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I'm just wondering if its just me or if other people do it too. I think my ratio of cuts to razors is about 1/20 or thereabouts. Just cut my thumb when the power went out this weekend and right before that I could swear my other cut on my thumb had just healed over.
Anyway, am I alone? Or is this "normal"?
Leighton: Important Safety Tip. No honing in the dark!
Apparently. I didn't see my thumb. :banghead::gthQuote:
Originally Posted by zib
How the heck are you doing it? Are you cutting the hand that is holding the razor? Alternatively, are you holding the hone in your hand and cutting that hand?
In answer to your question, I don't recall ever cutting myself while honing.
Never while "honing" but I don't hold the stone in my hand...
I got myself pretty good one time stropping a Wapi by putting my thumb down right on the heel....
I took a goodly chunk outta my finger once with a Barlow, wiping the blade down after honing....
Countless cuts while doing restorations of course....
Funny this thread should come up. I was just talking with my wife about how I cut myself regularly and often. I handle sharp knives and razors all the time without a mishap. It's the damned equipment I fix that cuts me every frickin time:rant: Hell, I'd cut myself with a butter knife just by looking at it funny, but from a straight or knife? rarely happens.
I hold stones in my hand to hone and I've never cut myself whilst honing. Not even close. :shrug:
But I have cut my fingers a couple of times transferring the blade from one hand to another whilst shaving and not paying attention. Both times I thought "you dick". I mean, who transfers a razor sharp blade from one hand to another without due care? Me apparently. :gaah:
This last time I was holding the DMT holder in place with my left hand. And the electricity was out and didn't notice that my hand was above the stone.
Actually, trying to remember how I cut myself before I can't remember. In fact....I'm not entirely sure I was honing. :gaah:
I cut myself probably 2, maybe 3 times a year. Usually because I'm working too fast and too hard and something slips. I still have 10 fingers and 10 toes, but had a few slices in the left hand thumb and pointer fingers over the years. It's inevitable that you will get cut when you look at the odds. But I agree with old school - if you are getting cut on a regular basis, you should change something (maybe start with your power source...:rofl2:)
I got 5 stitches in my shin after a machete I sharpened ended up in my leg - after it had gone clean through what I was cutting (don't ask, and no, there wasn't alcohol involved although it's so embarrassing that I wish there had been....:angel:). In a twisted way, I'm very happy about the way the machete performed, and glad my leg was at the end of the stroke, and not at the beginning...
I never cut myself while honing. My hones are laid on the table, if I grabbed the hones while honing then maybe I'd the tips of my fingers, eventually...
Touch wood, I haven't cut my self while honing.
Not actually while honing.
Rather when I clean a blade it happens frequently.
I never have cut myself while honing. Not even while holding a barbers hone for touch ups. Been close during restoration projects, close enough to do hand inspections anyway.
No cuts while honing, but several while hand sanding. An ex SOG knife man once told me with horror NEVER to watch TV while honing, after hearing that I do that sometimes. I stopped before losing a finger, fortunately! Do you have any distractions going on while honing? I don't even listen to music now.
Not when honing... have cut myself wiping down blade or doing some resto stuff. Usually it is just me not paying attention to what i'm doing.
Croaker I'm listening to the TV then but its usually on.
What I can't have is someone meowing or talking to me in the meantime.
Then I put the blade down and take care of it first.
Never honing ..... yet.... but I got a good one in my thumb once while rubbing a W&B wedge down with Semichrome and a paper towel.
Never yet while honing, usually while hand sanding with the higher grits.
I posted a thread about my finger and its stitches while honing a kitchen knife, but never on a straight.
I have been handling knives since I was knee high to a grasshopper and I get a bad cut maybe once a year. Now that I am older and supposedly wiser I just get a really bad on once every 5 years.
I hand hold hones sometimes, but I am always aware of where my fingers are and when I wipe I do so with the edge away from me. I saw a coworker wipe a 15" fish slicer blade first and run the ENTIRE length of the blade across the web of her thumb. Took 20 some stitches and a few staples. She missed severing the tendon by mms. I ALWAYS wipe the blade away from me and/or wipe the blade with a towel on the table.
I was thinking of so many things to say here and then thought the best thing to say would be:
Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Lynn
Not while honing but I don't hold the hone either-----
Not when using a hand-held hone.
I haven't seen your answer yet. Yes, your the only one.
I've only cut myself honing once when holding the hone in my palm and my thumb wandered up a bit. Since then, I make a loose fist and balance the hone on thumb and knuckle; no cuts since. I'm sure someone in this forum posted a picture doing that, and it works fine.
Like others... I'll cut myself on a plastic burr or something stupid like that, but rarely with a knife and not yet with a razor...
We will not talk about burns in the kitchen though :p :boohoo:
Used to be when i started but don't remember when i cut myself while i hone. i have cut myself when i was sanding brand new sharpened blade recently. i hate sanding.PITA
Sanding is a real pain that's why I hope that Lansky Rubber Abrasive works. I'll post results and pics if it does.
I don't cut myself much anymore at least not with straight razors. I did at the beginning. My recommendations: go slower, focus (no TV), be deliberate.
Never happened to me in all my years of sharpening edged implements.
.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leighton
Just heard on the news that coffee is good for preventing Alzheimer's. Maybe more coffee.
I cut myself frequently, during cleaning or wiping down the blade. One particular danger area is any distraction during the TPT. Another danger time is if I know exactly where I put down a blade and pick it up without looking.
My wife has decided that she doesn't like the sight of my blood that much after all and no longer thinks when I am honing is an ideal time to get me to answer her questions.
Now I tend not to cut myself while sharpening stuff, but it's taken a while and many, many gashes and slices. Having been at sharpening tools for about 50 years, I've accumulted great respect for what those edges can do during lapses of concentration. I second and third the advice to keep your mind and eyes on what you're doing and you'll minimize damage to your parts.
While I don't have the same amount of experience as you, I've quickly come to the conclusion that each tool or knife has its own personality, some like to be sharpened while others don't, and some even like to bite-if you know what I mean!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce
After reading all the replies and actually thinking about when it is that I actually cut myself, I don't think I have ever cut myself in the actual honing stages except once, when I extended my thumb too high when hand holding and never again after that.
But during restoration/edge restoration, that razor has bit me quite a number of times... Thus, I should probably rephrase the question to: anyone cut themselves while doing edge restorations?
I've only restored a few razors, but I got a couple of cuts while handsanding! You really need to be careful sanding, because even a dull edge (for a razor) can give you a nasty cut when you're doing some fast sanding motions close to the edge....On the plus side it never really hurt at the time of the cut, but I felt it cut into skin and thought "this is going to hurt soon....":(
Oh yeah! I'm still on my first razor, but I've cut myself doing some other knives. I keep some electrical tape and some tissues around for those! If it bleeds through that, I stop for the day. There's something scary about sharpening and seeing your blood in the slurry.....:chop: