CPSC NEISS · code 870

Awls, Chisels Or Planes

Awls, Chisels Or Planes: danger rank #526 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #314 of 838 (4,144 estimated ER visits a year; declining by about 18% over the last five years).

Home Communication & Entertainment CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Awls, Chisels Or Planes ranks #526 of 838 by danger score (33/100) at ER-volume #314 of 838 (4,144/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#526
danger rank of 838
#314
ER-volume rank of 838
33/100
danger score
4,144/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (33/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

33 Lower than most lower than 63% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 32/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

B
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 2 10th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 4,144 56th 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend -18% 38th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 4 31st 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 82,886 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 870. Segments sum to 82,886 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Home Communication & Entertainment group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Home Communication & Entertainment danger scores

1. Tools, Not Specified44/1002. Batteries43/1003. Bench Or Table Saws43/1004. Torches, Not Specified42/1005. Battery Chargers/adapters41/1006. Power Saws, Other Or Not …40/1007. Rope Or String40/1008. Awls, Chisels Or Planes33/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10033/100
PlainSafety danger score · Awls, Chisels Or Planes

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 33/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for awls, chisels or planes - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 4,144 ER visits/yr Above median volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 1.5% Low admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend-18%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for awls, chisels or planes are declining by about 18% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (6,705 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2019 (2,536 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 33,569 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (18,969 cases). The 35-44 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 15,563 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 1.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 4 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how awls, chisels or planes fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

2K3K4K5K6K7K 20052008201120142017202020232024 3K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Awls, Chisels Or Planes, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 403 113 516
5-14 2,808 344 3,152
15-24 10,554 774 11,328
25-34 13,673 1,446 15,119
35-44 14,199 1,364 15,563
45-54 11,334 679 12,013
55-64 11,582 899 12,481
65-74 7,819 537 8,356
75+ 4,273 91 4,364

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Finger Laceration 33,569
Hand Laceration 18,969
Finger Avulsion 3,658
Finger Amputation 2,798
Wrist Laceration 2,351
Finger Fracture 1,668
Lower Arm Laceration 1,543
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 1,263
Hand Contusions, Abr. 1,066
Eyeball Foreign Body 935
Lower Leg Laceration 818
Finger Foreign Body 775
Lower Arm Foreign Body 768
Hand Puncture 708
Foot Laceration 635

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 97.6% (80,930)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 0.9% (742)
Left Without Being Seen 0.7% (562)
Treated And Transferred 0.6% (528)
Held For Observation 0.1% (124)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 46 · Male · Wrist · Laceration · 2024

46YOM W/LAC VOLAR ASPECT OF RIGHT DISTAL FOREARM. THIS INJ WAS SUSTAINED SHORTLY PTA. HE WAS USING A CHISEL, LOST CONTROL OF THE CHISEL & ACCIDENTALLY STRUCK THE R VOLAR DISTAL FOREARM. INJURY OCCURRED AT HOME. DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT WRIST

Age 78 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

78 YOM-CUT HAND ON A CHISEL DX: HAND LACERATION

Age 23 · Male · Finger · Laceration · 2024

23YOM WAS WORKING WITH A CHISEL WHICH SLIPPED RESULTING IN A LACREATION TO THE PALMER ASPECT OF HIS MIDDLE FINGER. DX: LAACERATION WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY LEFT INDEX FINGER WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL INITIAL.

Age 58 · Male · Finger · Laceration · 2024

58YOM WAS CHISELING WOOD WITH HIS WOOD CHISELER AND CUT HIS LEFT THUMB. DX: LACERATION WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY LEFT THUMB WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL

Age 20 · Male · Finger · Laceration · 2024

20YOM WAS DOING WOODWORKING AND THE CHISEL SLIPPED AND KNICKED HIS LEFT MIDDLE FINER RESULTING IN A LACERATION. DX: FINGER LACERATION

Age 17 · Male · Finger · Strain, Sprain · 2024

17 YOM WAS MOVING A PLANE AND INJURED FINGER DX: SPRAIN

Age 43 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

43YOM PATIENT WAS WORKING WITH A CHISEL WHEN IT SLIPPED AND CUT HIS LEFT HAND DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY

