dangers of polishing

[Wayne D]

Hi folks,

well a narrowly missed horror story today !

I have good safety habits in my workshop, As I work with large knife blades I always wear a leather apron, safety glasses and always wear strong shoes or boots .

today after years of work and no accidents I was caught in what could have been a very nasty accident.

I was happily polishing the back of a straight razor blade on my bench polisher with some jewellers rouge, when the razor whipped out of my hands, heading downwards the back spine bounced of the edge of the workbench sending it pin wheeling horizontaly out towards me, hitting me in apron over my groin where it seemed to lose momentum and drop, landing on my boot and sliding off onto the floor.

what happened?
a small loop of cotton from the mop had unwound and whipped itself around the shank of the razor, causeing it to whip off like a spinning top , when it hit my apron it cut a 2 inch slice down the front .

if I hadn't been wearing the leather apron I'd now be talking soprano!

I'd also like to point out this was not a honed razor, it was 'blunt' - be careful folks, even with every precaution dangers are lurking.