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Worst You’ve Cut Yourself

I do enough sharpening and honing that I cut myself a fair amount. I keep a good stock of fingertip bandages and a couple of other useful types.

The worst, though was probably when I decided it was a good idea to clamp a kamisori in a vise, by the handle, blade facing down, so I could work on the hollow with some sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. That part was fine, but, as so often, the problem came when I was not actively sandpapering, but paying attention to something else, and sort of waved my hand so that my fingertip hit the edge.

It split my fingernail and kept going. There was a lot of blood. Ever try to bandage an injury under your fingernail? It's pretty much impossible. Once I had used pressure for a long time, and got the bleeding to trail off, I bandaged it, on the tight side, and left it that way for a day. It started suppurating and needed daily cleanouts.

No lasting consequences, but I've wised up a bit. I bought some kevlar gloves, and I wear at least one for anything risky. I don't do the vice thing any more, either; turns out it's more effective to just lay the kamisori flat on a folder paper towel and work on it there.
 
The worst while shaving was not from shaving. I was using my hated Merkur Futur with it's enormous blade gap. I was bringing the razor around to shave the back of my head and passed too close to my ear lobe. It sliced open and bled worse than the shower scene from Psycho. Took a while and a lot of styptic pencil to get it to stop.

My favorite movie metaphor for that, is the elevator scene from
The Shining.

 
A few months into using straights I gave myself a notable cut. Had a gig with a sound check at 3 am and had to arise at about 1 to get to the venue on time. As I hadn't had so much as a nick in the previous few months, I decided to shave with a straight. I gave myself a nasty cut on the underside of the jaw. Took a while to stem the blood flow using styptic and pressure. I hadn't even had my coffee at that stage, and had to leave when the blood letting stopped.

I figure using a straight with two hours sleep when getting up when you're normally going to bed is not something to repeat in the future, at least without a coffee first.
 
The worst? I tried to shave once with a razor not clamped down. The day before I had put in a new Feather blade and, as was my practice, put the razor in the stand without the blade clamped down. When I started to shave, I thought I had clamped the blade before putting the razor in the basin of hot water. The blade was flopping around in the razor like a fresh caught fish loose in the bottom of the boat. To make matters worse, I took another stroke and sliced myself a second time. It was then that I realized what I had done.
 
My worst razor cuts were made twice by a Friodur labeled 7/8 razor that may have been reground by others from old Henckels blanks. It pulled up a vertical wrinkle on the left side of my face then made a full blade length vertical slice. They were shallow clean slices that bled profusely, but did not require stiches. I was concerned that I might look like I had a schmisse, but the slices left no scars. I also cut my hand a couple of times by hitting the edge of the blade. I soon learned to never put down an open razor, keep the location of the exposed edge in mind at all times, and to keep in mind the location all parts of my body in motion when holding a razor with an exposed edge. I also learned to keep my mind focused on the edge and what it is doing, edge skin pressure, blade angle, and skin stretching, no fast or distracted shaving.
 
Cursed thread! I just read this yesterday and was thinking how lucky ive been lately... well i have been practicing switching to my left hand with my straight razor for my left cheek. Somehow not looking I grabbed the heel of my freshly honed geneva razor when switching hands and dug it well into the pad. Couldn't believe it, surprisingly large amount of blood. Im regretting this decision to get comfortable left hand shaving more and more!
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Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
Got cut today, seemingly out of nowhere, but just not paying attention. Worst was a paper cut like gash down my cheek from a blade imperfection. Very fine, little blood. I rarely cut myself, knock on wood. Jinx.
 
I guess the worst I cut myself was about 50 years ago when I was a tot.
I found my grandfathers straight razor in its' box. I took it out and prepared to shave some peach fuzz off my face sans lather. A little more to the left and it would've been a carotid!
Needless to say, I was quite paranoid to try it again 40 years later!
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
When I first started straight shaving I consistently had little horizontal lines below my sideburns where I placed the razor for a downward stroke. Nothing serious, but irritating to look at.
 
My worst shaving cut on my face was when I got a little complacent with my Feather Artist Club DX with a pro super blade one morning about 12 years ago and gave myself a slice on my left cheek not far from my mouth. It bled a long time. I probably should have had a couple sutures put in it in hindsight, but it healed up. I do still have a small scar and have accidentally opened it up slightly once or twice. This was the incident that lead me to trying DE safety razors, but I have gotten back on the horse.

My worst non-face shave accident was actually reaching into my wife's overnight bag and slicing the tip of my finger on her disposable razor. Bled like crazy.
 
My worst was with a straight when I was shaving to the right of my chin with no stretching. I gave myself a nice new flap which bled a lot. Funnily enough I just popped the flap back into place and it healed within a few days with no scar. It's like it just disappeared when I was expecting the flap to dry, harden and eventually come off.
 
My worst was with a straight when I was shaving to the right of my chin with no stretching. I gave myself a nice new flap which bled a lot. Funnily enough I just popped the flap back into place and it healed within a few days with no scar. It's like it just disappeared when I was expecting the flap to dry, harden and eventually come off.

The good thing about razor cuts is that they are usually clean cuts that heal nicely without scarring.
 
I am not squeemish. I can cut, burn, shock myself just to prove to someone I can. However for some reason reading your post and thinking of my razor making a flap on my chin almost gets to me LOL I have never had more than a TINY nick from a straight razor, but I just do not feel like I want that experience.
 
I am not squeemish. I can cut, burn, shock myself just to prove to someone I can. However for some reason reading your post and thinking of my razor making a flap on my chin almost gets to me LOL I have never had more than a TINY nick from a straight razor, but I just do not feel like I want that experience.
I must admit it was pretty worrying at the time and I'm still amazed how quickly it healed. It was probably so sharp "the flap" didn't notice it became detached from my face and I popped it back before it noticed. I believe in rhinoplasty (nose jobs) they peal your nose up and over to get to the bone, then put it back somehow. I presume this was simmilar?

It was that one time when you go "I won't bother stretching, too akward and sure it's just my chin", and then, oh that's not good. I had those 5 seconds of "did I get away with that", before the blood went no you didn't.
 
I must admit it was pretty worrying at the time and I'm still amazed how quickly it healed. It was probably so sharp "the flap" didn't notice it became detached from my face and I popped it back before it noticed. I believe in rhinoplasty (nose jobs) they peal your nose up and over to get to the bone, then put it back somehow. I presume this was simmilar?

It was that one time when you go "I won't bother stretching, too akward and sure it's just my chin", and then, oh that's not good. I had those 5 seconds of "did I get away with that", before the blood went no you didn't.
"did I get away with that" lol Glad it all worked out.
 
I was five years old, so it was 1983 when I got my first and worst shaving cut. I watched my Dad finish shaving with his double edge and I wanted to try it. I started at (my left) bottom corner of my top lip and finished half way through my upper lip. I essentially removed about 1.5” of my top lip. It hurt like the dickens, and bled like mad. I remember the stitches being put in (12), the Novocain, etc. The Doc did a great job as there is only the tiniest of scars right on the corner of my mouth.
 
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