What not to do with a straight razor...

Earlier today I was showing my straight collection to my father...
He asked what the difference was between a factory sharp razor and a shave ready razor.

So I showed him a Filarmonica #13 from Classic that was sent to me for honing, which he declared "very sharp", and he shaved a small spot on his leg with it.
I then handed him my 7/8 Froidur... his response was "WoW!" and he proceded to filet his leg...:eek:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y17...S3600093-1.jpg

This picture was taken about 10 minutes later once we got the bleeding under control.

He actually did fine at first, he shaved about a 2 inch spot, but at the end of his stroke, instead of lifting the blade, he slid it sideways off his leg...:gth

Needless to say my mother has forbidden him from trying a straight.
Although he now understands the difference between scything and slicing.:w

Well I guess it could have been worse..........did you tell him after the "ban" that his wife just saved him a small fortune? ;)

Yup. It's always the slicing motion that gets ya!

Wow thats a good way to scare the crap out of a newbie.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crichton

Well I guess it could have been worse..........did you tell him after the "ban" that his wife just saved him a small fortune? ;)

---

She saved him a fortune in doctor's bills, He wouldn't have had want for razors, I am working on a rosewood handle for a Wacker Bartmann I was going to give him, and he's not the type to get RAD... If he took it up, He would have wanted either 1 really nice razor, or a matching set.

ouch, glad he's ok, other than a nice little slash. Maybe your Mom will relent and let him give shaving a go.

ouch!!! that hurts!

Wow I am a newbie here .. know I now that once I get a collection going safety and patience are most important ..thanks for sharing this !

The lesson here isn't that straights are dangerous, it's that you have to respect them. He did perfectly fine, and has a 2 inch BBS spot on his leg below the cut.
His mistake was to forget about the blade in his hand, he looked up to talk to me.

Im a newb as well and I'm always as cautious as I can be with a razor until im a little more experienced. Thanks for the info!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mike_ratliff

She saved him a fortune in doctor's bills, He wouldn't have had want for razors, I am working on a rosewood handle for a Wacker Bartmann I was going to give him, and he's not the type to get RAD... If he took it up, He would have wanted either 1 really nice razor, or a matching set.

---

Uh huh. It seems like I've heard that somewhere before... :w

My Harrison Bros and Howson that I've gotten just barely sharp enough to shave with elicits reactions like, "No, I don't want to hold it..."

I've only ran it over my face twice now, thankfully with no cuts yet (I'll likely get a little more adventurous when my pre-honed gets here) but I've already taken to telling people. "It won't cut you. You might cut yourself with it, but it won't cut you." Meaning if you're just holding it to take a look at it or something, jeeze, just be a little careful. The blade isn't out to get you, it just doesn't want you to be cavalier. :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cobo

...but I've already taken to telling people. "It won't cut you. You might cut yourself with it, but it won't cut you." Meaning if you're just holding it to take a look at it or something, jeeze, just be a little careful. The blade isn't out to get you, it just doesn't want you to be cavalier. :P

---

Good response! I've heard the same thing from some of my friends/family. They all think they're SOOO dangerous...they really aren't at all.

~Chris

I nicked my thumb badly yesterday when taping the spine of a razor.

What I do is, I normally cut the tape and then stretch it from heel to toe.

Well, my hand slipped as I was doing it whilst talking to someone and yikes. Bled for over an hour as I kept opening the wound up again.

These things are to be respected, 1 second loss of concentration and bang!