Hacksaws
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Home Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 894
Down 47% over 5 years
The verdict
Hacksaws carry a danger score of 26/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 689 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 47% over the last five years.
- 26/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 689
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 0.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 894 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 26/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for hacksaws - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume689 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)0.8%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-47%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Hacksaws (CPSC product code 894, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 689 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 13,771 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 26/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 47% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2008 (1,287 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (146 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for hacksaws is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 7,795 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (2,712 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 2,828 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 0.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how hacksaws 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)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 6 | 55 | |
| 5-14 | 703 | 80 | |
| 15-24 | 1,450 | 0 | |
| 25-34 | 1,471 | 210 | |
| 35-44 | 2,314 | 213 | |
| 45-54 | 1,872 | 104 | |
| 55-64 | 2,251 | 577 | |
| 65-74 | 1,204 | 245 | |
| 75+ | 1,015 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Shoulder | Other | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
60YOM CUTTING A PIPE WITH A HACKSAW, ACCIDENTALLY CUT LT FOREARM. DX: LAC FOREARM
63YOM WAS USING A HACKSAW AND CUT LEFT HAND DX: LACERATION HAND
23 YOM LACERATED HIS THUMB WHILE USING A HACKSAW. DX: LEFT THUMB LACERATION WITH FOREIGN BODY
61 YOM WAS CUTTING A BUSH WITH A HACKSAW WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY CUT HIS LEG. DX: LEFT THIGH LACERATION
84 YOM LACERATED HIS THUMB WHILE USING A HACKSAW. DX: LEFT THUMB LACERATION
57YOF ACCIDENTALLY CUT HER FINGER WITH A HACKSAW THAT HAD BEEN USED FOR PLUMBING DX: RT INDEX FINGER LACERATION
33 YOM CUT LEFT INDEX FINGER ON A HACKSAW, DX: FINGER LACERATION
45YOM, CUT FINGER ON A HACKSAW, DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT THUMB
40 YOM. CUT TOP OF HIS HAND WITH A HACKSAW. DX: LAC OF LT HAND
17 YOM FROM HOME STATES HE WAS BUILDING WITH A HACKSAW AND THE SAW HIT HIS LEFT POINTER FINGER KNUCKLE. PT LACERATION TO FINGER. PT WAS BUILDING PROPS WITH HACKSAW. DX: LACERATION OF LEFT INDEX FINGER
67YOM.USING HACKSAW CUT FINGER.DX.LAC.LT.3RD,FINGER
71 YOF-CUT ON A HACKSAW ON FINGER DX: FINGER LACERATION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to hacksaws on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are hacksaws?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, hacksaws have a danger score of 26/100 (low risk). An estimated 689 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from hacksaws?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 7,795 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from hacksaws increasing or decreasing?
Down 47% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for hacksaws injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 2,828 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by hacksaws?
Of all ER visits involving hacksaws, approximately 0.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (99.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with hacksaws?
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.
Related Products in Home Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 26/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 55-64 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
