Thread: Cut Throat Razor, Really ?!?!

Makes me feel that it is ok to walk around the change room of the gym in a bright pink towel. Yes, it's a cut throat, and if you get the wrong idea about the pink towel it won't be my throat.

I'm pretty sure the name came from some seriously unpleasant incidents. And the old Sweeney Todd stories from the 1880's (written before Jack the Ripper committed his atrocities) probably had something to do with it also. For myself, people seem to know when I say "straight razor" what I am talking about. One guy responded, "what are you, crazy?!" Personally, I like the name "cutthroat" because it not only has that horror movie mystique to it, but also indicates a serious and unforgiving pasttime. Do you know that people have written books on how to fight with straight razors? Apparently, there are people who carry them like knives for self-defense.

Originally Posted by radix7508

Ha, I think its just a silly term made up by scaredycats! What they don't understand, too bad for them. What they are scared of, let them. I thought straights were 'dangerous' prior to taking on the challenge of them. So far, I still have yet to cut my throat with them! lol

I'm assuming you speak in jest, but in case you aren't, the term Cut-Throat razor is very British/Australian usage. The term Straight razor is (nearly) always met with blank stares in Australia.

Originally Posted by havana

"Cutthroat" simply means "Knife that folds into it's self".
Tad overused huh?

Are you sure of that meaning? Source of information please, as I believe you might be mistaken.

Originally Posted by DevilBlade

I'm pretty sure the name came from some seriously unpleasant incidents. And the old Sweeney Todd stories from the 1880's (written before Jack the Ripper committed his atrocities) probably had something to do with it also. For myself, people seem to know when I say "straight razor" what I am talking about. One guy responded, "what are you, crazy?!" Personally, I like the name "cutthroat" because it not only has that horror movie mystique to it, but also indicates a serious and unforgiving pasttime. Do you know that people have written books on how to fight with straight razors? Apparently, there are people who carry them like knives for self-defense.

In 1920's Sydney, Australia there were areas where you would not dare to venture (There still are of course, and for similar reasons) due to the prolific nature of the 'Razor Gangs' in the area. Cut-Throat razors were the tool of choice. They were well documented at the time, and, more recently, there was a bloke who ran a GPS tour based game in the areas frequented by them, with interesting facts and information. The same bloke has a book on knife fighting and knife defense and at the time of the GPS game tour, demonstrated what a Cut-throat razor could do to ya mum's sunday roast leg of pork or some such meaty item. I wouldn't want to try shaving with any of his razors though.


I personally prefer the name 'Cut-Throat' razor. Whether that is because of hearing it used in reference to razors and never having heard of the term Straight razor until recent years, has anything to do with it I don't know, but 'Straight razor' just sounds odd to me.
I believe they were just called razors up until the need to differentiate between the new fangled "Safety" razor came about.


Mick

i think cut throat means something complimentary.. as in.. a "cut throat response"

How bout we call it the murderin blood bath blade or The Ripper !.......Yeah,that sounds good huh....heh heh heh........I'm a baaaad man !

Originally Posted by MickR

I'm assuming you speak in jest, but in case you aren't, the term Cut-Throat razor is very British/Australian usage. The term Straight razor is (nearly) always met with blank stares in Australia.



Are you sure of that meaning? Source of information please, as I believe you might be mistaken.




In 1920's Sydney, Australia there were areas where you would not dare to venture (There still are of course, and for similar reasons) due to the prolific nature of the 'Razor Gangs' in the area. Cut-Throat razors were the tool of choice. They were well documented at the time, and, more recently, there was a bloke who ran a GPS tour based game in the areas frequented by them, with interesting facts and information. The same bloke has a book on knife fighting and knife defense and at the time of the GPS game tour, demonstrated what a Cut-throat razor could do to ya mum's sunday roast leg of pork or some such meaty item. I wouldn't want to try shaving with any of his razors though.


I personally prefer the name 'Cut-Throat' razor. Whether that is because of hearing it used in reference to razors and never having heard of the term Straight razor until recent years, has anything to do with it I don't know, but 'Straight razor' just sounds odd to me.
I believe they were just called razors up until the need to differentiate between the new fangled "Safety" razor came about.


Mick

My StepDad(RIP)used to tell me about the razor gangs in Glasgow....That's some wicked stuff !

I know they have the moniker "cutthroat" but I think you'd have to be going some to actually cut your throat with one..!

You'd need to make a slicing motion with the blade at 90 degrees to the skin and apply a fair amount of pressure too. And I would imagine the severe pain would put you off before you actually cut deep enough to get an artery.

