Is it better to cut yourself and learn, or just know?

unit

unit

Joined
Nov 22, 2009
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My wife and I were debating the other day. She was cutting a tomato and I was cringing at the way she was doing it. While I was proud that she was heeding my advice to never cut on a hard surface and slam the edge into the cutting board, she was cutting parallel to the board and toward her hand that was gripping the tomato.

She basically told me to STFU, which I simply could not do. I pointed out that I have a fair bit of experience with knives and no one should not cut this way. If the edge escaped the media the knife would have likely contacted her wrist.:eek:

She quickly pointed out that she had never cut herself with a knife (I can vouch that for the 23 years we have been together this seems to be true). She also posed the damning question to me, "how many times have you cut yourself with one of your knives?"

We then debated for a while...I actually chose the stance that because I have cut myself about a billion times:foot:, I possess a level of wisdom from the experiences, she pointed out that she was not so damn stupid that she needed to cut herself a billion times to learn how to avoid it.

I can see this both ways...but I still maintain that you should never cut the way she was doing it:)

I understand that you do not need to cut yourself MANY times to learn, but do you think that a certain amount of experience better qualifies you to give advice?
 
Whenever I buy a new knife...I don't consider it to be truly mine's till I somehow nick myself with it ;p
 
If you cut yourself bad enough you'll have a friendly reminder of the incident. Most of us knife knuts use knives about everyday. The more you use something, statistically, the more likely something will go wrong, and you walk away with a cut. Hopefully you learn from your cuts an avoid repeat mistakes, cuts generally tend to give a broader level of respect to the knife, so I'm saying it's better (but not suggested) to learn the hard way.
 
maybe the best advice about not getting cut would be from the person who has cut himself the fewest number of times even while he uses knives a lot. IMHO, it means that he handles his tools correctly.
 
singularity35 said:
IMHO, it means that he handles his tools correctly.
Click to expand...

There is a big opportunity in there for a joke about not agitating the wife LOL.

There is no doubt that my higher incident rate is proportional to my higher exposure rate. She handles a knife a few times a week and for a minute or two at a session.

My latest cut was not even from the knife...I wore a hole in my finger on a stone as I reprofiled a blade. I have probably had a knife in my hand more in the last 48 hours than she has in the last year.

I just thought it was funny. We rarely argue or even debate...this time was in fun...but I still am not about to try and tick her off.
 
I find that every little nick and cut is just a slap on the back of the head, telling me I'm doing something stupid. Used to happen quite often, but over the years, the number of times it occurs has dwindled. Now, I usually end up getting cut with those darn box cutters.
 
I have cut myself very few times - not bragging, but I do like all ten of my fingers.

What keeps me straight and careful are all the awful cuts that have been posted on this forum - man oh man there have been some doozies. Every time I open one of those threads it makes me pay a little more attention to what I am doing when my knife is in hand.
 
I fallow a simple rule,

If my gf is in the kitchen making my food. I do not tell her how to use a knife.

If we are camping and she trying to split logs with a knife. Then I tell her how to do it.
:)

As for the other question, I rather avoid getting cut since it can be a hassle dealing with a wound while working. Plus it kinda gets embarrasing when you call in sick-your boss say; "Let me guess you gut cut again?"
 
Since i don´t know, what kind of knife she was using, the way she cuts is very common in the matriarchy of women and wifes. I really see no problem, cutting in that peeling way. The possibility of a slipping knife can be put down by using a sharp knife with less force:confused::D.

As to the way she talks: Great woman! No way out of her arguments:D. Never been cut proofs, that she knows how instead of been cut a thousand times.

Have you ever talked about, who is the better driver?:D

Congratulations to you wife, really, no kidding!:thumbup:

I guess the secret of knowledge ist the balance between own experience and what you have learned from others. You don´t have to cut off a finger or crash your car to know about the risks from edges or automobiles. We can imagine that and even better, if we compare what we hear with some own first hand experiences, like smaller cuts into the finger.

