Thread: Kids and straight razors

I'm going to be a dad this summer and it got me to thinking about my straight razors and kid safety.

Obviously you want to keep your kids away from your razors. I was wondering if any of you who shave with straights who also have kids might have some tips and suggestions on where to keep them.

Also, maybe, on how you talk to your interested little ones about shaving and dangerous blades. I can imagine there will be times when your child will see you shaving and be curious.

I was even thinking about making a fake razor for them out of wood or something and giving it to them while explaining how men don't share their razors like they don't share their shoes or something like that. But that's thinking, like, 5 years in the future.

I wouldn't give a fake razor until they're old enough to understand the nastyness of a sharp blade (say 8-10) because you'll risk sending out the wrong impression that 'daddy's similar thing' would also be harmless. Impressions which can be deadly.

I'd get a little jeweler's box with a key or something.

Originally Posted by harold

I wouldn't give a fake razor until they're old enough to understand the nastyness of a sharp blade (say 8-10) because you'll risk sending out the wrong impression that 'daddy's similar thing' would also be harmless. Impressions which can be deadly.

I'd get a little jeweler's box with a key or something.

I totally agree.
My daughter is not yet 2, and she does not understand that her beaker will bounce harmless on the floor, while our glasses would shatter to lots of sharp and dangerous pieces.

Giving a kid a fake razor is about the worst thing you can do, because if he ever gets hold of your razor, he will do with it what he does with his fake razor.
If that is shaving, you have a dead kid on your hands, and you will live the rest of your life in guilt.

I keep all my shaving gear on the top shelf in the bathroom, far out of reach.
I think I will store them in a box when she gets older, just for safety.

You can find some small cigar humidors that have a lock. The Spanish cedar that is used for lining humidors works to control humidity. IMO, this would be better for helping with any rusting to your razors than a jewelery box that might get "steamy" inside if there is any moisture left on the razor.

I have a lockable drawer that I keep mine in, get into the habit now, of cleaning & drying your razors and then putting them away immediately. I never leave mine out .

Dunk

Originally Posted by Iceman

You can find some small cigar humidors that have a lock. The Spanish cedar that is used for lining humidors works to control humidity. IMO, this would be better for helping with any rusting to your razors than a jewelery box that might get "steamy" inside if there is any moisture left on the razor.

I use a cigar humidor for my rotation razors, and it works very nicely. Keeps 'em nice and dry, and out of reach. My other razors are kept on a very high shelf in my office.
A little gun safe with a simplex lock would also work.

How do guys that own other dangerous tools like circular saws and firearms teach their kids not to play with them? How did kids survive back in the day when everybody had axes and guns and straight razors? How do you handle kids and sharp knives like pocketknives and chef's knives? Tell them they're dangerous, maybe give a demonstration of how dangerous they are (some gun owners shoot a canteloupe for emphasis), and when they're older show them how to use them safely, and make sure they actually *can* use them safely.

That is something that my wife and I discussed before I bought my first straight. What we decided to do was buy a medicine cabinet that can be lock with a key and keep my razor at the top shelf so the kids can't get to it. I know that boys like to imitate their dads so I also try to shave at night when they are asleep. My boys are only 1 now so it's not that big a deal as long as they don't get their hands on it but when they get older I will sit them down and talk to them about the dangers of the sharp blade and still make sure that they can't reach it.

Hey as for straight razors all my kids had to do was watch me shave once. The blood scared them so much they won't go near them...

Originally Posted by mparker762

How do guys that own other dangerous tools like circular saws and firearms teach their kids not to play with them? How did kids survive back in the day when everybody had axes and guns and straight razors? How do you handle kids and sharp knives like pocketknives and chef's knives? Tell them they're dangerous, maybe give a demonstration of how dangerous they are (some gun owners shoot a canteloupe for emphasis), and when they're older show them how to use them safely, and make sure they actually *can* use them safely.

How did kids survive back in the day when everybody had axes and guns and straight razors?


I think it was easier not harder. My two sons, now 21 and 23, grew up in a home heated by firewood they helped to cut, eating meat they helped to butcher and vegetables they helped to grow. The "real" understanding they had of cause and effect was all that was needed to protect them. Kids that grow up with "pretend" reality (video, TV, Movie) have a false sense of cause and effect and it gets them in trouble.

There is a time to put the little plastic thingy in the electric outlet to protect them in their ignorance, but there is also a time that their understanding is what needs to protect them. Knowing when that time is for each child in each situation is the "art" of parenting.

Just one "old fashioned" point of view

Dave