Sharp things cut me more often than dull ones

[Ole Anderson]

OK, now that we have beat to death the "DC chip vs fine dust collection" thread in the Workshops section (didn't quite get to the coveted 100 posts, but it was a great discussion), here is another one:

I also keep hearing it repeated over and over, since I was a Boy Scout, that sharp knives (and other cutting tools) are safer than dull ones. Well, my personal experience is that I keep getting cut more often by sharp edges than dull ones. A misapplied dull edge just isn't going to do the damage a scary sharp edge will do. And paper as often as anything metal. Now of course I am not proposing we should work with less than anything very sharp. SO, is this urban legend true or busted? And no I am not offering to be the test crash dummy, thank you very much.

[paul cottingham]

The one thing I do know is that the cuts I get from sharp blades heal much faster and hurt much less than the cuts I get from dull blades.

[Van Huskey]

The one thing I do know is that the cuts I get from sharp blades heal much faster and hurt much less than the cuts I get from dull blades.

This is true and probably part of the source of the "myth". Not only do dull edges cause nasty jagged tissue damage but a dull blade is less likely to be well cared for and possibly more likely to be covered with organic matter and microbials that increase the chance of infection.

Further, I think the myth is partly based on the fact that dull blades can't effectively cut and result in the need to use and control higher amounts of force which IMO cause one to slip more often and hit whatever is in its path after the slip much harder.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I spent quite a bit of time typing the details of my five most memorable bad cuts and how they happened.
As I was proof reading it before hitting the post button, I realized the old saying is only partly correct.
I deleted everything.

What they really mean about sharp and dull has nothing to do with the blade...

It's all about the sharpness or dullness of the user.

I did some pretty stupid things with both sharp and dull blades, a strand of coarse steel wool and a 600 pound compressor..

[Jerome Hanby]

I think you get into situations that lead to a cut more often with a dull blade that a sharp one. Things like catching and trying to force the cut with the inevitable slip and ouch with a dull blade where a sharp one would have never got caught in the first place.

[Hans Braul]

Interesting question. What kind of person is likely to get cut by a dull blade? Answer: a person who doesn't keep his/her tools sharp and has a lot of poorly maintained tools around. That person is also more likely to have a messy, disorganized environment, and when s/he undertakes a project, it is more likely to be ill thought out, and rushed. Throw into the mix that this person is less likely to have taken the time to patiently learn and hone a set of skills, and you have a recipe for mayhem. So, dull tools create more harm than sharp tools for all the above reasons. Now what's really scary is putting a sharp tool into the hands of the person I described. Then things really get serious...

Regards
Hans

[Mike Cutler]

A long time ago, in a life far, far, away,my job required that I use a razor knife 8 hours a day, continually, in the middle of the night. I was also the kid that continually got into trouble for juggling with the kitchen knives growing up. I can still see my mom's face when she used to catch me at it. I'm also sort of a knife junkie.
From experience I can tell you that all of the responses are correct, but there is one more;
A sharp knife, or tool, performs it's job with very little effort which translates to less force applied and better control. A dull one is quite the opposite. Dull blades slip, sharp ones don't.
There are also "degrees of sharp". What one person may be used to as being sharp, would be dull to another.

[Hans Braul]

Mr. Cutler,
you come by your name honestly!

[Ole Anderson]

Throw into the mix that this person is less likely to have taken the time to patiently learn and hone a set of skills, and you have a recipe for mayhem.
Regards
Hans

Mayhem in the shop, can't get that picture out of my mind as to what the Allstate mayhem guy would do with something sharp in the shop, all sorts of possibilities...mostly very grisly, maybe we best not go there.

And the sharp concept applies to saw and router blades too, a really dull blade on an underpowered saw can get you into trouble in a hurry.

[Tom Ewell]

Working with sharp is a joy to use and enables focus on the work.

Working with dull is frustrating and enables exasperation leading to potential anger and we all know where that can lead.

Must admit that sometimes focus on the work has led to grabbing a chisel or other sharp by the wrong end and it changes the focus immediately.

[J.R. Rutter]

I'll just mention that my sharp kitchen knives have cut two different people over the years as they tried to help with the dishes. Even a warning that "those knives are sharp," didn't stop them from opening up their thumbs. I think that they just assumed that they were sharper than butter knives, just like their food prep knives at home. So if someone is used to handling a dull cutting edge, then a sharp one can easily catch them by surprise.

[John Coloccia]

It's not a matter sharp tools cutting you more than dull ones. The sharp ones send me to the first aid kit. The dull ones send me to the hospital. That's the difference.

[Biff Johnson]

I always equated the sharp vs. dull phrase with the type of damage inflicted when you are cut. A dull blade causes more damage, leaving a ragged cut that doesn't heal (or be patched) cleanly. A sharp blade at least doesn't tear it's way through things, leaving edges that can be sewn back cleanly.

As said before, using a dull tool is going to cause you to apply more force, making the ensuing carnage all the deeper and more forceful.

[Bill White]

I sharpen knives as a side line. Sometimes I will have as many as 8 knives at a time. I use a slow speed water system, and will still knick myself.
I now use a pair of Kevlar knit gloves when sharpening (NOT WHEN USING THE LATHE, ETC.) Sure save the finger tips and knuckles.
Bill

[Dave Anthony]

The only cut I've gotten in the shop was from a Lion miter trimmer, and I wasn't even using it at the time. I reached over to pick something up, and started to walk away when I noticed I was bleeding, which was odd because there was no pain & I hadn't done anything to cut myself. What the...I must of just barely touched the blade. The wound wasn't deep & healed quickly, but that trimmer scares me more than any of my power tools. Now it lives in a box in a closed cabinet except when it is in use.

[randy boughton]

I have always found that a dull edge needs more force sowhen it slips it usually cuts deeper and not near as clean. I do seem to get alot more very small nicks with a sharp edge. I think that it is just that I getcloser to the edge with my hands with a sharper blade for more control.

[Carl Beckett]

OK, now that we have beat to death the "DC chip vs fine dust collection" thread in the Workshops section (didn't quite get to the coveted 100 posts, but it was a great discussion), here is another one:


Not even close to stirring up the same passion as DC threads. ;) (I have to admit, I read the DC threads for entertainment value!). Not sure what would make it on the same level: Politics? Religion? .... and Dust Collection....