It´s the balance.
 
Blop said:
Congratulations to you wife, really, no kidding!:thumbup:


It´s the balance.
Click to expand...

So true!

She is truly an exceptional person with incredible skills. She deserves special recognition just for putting up with me for so long. There really is a balance to things...and part of that is recognizing how lopsided that balance is most of the time.

For the record she was slicing a tomato with a dull crummy table/steak knife. I suggested she switch to a medium chef's knife that I touched up a few days ago that is capable of whittling hair. She took that suggestion and finished the job leaving more juice in the tomato.

She prefers knives that are not sharp and often undersized for the task at hand. I giggle a bit, but I do not argue...she has been making things work for a lifetime without me telling her how to do it "better". It would be pretty hard to make the argument that a sharper knife would be safer for her considering her incident list does not exist.

Thanks guys.
 
Have you ever considered the possibility that women just know it all better?
That they are better at using knives?















Lol :D
 
Women say the darndest things when they don't want you around. I say take the hint next time, and go back to your man cave.

-Freq
 
Well, the thing about making a mistake with a knife is that the worse ones are typically those you never see coming at all. Peeling something with the edge coming toward you is "dangerous" in the idea that the edge might pass the media and on the exit make contact. However most people make these types of cuts very meticulously and have never slipped and cut themselves so they feel that, "Oh, well, I only have to be careful." That is until the day they're making a cut without thinking, "Will this edge pass through the media and cut me?" and it happens.

I use to be the same way growing up as a kid. I had made so many cuts with the blade going toward me because I felt that it gave me more control and I was always very cautious with it. Then one day I was whittling a stick, and I grabbed the stick in one hand like it was the handle to a sword, and started slicing down the bark. The edge hit a knot, jumped, and I smacked my finger with it. I remember thinking, "Oh, shoot, I didn't check if I was cutting toward myself."

So in my opinion, it's okay to make cuts toward yourself as long as you're aware of it, but there's always that inherent danger.

As far as in general though, I've been very lucky as far as not being cut a lot compared to how much I use knives. I mostly get little scratches while sharpening, and really haven't had to many nasty cuts over the years. Personally I believe this is because I cut myself early on, and I knew how easily done it was with a blade. Literally the first pocket knife I had, I dragged my finger down the edge like one would see on TV shows, and as soon as I saw how easily it cut my finger I had an instant respect for edges, and I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've been cut badly.

So personally I think a little experience helps, but I'm more on the side of being cautious and meticulous. The only problem is that if you don't have enough experience to know you're in danger, you're not going to be extra careful.
 
I've offered loads of times to sharpen my parents kitchen knives but my mum won't have it. She says that although she knows that I think they're dull, she knows how much pressure to apply so she never cuts herself!

A while back me and my dad were talking and I said that 2 of my nephews (they were about 9 when they got there 1st) have knives, this was a good thing.

I said that he gave me my first knife, an Opinel which he brought back from Italy, when I was about 6.

I then said "well, when I was about 8 I did nearly cut my finger off with it because I was slicing carpet for my den and forgot to turn the lock on it". He said, "well, I bet you never made that mistake again did you!". I said "very true!"

:thumbup:
 
The moral of the story is to not argue with your wife. Regardless of whether or not you are right, or have the most experience, she will do it her way. I speak from experience. :rolleyes:
 
don't interfere with the kitchen work.

and when/if she cuts herself, be sure to point and say, "SEE, TOLD YA SO!!"


actually, just let her be. if she gets cut, bring her a band aid.

i nick or cut myself a few times a year.

i play with knives. a lot. its gonna happen.
 
Rules of peaceful marriage:
1. The wife is always right
2. In case she is wrong, refer to rule No. 1

In all seriousness, the fact that she never got cut definitely counts. Everybody has his/her own method, and the fact that she got the job done safely means she is doing something right. It doesn't mean you're wrong, it's just that your method is not the only correct one.
 
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