How dangerous is a straight?

[smalltank]

Few months back I cut myself under left side under my chin...going long strokes left to right around my neck are the issue...thank heavens healed 100% and since then no more odd direction and now short strokes in the more proper directions...alum block saved my half inch cut and my wife with Neosporin and bandaids as well -

ST

 

[Go West Young Man]

The human race somehow shaved with straight edges from about 10,000 BC to 1904ish, and we didn't die off and we didn't evolve thick protective neckplates.
That tells me the risk is pretty low.

 

[Kavik79]

I think there is less than 2" before you hit your jugular.

The straight is sharp enough to slit your throat quite easily ear to ear. If that fact scares you I would just stick to DE's. I myself am a bad-*** and use em everyday.

right, what I was saying though is at an angle you'd have to make a 2" deep cut to make your way an inch below the surface. Anyway, yeah, jugular is much closer to the surface than the coratid

whatever the case, my point was most shaving cuts are going to be shallow unless you do something really stupid

 

[Banjoman]

I have cut myself slightly with my straights now and again because of impatience and/or poor angle. But as stated above you can feel it just as it starts and be able to stop. I been concentrating on proper technique and patience and so far my neck does'nt look like Frankensteins'.

 

[YetiDave]

The human race somehow shaved with straight edges from about 10,000 BC to 1904ish, and we didn't die off and we didn't evolve thick protective neckplates.
That tells me the risk is pretty low.

+1

Horror movies and marketing towards higher priced carts have made the general population view straights as some potentially lethal method of shaving. When in reality once you get past the initial small nicks and cuts you're really not all that likely to cut yourself so long as you pay attention. And I think it's the paying attention that we all enjoy, amongst other things. If you don't enjoy straights then yes - you're likely to cut yourself and it could be dangerous because you're simply not willing to put in the time

 

[le_paulo]

I cut off a small chunk of my right earlobe in the first few weeks of straight shaving. But as they say - chicks like scars. Or in my case, laughing at them. The only thing I had to worry about was dying of embarrassment...

 

[life2short1971]

I find that I get more cuts from injectors or DE's at this point. 'Safety razor' does not mean safe, and straight does not mean dangerous. All blades have the potential to do harm.

I have never had more than a minor "Gotcha" from a straight razor while I have nicked myself quite good on several occasions with DE razors. Believe it it not straights are not quite as sharp as disposable blades themselves and the cutting edge is more rounded so to speak so they ride on the lubricated skin quite well and just shear off the hairs flush with the skin while DE blades need to be eleveated off the skin with a guard so as not to filet the skin as well as the hairs.

 

[Obiwan]

I think the other thing is you're mentally forced to pay solid attention to what you are doing.

 

[Brent]

I don't think they are necessarily dangerous. You can get hurt with them though but most are minor. I would think the worst you can do is get a deep enough cut to get a bit of a scar but not the end of the world.

I imagine they are most unsafe in the hands of others without the exprience - ie your child gets their hands on the straight and gets a big gash, etc

 

[nortac]

Just a few months into straights and still learning, I get cut every once in a while. Never worse than a paper cut and usually similar to the nicks I got when learning to use a DE.

 

[Senetsomed]

The biggest danger with straight razors is your wife finding out how much money you spend on them. I'm guessing more men have died from this than actual shaving accidents.

 

[fccexpert]

No more or less dangerous than any other edged tool.

 

[The Ambassador]

+1

The biggest danger with straight razors is your wife finding out how much money you spend on them. I'm guessing more men have died from this than actual shaving accidents.

 

[smalltank]

I have nicked myself with almost everything shaving related...straight razor tend to "dig" more..hence not having a bar like a DE razor

 

[eastomjac]

properly used they can give you the best shave youll ever get

 

[grump]

Your natural instinct will be to pull back if you start to cut yourself. When i first started, i carelessly nicked my nose, ear and a small slice on my cheek.

You will never know if it is for you if you don't try. I think you will do well as you sound persistent.

 

[stoffi]

Guns don't kill people, idiots with guns kill people.

Yeah... but like Eddie Izzard put it: "I think the gun helps".

 

[eastomjac]

Yeah... but like Eddie Izzard put it: "I think the gun helps".

you dont need a gun to kill.death comes easy,living is hard

 

[Rsq]

My first straights are coming in the mail this week, so I'm far from an expert. But I imagine severe injuries with straights are kinda like deaths from "accidental firearms discharge" statistics that you hear. It's almost never the people who are responsible, disciplined, and practice shooting often with their guns who have bad accidents. It's the people who are just flat being careless and don't respect what their tools that get hurt bad.

+1

The straight's edge is so delicate that if you respect the implement, and understand what it can and cannot do, you will likely cut yourself a few times when you start using it, but not badly or deep. Moreover, the geometry of a hollow grind is such that it thickens at a non-linear rate from edge to spine, making it ideal for slicing, but not for cutting deep. It is very easy to cut a mm deep, it requires effort to cut deeper. The kind of pressure that no one who is trying to shave would ever use. When you shave, use a light touch, and no cut will be deep enough to penetrate through all the layers of skin. Most bleeding cuts are only from a nicked capillary near the surface.

+1

Horror movies and marketing towards higher priced carts have made the general population view straights as some potentially lethal method of shaving. When in reality once you get past the initial small nicks and cuts you're really not all that likely to cut yourself so long as you pay attention. And I think it's the paying attention that we all enjoy, amongst other things. If you don't enjoy straights then yes - you're likely to cut yourself and it could be dangerous because you're simply not willing to put in the time

And lets not forget the legacy of the chelsea smile and its addition to the Straight Razor's rep

 

[nortac]

I have a surgical scar on my neck that is problematic regardless of the shaving implement used. I got my worst cut yet the other day using one of my straights. I was in a hurry, my bad, and the scar caused my blade to dive into the adjacent skin, still relatively minor though. I did have to put a small band aid on it for a day or so, as it actually cut a very small flap of skin. The band aid was not to hold the flap in place, but to cover the antibiotic ointment applied so that it would not be wiped off. Cut healed quickly without further incident.