"Nicks" vs. "weepers"

It is occurring to me that what I have been calling nicks are not what many of you call weepers.

There are actual cuts which are where the blade actually slices a linear cut into your skin. I hardly ever do this. Then there are dots of blood which appear after you shave yourself. I get these after about every shave. Do you guys call this nicks or weepers? I ask because I use my styptic pencil on these "dots" because they are so fast to patch them up and I'm impatient. But now, I'm wondering with the responses of my Styptic Pencil poll if I could be using my pencil in many conditions where you do not.

I guess using this terminology, I use my styptic pencil whenever I get a weeper which is pretty much every shave (no matter what shaving system I use).

Thanks!

Weepers, I have always though are microscopic cuts in the skin, caused by a super keen razor and the unevenness of your skin. A weeper is painless and will seal up with a cold water splash, whereas a nick is a larger stinging cut, caused by technique or a chip in the edge. These usually will not stop bleeding with cold water only.

Microscopic chips for me occur on blades where the edge steel is failing. Removing enough of steel until reaching solid steel usually resolves that issue. Weepers are a combination of skin type, sharpening /honing technique and or medium used eg, very fine paste or excessive stropping a well honed, already keen edge.

Some say they never experience weepers, so I suspect skin type has a lot to do with it.

a quick way to tell what is what.

with a weeper you say oh when did that happen
with a nick you say ouch i screwed that one up
with a real cut you don't say anything because you are looking for something to stop the gushing unless its a super clean cut in which case you can grab a towel and then reflect on your life choices for five seconds THEN it starts gushing

Besides blade condition, you might be getting these from pressure. Use no more pressure to shave than it takes to wipe away the lather. If your shave doesn't work with this little pressure, then your blade isn't actually "shave-ready."

That said, some razors on some hones take really harsh edges. I've got one that leaves me weeping blood unless I've done just the right things with it on just the right hones, and another that shaves fantastically but wouldn't draw blood if I held a knife to its throat. Try sending your blade out to an experienced pro honer; they'll know how to hone and tame whatever steel it is.

Best wishes to you

Find that mine are caused by usually two things. 1st Shave Soap/Cream. Lather too dry and not enough slide and 2nd. Lather!! 'Gosh this has been a great shave! Fantastic lather!! Hate to waste it; lets go for one more pass!!! Yep, that when I cut myself!

Funny, I will get the odd weeper from a dulling blade, not one that has been freshly honed or touched up. In fact that's usually a surefire sign that a blade needs some attention.

I also suspect that skin type is a factor as well. If you have tough leathery skin you're likely one of those that says you've never had a weeper lol.

i dont know but i think a weeper is a nick that "weeps" alot? so all weepers could be nicks but not all nicks could be weepers, that could depend on the area of your face that has received the nick...*waiting to be corrected*
i havent had a weeper, unless i actually cut myself deep then it wouldnt be considered a nick, only cut myself in the beginning of my shavette years.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Funny, I will get the odd weeper from a dulling blade, not one that has been freshly honed or touched up. In fact that's usually a surefire sign that a blade needs some attention.

I also suspect that skin type is a factor as well. If you have tough leathery skin you're likely one of those that says you've never had a weeper lol.

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is there a club for guys with tough leathery skin? i have one and id love to join :D

I didn't know what a 'weeper' might be until I started SR shaving, If I had to define the term 'weeper', I would say that it is an area that weeps blood very slowly after a shave that is not the result of an obvious cut or nick. It may be just a skin abrasion that results in no more than a spot of blood, as opposed to the more free flowing blood which might result from a nick or cut.

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Originally Posted by moehal

is there a club for guys with tough leathery skin? i have one and id love to join :D

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I'm sure a group could be started here at SRP, but I won't be joining. I'm cursed with a thick, fast growing beard paired with sensitive skin. Though tough leathery skin would be nice for other reasons too - in a pinch you could use your cheek as a strop :rofl2:

I occasionally get weepers that are so slow, that they don't show up for hours.

Seems to me that weeper<nick<<cut<severed appendage.

I'm not entirely sure there is always a difference beyond severity. A drawing motion will often result in a cut or severed appendage, but some cuts/nicks/weepers seem to be the result of filleting flesh to varying depth (cuts being the deepest).

Perhaps others see it differently?

I actually get neither. I have cut myself about twice in the two years I've been shaving with a straight; and both times it was due to moving the blade down rather than across my skin. I do have very smooth skin, and I don't have to worry about shaving my chin or top lip (I have a moustache and soul patch and beard thingy) which I'm sure makes the whole deal a lot easier. I wonder if you have bumpy skin? I'm thinking if you DON'T have bumpy skin, then if you get weepers every shave, there may be something in your technique that needs improvement...

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

I'm sure a group could be started here at SRP, but I won't be joining. I'm cursed with a thick, fast growing beard paired with sensitive skin. Though tough leathery skin would be nice for other reasons too - in a pinch you could use your cheek as a strop :rofl2:

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its fast thick fast growing beard here with insensitive skin here, im curious to know how others like me shave and what beard prep methods they follow if they do at all, and im not sure how to start a group.... well that omits the need for a travel strop :D should anything happen ill just glue some strop leather on my face.!

back to topic. use no pressure and hopefully none will afflict you:)

I almost always get those weepers. Even got them when I still used cartridges. At the moment I'm using a DE (Merkur 33C) with Feather blades. Just this evening I was shaving. Put some Ylang Ylang oil on, whisked up some lather and got to work on my face. Until I noticed not just one or a few weepers, but easily 8-10 of them on my jawline, all on the right side. Though it didn't really hurt or sting, they did cover my jaw in red, bleeding quite a lot.. I'm new to traditional wetshaving and my skin is quite sensitive, but that did take me by surprise!