Twice while using a point the first time. Weepers I don't count since I get them with twin blade blue commercial razors.
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Twice while using a point the first time. Weepers I don't count since I get them with twin blade blue commercial razors.
Twice with a square point as well, but I haven't had a nick in about a year
Never. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Every time i put a disposable razor on my face , so i stick by the straight.
If i have a hurry i do'nt shave.
So I'm reading this thread and it occurs to me that I must have a lot to learn. I see blood far too frequently. Not bad cuts but something just a bit more severe than a weeper. The truth is, sometimes I just have no idea where the little nicks come from. There I am shaving away with great enjoyment and all of the sudden I'm bleeding.
When I first started a few months ago I cut myself three times in two shaves. Just at the lowest part of my cheek bone. I figured the angles out and that area hasn't been a problem since.
I have on hell of a time with my neck as it has a funky grain and a terrible hollow spot that I just can't seem to get. I've nicked a few times there and given myself some serious razor burn due to my habit of just scraping away with no real finesse. But again, I've learned a bit and it seems to be going better. Not faster. Just a bit better.
And dumb careless mistakes happen. They happen very infrequently and they result in small cuts that are never more than a styptic pencil away from disappearing, but they do happen.
But I'm not talking about anything like that. I understand why I've bled big. I just don't understand these mystery cuts. Does anyone else feel my pain?
Truthfully the places I have expected to cut myself as a beginner have never been a problem. The chin? Child's play. the jawline? Simple. But the corner of my mouth? Nevermind. It's going to bleed.
I had the razor in my right hand and released my left to grab a bottle that I bumped to keep it from falling and took a chunk out of my face about a size of half of a pea. It took over an hour with septic and toilet paper to quit bleeding. There is a hole in the healing spot. Moral to the story.......clear your space on your counter when shaving.
It's tempting fate to answer a question like that.
Good question!
I might cut myself say, once every 2-3 months. It's purely from not paying attention to what I am doing and allowing my mind to wander a bit. My cuts have been like a paper cut, very fine and hard to see and little bleeding.
I actually nick myself with my Edwin Jagger 89L DE razor more than my straights!
My favorite nick and minor cut treatment are these styptic swabs called Kutkit Styptic Swabs. They are in my local Rite Aid drugstore and I have not had any luck locating them in other pharmacies. You can order them online too:
Kutkit Styptic Swabs for Men and Women, 12 ct. : cotton balls & swabs
For real minor nicks and cuts, the Thayer's Witch Hazel with lemon and aloe does the trick for me.
Regards,
Patrick
Cut the shit out of myself today,first time in a long time,xtg pass on my jaw,grited my teeth for some reason and got wacked bigtime on the mandible joint below my ear.
Pisser was, my really anciant Imperial (filly) got blood on it,couple spots,etched the blade as I let it set for maybe an hr.I just honed that puppy:(. polish the blade,start over.oh joy:(
Seems like I let the tips of square points get me soon after I had bragged on how sharp/smoothness Of a shave or whatever. Guess I get cocky, and loose concentration. Try not to brag anymore. Much
The dimple in my chin is a little larger now than it was about and hour. Too much pressure and the blade removed a thin strip of skin about 10mm x 1mm. Bled like a stuck pig, but direct pressure with a styptic pencil stemmed the flow. This was only my second full shave. I was a little distracted...I'll pay more attention next time. Other than the the little cut it was a good shave. So I guess so far, I have cut myself 50% of the time!
I am about 5 months in to straight shaves only and have yet to cut myself. (knock on wood)
But I know it is bound to happen sooner or later.....
One of the common ideas that is being expressed is "concentration". I find that if I shave when 'I'm' sharper 1st thing in the morning that it's a lot easier to end up with a good shave. It all a issue of 'concentration and respect'. Respect for the workmanship of the tool that you're using and respect for what it can do to you.
I never cut myself these days, ouch! dammit!
Well, until this past Friday, it had been almost a year since a real cut, but then that morning I tagged the bottom of my earlobe going ATG with a spike. Much cussing ensued, not b/c of pain (there was none) but because it was due to hurry and inattention.
Styptic's great for stopping the bleeding, but I think the OP was asking about healing, which is different. I've found that after the bleeding stops, keeping some antibiotic ointment on the cut for several days speeds the healing and makes scarring much less likely.
Probably about 5 in the last year. With only one I would actually call a cut, the rest I would call scratches. None in the last 8 months. Now, cuts on my fingers...thats a different story...
My dermatologist told me for minor cuts on the face or elsewhere, you can close them up with Crazy Glue. That's what the surgeon used to close up the openings when I had my gall bladder removed via laparoscopic (sp?) surgery.
since i started i have not really cut my self too bad. at least no flaps yet, but i do nick myself
Just a warning about using CA glue(cyano acrylate/ super glue). It is very easy to trap infection and dirt in the cut if you use CA. Also the stuff that you buy in stores is different than the stuff used by doctors. The CA found in stores has an accelerant in it than can cause severe chemical burns, especially if you have sensetive skin.
I rarely cut myself but do get an occasional nick. Seriously, shaving with straights is so much easier than most people think. Prep right, use proper technique and worry less about cuts. :)
I usually only get small nicks when shave testing a new blade.
Having said that I really did some damage the other day when my right hand didn't know what my left had was doing and I cut both the middle and third fingers quite deeply.
Bled like a b#$%ard but has healed well.
Gotta stop rushing and enjoy the shaving experience.
Its been 5 years since I last cut myself. But I did stop using a straight about 4 1/2 years ago.
