Today I did what all straight razor shavers DREAD....

I was stropping.

I don't know how it happened or what I was thinking. Maybe I wasnt.

I dropped the razor.

I had three thoughts as my very first and favourite blade went tumbling to the floor.

1. QUICK! Try to catch the razor before it hits the floor and breaks! Do you want your very first blade to get chipped? Catch it!

2. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT! Do you like your hands? How would you like a quick visit to the hospital to remove said razor from your hand? How would you explain that one?

3. Oh :cen the razor is headed to my bare feet!!! Quick! Jump out the way!!

I decided to opt for the third option. As a result I am able to write about this to you now because I am not in hospital with a blade in my body. As a bonus I inspected the razor closely. There are no chips or nicks at all. :y That said I havent shaved with it yet so i'll go and do that now and tell you all what happens.

Sometimes life throws you are curveball and you realize how lucky you are to have things the way they are. This is one of those times. :rolleyes:

EDIT: I mis-named the thread. It should read 'Today I did what all straight razor shavers DREAD'. Doh!

I used to race sailboats and there were a few lessons you learned early on. One was to duck when the boom paases centerline. The other important one was not to grab a running line, unless you didn't mind having the skin removed from your hand or getting pulled through a block...

Same thing happened to me this summer. I only had the one thought though. Honestly, the instant the razor slipped out of my had ans off the strop I was preoccupied with the danger of a tumbling razor. Mine landed tip down on hardwood and earned me a nick which I would have to wait two months to hone out.

X

You must become one with the force. Or something. The Zen of Straight Shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki

P.S. I forget who the original authors were. If you are, please claim that page.

i dropped mine once (it was my hone test razor) and it landed on the hard tile floor...nothing was done to the edge but i now always shave standing on two bath mats :-) just in case

This story validated my practice of wearing a large turkish towel and slippers when I shave aand handle my razor in the monring. Sometimes it feels like overkill but clearly accidents happen. Glad to hear you were not injured.

Been there, done that, had the same thoughts running through my head. Gravity really sucks at times! :gaah:

Congratulations on the good luck! ...and wise decision making.

Good thing you weren't shaving commando style.

You'll find the body has a wisdom all of it's own especially when the blade is launched from a 6" buff. :roflmao
Glad no one & no thing was damaged :D

I had one situation like that, though mine slipped out of my hand over the sink. My reaction was to grab it. I went after it with both hands, at the time, I only had 3 razors, and 2 of them werent shave ready. As luck would have it, I caught it. As bad luck would have it, my left hand caught it by the scale, my right slide over the edge along my thumb.

All of this at about 2:30am (no, wasn't drinking), with the wifie in bed only about 12 feet away. I learned how to keep quite from yelling and throwing stuff as my thumb was split open. The meaty part of my thumb was sliced open, and I kept it under the fossit with the water running for about 10min till the bright red blood started to slow down from flowing out.

Took about 1 1/2 hours of me pinching my thumb back together over my head to stop the bleeding. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I figure dumping half a bottle of rubbing alcohol on it, and using duct tape to keep it closed once the bleeding about stopped, that it was good enough.

I do have to say that I did save the razor.

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Originally Posted by gus01

Took about 1 1/2 hours of me pinching my thumb back together over my head to stop the bleeding. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I figure dumping half a bottle of rubbing alcohol on it, and using duct tape to keep it closed once the bleeding about stopped, that it was good enough.

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This is why everyone should keep some superglue in the house! ....

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

EDIT: I mis-named the thread. It should read 'Today I did what all straight razor shavers DREAD'. Doh!

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Changed it for you.

I was going to say.... I haven't done that... YET. I can just imagine when I do though, and I'm certain, I'll most likely have some gorey pics for you all. I would try and catch it. I've done it with knives, that have slipped out my hand.

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Originally Posted by gus01

I had one situation like that, though mine slipped out of my hand over the sink. My reaction was to grab it. I went after it with both hands, at the time, I only had 3 razors, and 2 of them werent shave ready. As luck would have it, I caught it. As bad luck would have it, my left hand caught it by the scale, my right slide over the edge along my thumb.