Age 8 · Female · Finger · Laceration · 2024

8YOF PT USING WOOD CARVING TOOLS ON A STICK & CUT LEFT 2ND FINGER DX: LAC OF LEFT INDEX FINGER

Age 75 · Male · Finger · Fracture · 2024

75YOM C/O FINGER LACERATION S/P PT STATES HE WAS USING A PLANER EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON, WHEN HE LOST GRIP AND HIS HAND SLIPPED AND GOT CUT BY THE PLANER. DX: LACERATION AND OPEN DISPLACED FRACTURE OF RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER

Age 28 · Female · Wrist · Other · 2024

28 YOF STATES A WEEK OR SO AGO SHE WAS PLANING AND USING A CLAMP AND DEVELOPED PAIN IN HER RIGHT WRIST. DX: PAIN IN RIGHT WRIST, ARM PARESTHESIA BILATERAL

Age 29 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

29YOM,CUT HAND WITH CHISEL TOOL,DX:HAND LAC

Age 37 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

37YOM WITH LAC TO HAND FROM A CHISEL DX: LAC TO HAND

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/21/2022 · Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional · Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. · Texas

Using a Stanley Side Strike Chisel Set - Model DWHT16148. The most dangerous manual tools I have ever owned as a professional engineer with 50 years' experience. This is third time in using the tools to build a small wood project that the side edge has sliced through even my [REDACTED] gloves and cut me on my left thumb and right index fingers. It is impossible to use these without chainmail gloves - which I have now ordered. There is NOTHING on the package aor on the Stanley website that discusses the additional hazards and required PPE for using this tool.

6/10/2015 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · Cummins Inc. · Missouri

using a chisel to tap a bearing off chisel broke went into my arm have 3 pieces of metel in my arm went to hosp.

12/19/2019 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc. · California

(12/14/2019) The consumer stated that the product come with two protective covers, one for the tip and a sheath for the serrated edge. The consumer was trying to put the cover on the tip when the chisel slipped out of the sheath and sliced the thumb on his left hand. The consumer went to the emergency room. Six stitches were required to close the cut on his thumb. The consumer stated that there is a design flaw in the product. The consumer called the firm on 12/16 and was advised that someone would contact him.

12/19/2015 · Incident, No Injury · Studio Neat, LLC · South Dakota

I purchased a "Neat Ice Kit (Double Mold) - Clear Ice Cube Mold" from Amazon.com for making clear ice. The way it works is that you freeze water in this special insulated mold. It makes a block of ice approximately 2" x 2" x 4"; it has clear ice in one end and cloudy ice in the other. The kit provides a steel chisel with a wooden mallet, intended to be used to break the block of ice into smaller pieces that would fit in a drinking glass. After using the chisel as directed to break off the clear portion of the ice (for the first time), I saw a very small dark object on the ice. Thinking my recently cleaned cutting board may have had something on it, I brushed it away with the many little pieces of ice. Then I noticed that there were seven new very small chipped areas on the sharp edge of the chisel. It looked like I had been cutting granite, instead of frozen water. Small pieces of steel had broken off and I only saw one of them. The other six pieces apparently got mixed in with the ice. I don't want a product that inserts pieces of a steel chisel into the ice I put in my drinks. I will ask for a refund. I'm not a doctor or scientist, and can't say for sure what the effects are of drinking a liquid with chips of steel chisel, but common sense tells me that this product, or at least the chisel, should be removed from the market until the problems can be solved. I should probably be writing the Consumer Products Safety Commission too. Link to the item on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Neat-Ice-Kit-Double-Mold/dp/B00O2CO93G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to awls, chisels or planes on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Home Communication & Entertainment

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Awls, Chisels Or Planes: cross-group products nearest on danger score (33/100), estimated annual ER visits (4,144/yr), and hospitalization share (1.5%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Awls, Chisels Or Planes ranks #526 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #314 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does awls, chisels or planes rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, awls, chisels or planes ranks #526 by PlainSafety danger score (33/100) and #314 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (4,144/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from awls, chisels or planes?

The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 33,569 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from awls, chisels or planes increasing or decreasing?

Down 18% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for awls, chisels or planes injuries?

The 35-44 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 15,563 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by awls, chisels or planes?

Of all ER visits involving awls, chisels or planes, approximately 1.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with awls, chisels or planes?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Data on Awls, Chisels Or Planes is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.