Actually, I have taken some vacations from straight razor shaving - just shaved often enough to keep my technique up and my hand in it. But yes, it has been 5 years of off again/on again straight razor shaving since I cut myself. But it was a doozy from someone opening the bathroom door and having it slam into me while in mid stroke. The amount of blood was not something I would like to see again in this lifetime.
I have to agree...I really don't cut myself very often. More like a 'nick' every now and then. I think it is because as you become more adept at it, you can almost feel the 'change' that's going to result in a cut, and you just STOP! It's almost like a sixth sense of sorts. And also, you [second nature kinda] know how much (or little) pressure to use. It's all about fine tuning your technique. And someday, when I have it all down, it'll be just in time to die [lol]!
And, after giving it some thought, I think the only time when I occasionally nick myself is when I change razors to a very different one in size and shape, i.e., a square point 7/8 to a 5/8 with a sweeping smile.
I thought I was in a goth forum for a minute when I saw the thread title. It's a trick question though, the answer is not often! Every half a dozen or two dozen shaves I do mow down the top of a sneaky pimple, which brings a dot of red color to the surface (is this the weeper? We need weeper illustrations and how-tos in the wiki, I think)
Other than that I did cut myself a few months ago. It was the first time I sliced into my face since I was learning how to shave with a straight razor, which was four years ago. So I guess that's my answer in expanded form
I'm still dwelling on this subject...and must admit to not exactly cutting myself, rather I kind of pushed the blade deeply into my chin. I even remember the day, 5 Oct., 2011. It happened when my dog went crazy at the window while mesmerized by a squirrel, and he caused me to jump. The result wasn't a slice, instead, more like a deep pushing of the blade into the skin across my chin. And since my heart valve surgery six years ago, I'm on a high dose of coumadin. If I could have sold my blood that day I would've been a wealthy man! My xwife even said to me "wow, that looks really deep."
Been shaving for a little over a year now. Knock on wood... I have cut myself twice. Once about a month after I started shaving, and the last time about 2 weeks ago. Neither cut was very deep, just enough to be little more then "bleeders". And both times was in the exact same spot. I will mention that my beard grows in a swirl on my left cheek, so shaving east to west it goes XTG most of the time, but this one spot is ATG. Other then that, I never even really get bleeders at all. With a DE razor though I have pink lather. :)
Nathan
Ocassionally, I shave with a DE too and wind up with the pinkish hue to the lather. It's probably a result of all the little weepers. Really, the only reason for me shaving with it is if I have a job interview and I'm nervous about cutting myself. Or, if I'm in a hurry. I can shave with a DE in about less then five minutes I think. Also, I think it's not such a bad thing to keep in practice. After all, I'm going to be starting my own son on the DE very soon. And, I should at least be able to show him properly. Though, he's well aware that his daddy shaves with the straight...but he doesn't care too much about such things either way. I have since bought him a fairly new looking Gil. Tech razor. I've also bought him an Army & Navy straight razor in commemoration of our annual viewing of that great college football matchup.
I jinxed myself this morning. Getting ready for church my 6 yr old said don't cut yourself when I said I was going to shave. I've been letting him use a knife (under supervision to cut his food) so the warning "don't cut yourself" is ingrained in him now. I responded " I won't, I'll be careful." I gave myself something between a scratch and laceration when approaching the change of grain on my chin area. My mind wandered for that moment and I knew I flubbed instantly before the blood letting started. It sealed by the end of the shave but that is #3. I'm averaging once a year.
Well I have started to cut myself this last week. Developing an ambidextrous shaving style means starting all over again. Then I had to add a new razor to the mix(a round point which was honed to the end). The first two openings were closed by the end of the shave. The third and I hope the last still is radiant on my cheek and seems to have a half life of at least a week.
I had my first real cut last week (SR usage going on 4 months). I had just finished honing on my Arkansas translucent, stropped it. Lathered up and started shaving. Razor sharp one could say ;-) Well I was trimming up my side burns and some how managed to cut the inside of my ear.....I have no idea how the razor got INSIDE my ear. Just wasn't paying enough attention I guess. Bled for an hour even with a styptic applied to it.
Once every couple of months.
skinnerj...I did something similar not so long ago. I "brushed" the blade past my ear and I had a tiny little bleeder. I've gotten "the feel," where you begin the CUT, and that at least fraction of the second before you expand the cut, you back off and the damage is minimal. Of course, the wealth of experience in order to get there is paid for in blood and stares by folks in public wondering how a grown man in a shirt and tie can appear as if he has recently survived a serious mugging day-in-n-day-out.
Never in my first month, but I credit that to following advice here....
I still rarely shave my whole face at once. As son as I feel a bit uneasy or distracted, I pick up old reliable Merkur HD and finish.
I have taken the beginner column this month t heart..."rush, rush, rush" is not for me.
The 'coup de maitre' comment has me proceeding VERY cautiously.
;)
PhiGam, I went from shaving most of my face - tediously I might add - to shaving the whole thing after watching (over and over) the videos; and not only watching them, but paying attention to the nuances. When I learned (half-assed I might add) to shave this way almost half my life ago, the gentleman that taught me basically didn't tell me anything about stretching my face or tightening my skin. So, basically I gave up. Yeah, occasionally I would dig out the razor, shave most of my face and finish it up with a DE (which is a fine alternative). Then, when determined to shave this way for the whole shave, I would switch out the razor (when I was sure it was the razor and not my lack of skills), sometimes using as many as three for each shave. These days, however, I begin with one and finish with the same. Unless, of course, I notice that the razor really is on the side of NOT scary-sharp, at which time I immediately put it down and grab another. I never, ever, strop a razor during mid shave; it should be sharp enough to begin and finish the shave without the additional fuss. My routine has basically became the intended result - No Fusssss.