All of this at about 2:30am (no, wasn't drinking), with the wifie in bed only about 12 feet away. I learned how to keep quite from yelling and throwing stuff as my thumb was split open. The meaty part of my thumb was sliced open, and I kept it under the fossit with the water running for about 10min till the bright red blood started to slow down from flowing out.

Took about 1 1/2 hours of me pinching my thumb back together over my head to stop the bleeding. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I figure dumping half a bottle of rubbing alcohol on it, and using duct tape to keep it closed once the bleeding about stopped, that it was good enough.

I do have to say that I did save the razor.

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Can you imagine how a styptic pencil would have felt on that? Man I would have hit the roof! thanks for sharing and hope its better now. :)

Well, you proved that you have both the luck and quick thinking needed! It's amazing how trained we are to grab things that are falling - glad that you didn't though!

Even happier to hear that the gods were smiling on you and that the razor wasn't destroyed!

Mark

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Originally Posted by CloseShave

This story validated my practice of wearing a large turkish towel and slippers when I shave aand handle my razor in the monring. .

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I on the other hand expound commando shaving. Free swinging in the breeze great also ensures you pay attention to what you are doing..:chop:

When I was an ironworker apprentice I heard the adage,"You can tell the Joe's by their fingers and toes". A "Joe McGee" was an inept ironworker and he usually had some digits missing. When I was a carpet mechanic (installer) I saw more then one guy split his finger like a sausage when he miscued cutting carpet and his knife slipped off of the straight edge.

I was lucky, after twenty years as an ironworker and five as a carpet layer I came away unscathed. So far I have yet to drop the razor (knocking on wood) but I think I may begin to use the turkish towel and slippers mentioned by CloseShave. An ounce of prevention. As for trying to catch the razor. I hope I wouldn't but I can't predict what I would do. I just hope I never have occasion to find out. :)

Sidney kidney,

I am fairly new about a year and a half into this but i learned quick after about a mont. I did the same thing I now put a bathroom rug under the door where my strops hang and now they have some cushion when they hit and I have not had that probklem again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

I was stropping.

I don't know how it happened or what I was thinking. Maybe I wasnt.

I dropped the razor.

I had three thoughts as my very first and favourite blade went tumbling to the floor.

1. QUICK! Try to catch the razor before it hits the floor and breaks! Do you want your very first blade to get chipped? Catch it!

2. DO NOT TRY TO CATCH IT! Do you like your hands? How would you like a quick visit to the hospital to remove said razor from your hand? How would you explain that one?

3. Oh :cen the razor is headed to my bare feet!!! Quick! Jump out the way!!

I decided to opt for the third option. As a result I am able to write about this to you now because I am not in hospital with a blade in my body. As a bonus I inspected the razor closely. There are no chips or nicks at all. :y That said I havent shaved with it yet so i'll go and do that now and tell you all what happens.

Sometimes life throws you are curveball and you realize how lucky you are to have things the way they are. This is one of those times. :rolleyes:

EDIT: I mis-named the thread. It should read 'Today I did what all straight razor shavers DREAD'. Doh!

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Let 'em fall. It's only a piece of steel - probably replaceable - if not, it's only a piece of steel. Last summer I cut part of the end of my thumb off chasing a piece of wood on a table saw, a tool I've used for about 50 years. Oh, I saved the chunk of wood alright, but upon reflection that is not the part I should have been concerned about.:gaah:

Let 'em fall...

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Originally Posted by RichZ

I on the other hand expound commando shaving. Free swinging in the breeze great also ensures you pay attention to what you are doing..:chop:

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I will never look at that smiley in the same way again! :eek:

I'm with Rich. I shave commando mostly because I always seem to get my shorts wet when I put my boxers on first and if I wear my big robe it seems to be in the way of my neck. but I do believe it makes you more cautious. I participated in karate for years, and almost never wore a cup. it really increases cuts your reaction time and puts more speed and power into the blocks.

it is difficult since we are conditioned to catch things we drop, not to catch the dangerous ones. Good luck to all of us in keeping our parts intact!

Red