate give me a set (I don't know why) but they are AWESOME for cutting open clamshell packages.
@hc5duke: Then you should stab him or her in the neck. Whomever designed blister packaging deserves to be cut.
I've actually gotten cuts from the plastic surrounding the product trying to get it of the blister packing. The cuts were bad enough to scar. And I wasn't using a knife. That material could be deadly if it sliced an artery. I HATE that packaging.
Personally, I use a katana to open these things.
Why was he buying sony anyway? He must not keep up to date on all the crap they've pulled in respect to DRM and selling purposefully defective devices.
What characterized Sisyphus' struggle was the fact that before Sisyphus could reach the top of the hill rolling his boulder, the boulder would roll back down and Sisyphus would have to repeat the whole thing over again. Hence his task was never complete and his struggle was constant and eternal.
One could argue that we have to open those shells over and over again and thus it constitutes a "Sisyphean struggle". But I think it weakens the power of the expression because if that is enough then there's a gazillion things in life which would fall under that category. And there's the fact that we do not spend all of our time opening shells. We can enjoy ourselves whereas Sisyphus was always involved in the same task.
"Herculean struggle" would fit very well.
Everytime I have to open one of these kinds of packages I wonder how long it's going to take before someone sues a company over somekind of packaging related issue.
oh geez, every person I know has atleast ONCE in their life cut something with the blade towards themselves. especially with that type of knife.
and I do hate that type of packaging, there is no reason that you need a tool kit to open headphones.
Well, I'm glad he's going to be OK.
But this is really very funny to me.
We have used tin snips to get into those damn things before. I have a pair of chicago cutlery heavy duty kitchen scissors that work great for opening up these stupid containers. Those scissors will also cut through chicken bones. I still have cut my hands on the plastic before.
I have seen a few products in clamshells that were only sealed at select points of the container, they were pushed in on both sides and you just have to slice or cut through the fused spot. More places should use these.
I can never understand why blister packaging are so intentionally damn hard to open...
1. Darwin award contestant?
2. We can do without the happy trail picture shot consumerist. Now I'm not hungry.
This is what happens to you if you purchase Sony headphones/earphones and expect great sound quality.
@lemur: I thought the story had to do that He had to balance it at the top, but once he got it up one side, it fell down the other side.
@Nilt:
Looks cool, but seriously WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO BUY MORE JUNK TO OPEN MORE JUNK?
I'm with you - they're a menace.
@Everyone:
Yes, the guys a bit of a doofus, but really those packages are HORRIBLE. They're anti-environment (I'm guessin') and the biggest pain in the ass ever. There's got to be a better way!
He should sue Sony. Products liability generally follows the legal doctrine of "Strict Liability". That means that the maker of a product (including its packaging)is liable for injuries caused by their product. The injured person does not have to prove that the manufacturer (Sony)was negligent in any way. The injured person only has to prove that they were injured buy the product.
@Consumer-X: Agreed. The designers of these things KNOW they are unsafe. I'm not suehappy but this has gone on for so long that only massive punitive damages from a case like this one is going to do anything to change things.
Even though cardboard is cheap, easily opened, easily recycled, and can be printed to look just fine, these people insist on using impenetrable plastic that itself can be turned into a weapon if it becomes thick pointy shards.
If they want to show off the product using a clamshell, make it one that can be easily opened that is contained inside a cardboard box that is sealed shut. Cut the seal, open the box, then open the plastic clamshell, then put the plastic and box into the recycle bin. Ta-dah, done. That's not too heavy, not too dangerous, the boxes are light and can be hung or stacked on shelves as required, and best of all, NOBODY GETS HURT.
But what do you expect from the company that installed ILLEGAL rootkits on peoples' computers? I will likely never buy anything from Sony again because of that, and this isn't helping.
I hate this kind of packaging. I haven't cut myself with the tool I used to open the package (scissors, utility knife, Xacto knife) but HAVE cut myself on the sharp edges of the plastic after opening the package.
I think the creator of this kind of package should be locked in a room with food/water sealed in this kind of packaging...and no tools to open them.
Kitchen. Shears.
Are you kidding me? How about don't be stupid and cut towards yourself with a sharp object, always cut away from yourself. 1st thing my dad taught me when I handled a knife.