DE: Unpacking cut. Ouch!

[Liberty_2112]

I will never understand why people ship DE razors with a blade installed.

I've received a few eBay razors and while opening I've noticed they had a blade loaded. I was shocked. Ever since, I always pay attention when unpacking razors.

Today I made a dumb mistake. I received three razors in the mail from three different sellers. When I walked in from work I immediately began unpacking the razors. At the same time I was greeted by my wife, kids and dogs. I wasn't paying attention. I opened a vintage cased Merkur slant. Within the case, the razor itself was wrapped in bubble wrap. As I opened the bubble wrap I sliced my thumb pretty good, right in the crease of the joint.

What a dumb mistake.

I immediately put the blade in a safe place. Then I rinsed my thumb with water and with hydrogen peroxide. I finally got it to stop bleeding and wrapped it up.

Lesson learned. Do not assume that razors you purchase from eBay are empty!

 

[elmerwood]

First how could you wait to open them?!? Second, I would bet that many sellers don't know there's a blade in it or even how to open one or take it apart to remove it. Injectors are probably the worst to be shipped with blades. Hopefully its a sweet scar.

 

[BJT]

Ouch! Ive received many with rusty blades still in them along with 50+ year old stubble. I learned to assume there is a blade and unpack them slowly. I understand how its easy to get distracted in the anticipation to see the new treasure.

 

[TheVez2]

Hopefully there was no rust on the blade, you wouldn't want to have to get a tetanus shot!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Yeah, this topic comes up fairly often. The general consensus is some ebay sellers are oblivious to the blade to being able to removed, others are of the antique mindset where you leave everything exactly as you found it, since changing it could decrease it's value, while the last ones are of a similar mindset thinking vintage blades are valuable.

All in all, we all have to be vigilant when we open razors from ebay.

Hope it heals up ok.

 

[z3driver]

All in all, we all have to be vigilant when we open razors from ebay.

True that! I've received several off the bay with blades still in the razor. Nearly cut myself a few times too.

 

[nemo]

I'm more worried about any guy getting three razors per day in the mail!

 

[Shave_Rat]

I'm more worried about any guy getting three razors per day in the mail!

Worried? I'm jealous, not worried... lol

 

[Go West Young Man]

Yeah, this topic comes up fairly often. The general consensus is some ebay sellers are oblivious to the blade to being able to removed, others are of the antique mindset where you leave everything exactly as you found it, since changing it could decrease it's value, while the last ones are of a similar mindset thinking vintage blades are valuable.

All in all, we all have to be vigilant when we open razors from ebay.

Hope it heals up ok.

This!

First rule of antiques is that original accessories increase the value of the object. The second rule is that if you don't know what you're doing, do nothing. More antiques have been ruined by well-meaning people tossing dirty accessories and trying to clean things and removing original finishes, etc., than by anything else.

 

[roklein]

Happened to me except the slicing part. I contacted the seller and politely told them that the blade in the razor wasn't welcomed. At this point we can only educate. Get a tetanus shot anyways if you can't remember when you had your last one.

 

[Liberty_2112]

Update:

Thanks for all of the replies.

Luckily I am up to date on my tetanus shots.

I contacted the seller and politely asked if the blade was new. He quickly responded that he wasn't familiar with slants and wanted to see how the blade sat in the head. He apologized and assured me that it was a new blade. Overall he was pleasant. I was angry at myself for being careless, not the seller.

On a different note, I purchased a Stahly Live Blade a few weeks ago. The seller contacted me to let me know that there was a blade in place and that he wasn't familiar with the razor and didn't want to damage it in the process of removing the blade. He warned me to open carefully. When the package arrived, the razor was wrapped in bubble wrap with a piece of masking tape labeled "sharp". I thought that was a very considerate way to ship the razor.

Lesson learned.

 

[Liberty_2112]

I'm more worried about any guy getting three razors per day in the mail!

It was a good day!

 

[Redstickjohn]

Rule number 1: ANY razor that I haven't been the last to touch, I am SUPER careful with.

 

[Mick]

Treat all razors as though they are loaded
Keep your fingers away from the trigger/blade
Point them in a safe direction
Always assume that any razor is a loaded razor until you have racked it, unloaded it, and secured it

 

[ERVARGASNY]

That is Horrible, Hope you heal Quickly before the Holidays, Best Wishes.

 

[MrLara]

hope you heal up well ts, when i first got me my merkur i wondered how sharp the blades were. however i wasn't brave enough to test them on my finger. i did test them on my fingernail.

 

[Viseguy]

Sound advice from the OP and others. Thanks!

 

[thekinge]

Had this happen to me couple of weeks ago. It was a Aristocrat #15 and as usual, in my excitement to "check her out" as soon as I received the package, opened the razor package and was a bit careless, which resulted in a nice cut on my left index finger. Lesson learnt, so now I treat all razors I receive like a "loaded weapon"!