That said, cut-throat is the old English term for these razors. My grandfather (who was from Edinburgh) had one and used to refer to it as a cut-throat.

I tend to call them straight razors, but I guess thats mostly due to how they are referred to on SRP.

Whenever I've mentioned to someone that I shave with a straight razor I get a quizzical look until I mention Sweeney Todd and then they're like "Oh... Why?" and so the conversation ensues!

I once read a book about jack the ripper that described the crime scene of the day. It seems that there were a lot of women who were murdered by their husbands and it was recorded as suicide by cutting their own throats with the husband,s razor. Of course the husband always corroborated the finding of suicide.

Here is an old poem by Banjo Patterson that may have helped to spread the term cut throat.

THE MAN FROM IRONBARK by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson

It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,
He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down.
He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop,
Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barber's shop.
"'Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I'll be a man of mark,
I'll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark."


The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are,
He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar;
He was a humorist of note and keen at repartee,
He laid the odds and kept a "tote", whatever that may be,
And when he saw our friend arrive, he whispered, "Here's a lark!
Just watch me catch him all alive, this man from Ironbark."


There were some gilded youths that sat along the barber's wall.
Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no brains at all;
To them the barber passed the wink, his dexter eyelid shut,
"I'll make this bloomin' yokel think his bloomin' throat is cut."
And as he soaped and rubbed it in he made a rude remark:
"I s'pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark."


A grunt was all reply he got; he shaved the bushman's chin,
Then made the water boiling hot and dipped the razor in.
He raised his hand, his brow grew black, he paused awhile to gloat,
Then slashed the red-hot razor-back across his victim's throat:
Upon the newly-shaven skin it made a livid mark -
No doubt it fairly took him in - the man from Ironbark.


He fetched a wild up-country yell might wake the dead to hear,
And though his throat, he knew full well, was cut from ear to ear,
He struggled gamely to his feet, and faced the murd'rous foe:
"You've done for me! you dog, I'm beat! one hit before I go!
I only wish I had a knife, you blessed murdering shark!
But you'll remember all your life the man from Ironbark."


He lifted up his hairy paw, with one tremendous clout
He landed on the barber's jaw, and knocked the barber out.
He set to work with nail and tooth, he made the place a wreck;
He grabbed the nearest gilded youth, and tried to break his neck.
And all the while his throat he held to save his vital spark,
And "Murder! Bloody murder!" yelled the man from Ironbark.


A peeler man who heard the din came in to see the show;
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.
And when at last the barber spoke, and said "'Twas all in fun—
'Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone."
"A joke!" he cried, "By George, that's fine; a lively sort of lark;
I'd like to catch that murdering swine some night in Ironbark."


And now while round the shearing floor the list'ning shearers gape,
He tells the story o'er and o'er, and brags of his escape.
"Them barber chaps what keeps a tote, By George, I've had enough,
One tried to cut my bloomin' throat, but thank the Lord it's tough."
And whether he's believed or no, there's one thing to remark,
That flowing beards are all the go way up in Ironbark.

Originally Posted by Stubear

I know they have the moniker "cutthroat" but I think you'd have to be going some to actually cut your throat with one..!

You'd need to make a slicing motion with the blade at 90 degrees to the skin and apply a fair amount of pressure too. And I would imagine the severe pain would put you off before you actually cut deep enough to get an artery.

Stu,

Not that you asked, but...

These are two axial computed tomography (CT) images of a human neck. For orientation I drew two horizontal lines at the bottom of both images to indicate that the patient is lying on his back. The CT slices are made in the axial plane, that is, the plane that divides the superior (top) portion of the body from the inferior (bottom) portion of the body.

The respective locations and depths of the jugular veins and carotid arteries vary somewhat from superior to inferior so I chose 2 slices from which to measure. The first image is at the level of the angle of the jaw and the second one is at the level of the larynx (Adam's apple). The vessels are opaque (white) in these images because iodinated contrast was injected intravenously prior to imaging.

Obviously, depth of these vessels will vary slightly from individual to individual depending on body habitus. The individual in these CT images is a very lean man.

As you can see, the right jugular vein at the level of the jaw is only 5 mm beneath the skin surface. You'd have to slice at least 1-1.5 cm into your neck to hit the carotid artery.

I'd like to believe that you're correct in assuming that the pain would stop a normal guy from slicing before he reaches those depths. But one never knows...

Greg Almond, DVM, MS, DACVR

P.S. - No, veterinarians don't do CT's on humans. These are images of one of my family members done at a local (human) hospital