Just wonder if I am the only one irritated by the term "Cut throat razor". That seems a bit pessimistic if you ask me. ( which you did not ) I don't call my hammer a thumb smash hammer! Just a thought...
Shave on, carefully, Mike
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Just wonder if I am the only one irritated by the term "Cut throat razor". That seems a bit pessimistic if you ask me. ( which you did not ) I don't call my hammer a thumb smash hammer! Just a thought...
Shave on, carefully, Mike
no but i have ask for a thumb smasher before.
i kind of like it myself. i dont find it pessimistic at all, but thats just my opinion.
-dan-
I belive there was a brand of razor called a cut throat, thats were the name came from, but it does bother me that people think they are so deadly, I have tried to prove to people that if a 15 yr old (me) can use one of what lil hair i have and not cut my face to shreds then anyone can use it.
Mine lived up to its name this morning when I got in a hurry...ouch.
Makes you respect this shaving tool, it CAN and WILL lay claim to it's name if not used properly.
I don't really care what people refer to it as; they could call it Baby Killer for all I care. I don't use a straight because it's got a nice friendly name that doesn't offend anyone, I use it because it gives me better shaves and I like the experience.
Hello!
I do not pay attention to this name (Cut throat razor), because I think that would cut my throat must really want this:D
i find that using the name is the only way i can get people to recognize what i am talking about.
I either have to describe it as a "Cut Throat" razor or a "Sweeney Todd" Razor. otherwise people look at me sideways when i say that i have started using a straight edge razor to shave with.
i like both names for the razor personally, don't know why but its part of how i came to love them so much.
Same thing... if I say Straight Razor people go :thinking: say Cut Throat and all becomes clear. I like the term
Doesn't bother me...makes it sound even cooler that I shave with one :nj
Sounds much better if you tell people you shave with a cut throat, it has some heroism in it, don't you think?
In Frensch they are called coupe choux: meanig cabbage cutter. How about that?
Well, it makes you look tough, and i think that it is the british way of saying straight razor.
The term "cutthroat razor" earns me a little respect from the better half. Of course that's still not very much, but I'll take what little I can get.
When I first started shaving with a cut throat I told my father about it. He said "We don't have a good family history with those. Do you realise that your great grandfather and one of your great uncles cut their throats with one of those?"
Not exactly the most encouraging start to a new hobby ever. It was the same razor so that's one family heirloom I am happy to never track down.
I'd prefer the name "enviro-clean reusable". That way everyone could know what I'm about.
You know - like driving a prius lets everyone know I want people to think I care about the environment, and am absolutely willing sacrifice style and practicality in order to maintain this perception.
...nah, couldn't care less. My only annoyance is that I have to run two eBay searches when looking for razors to buy. One with the terms "straight razor" and the other with the terms "cut throat razor"
The New Shorter OED (1993 edition) lists the term cutthroat razor as of mid 20th cent. origin and gives no date of origin for the term, straight razor. Interestingly, or not, as the case may be, it doesn't even reference the term open razor which I have seen preferred by some British English speakers. The reason that I don't get too hung up on the terminology is (as may have already been noted above, sorry, I only skimmed) that, until the turn of the century (19th-20th) the only term for a straight would have been, a razor. There simply was no alternative.
I don't think the OED gives two-word terms their own listings. Did you look at the "razor" entry?Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanII
It's a real term, however, in most of the world! You can see the ebay offerings in "cut throat razor" and will see lots of listings from outside the U.S. (and Texas) !:D
Straight razor, open razor, cutthroat razor...just a traditional names we use of some certain thing we shave with.
Well probably we'll see a day where razor (formerly known as cutthroat) comes with a 300 page instructions manual with basic & advanced shaving techniques and of course the famous quote: "Razor is a dangerous object. Improper or careless handling, unauthorized modification might cause serious risks to your health".
That's where I found all of them. No open razor with open either. I know this is a bit nerdy but if anyone's got access to the full version I'd love to know what it's got to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by hoglahoo
Of course it's deadly, when used with that purpose. The blade itself has an average of 5/8-6/8 height which if used in sliced motion can go VERY deep and cause massive internal damages, such as, hmmmm, cut the throat?Quote:
Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995
Mind you that I haven't tried anything with a straight razor, but to shave with it.
I don't know about in the States, but here "cut throat" is the name older people would give to our kind of razors - the term has been around for a long time and its origin is no doubt drily jocular. "Straight razor" is a newcomer, and in truth I've come across a fair few blades which didn't have anything straight about them no matter which way you looked! Anyway, I'm happy with whatever people want to call them - usually I just say "razor".
I personally dont like it. But i believe it is a British term for straight razors. I believe some of it came from the sweeny todd movie and has kinda gone way up from there. I am sure it was a slang before then but now we have a movie to suport that term.
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
Don't give her any ideas! :nono:Quote:
Originally Posted by ace
--Shoki
"Cutthroat" simply means "Knife that folds into it's self".
Tad overused huh?
The term cut throat doesn't bother me nearly as much as the "Str8" that I see now and again.
I am baffled by people interested in returning to a classic form of shaving and then need to degrade it with that internet 'l33t' speak.
Ok, here is my take. I did a search on Ancestry.com. Not for a person but went to the blank for Key Word Search. If you do not have an account you can do this at a library that has a genealogy dept. Anyway, if you search "Cut Throat Razor" and click the "exact" box to the right of Key Word you will bring up numerous references of a person commiting suicide by cutting their throats( remember just use those three words). These accounts go back to as early as 1732 in my short search. Thus, my contention, is that is how the usage came about.
I also did a search in the same way with " Straight Razor" and was surprised at the number of razor pictures( including a rusting John Barber circa 1815) that belonged to someone's kin.
my 2cents worth
I never gave it much thought, if I was to name it, "cut finger tip", would fit more.
Although the average Joe/Jane I suspects thinks of cut throat.
After telling very much a girly girl I straight razor shave, she was wide eyed. I didn't think anything of it when she asked if I shaved my neck with it too. When answered "yes", she shuddered as much as would expect if we were to talk of popping a dislocated shoulder.
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by radix7508
Are you sure of that meaning? Source of information please, as I believe you might be mistaken.Quote:
Originally Posted by havana
Quote:
Originally Posted by DevilBlade
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 ! :medvl::chop::roflmao:roflmao:roflmao
My StepDad(RIP)used to tell me about the razor gangs in Glasgow....That's some wicked stuff !Quote:
Originally Posted by MickR
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! :D
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.
Stu,Quote:
Originally Posted by Stubear
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:)