The Female and The knife

hunterfisher808

hunterfisher808

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Dec 27, 2006
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The other day my better half asked me to sharpen some of her kitchen knives, so like a good boy I did...to the level that I would want my knife to be. Well I was watching her debone some chicken thighs with a paring knife that I just sharpened....and well to watch how she handles a knife:eek: made me kinda think I should'nt make 'em that sharp!!!! Granted she does'nt cut herself but it just made me real nervous. How you do guys feel about it?:D
 
coop1957 said:
A dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp knife.
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That's somewhat true. A sharp knife will leave a cleaner cut and make it easier for your skin to heal. However it's much easier and common to cut yourself with a sharp knife without putting much force into it. The sharper knife will cut much deeper with less force than a dull knife.

As long as the dull knife doesn't have jagged burs or serrations I don't think it's really that much worse than getting cut with a sharp knife.

We used to have extremely dull kitchen knives at my house. My mom bought a new set (old ones were too much of a hassle to sharpen), and she gets cut a lot more frequently now!
 
coop1957 said:
A dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp knife.
Click to expand...

true, but there's a big difference between a sharp knife and a SHARP! knife...

My wife is not a knife person. I'm not a great sharpener, but I could put an edge on the kitchen knives that would split skin at a the lightest touch. Knowing how she uses a knife (and I've tried to help her get better habits, btw), I think hair popping sharp would be more dangerous. She's much more likely to brush up against the blade than she is to force a dull blade to push cut through something.

By the standards of some on this forum, our kitchen knives are dull, but they do everything they need to & I'm not worried she'll lop off a finger on accident.
 
Believe me it doesn't matter what sex you are, if you cut yourself bad enough you will soon learn to respect a sharp blade!
I laid my forefinger and thumb open to the bone when I was younger and my Mom cut herself badly once, too. We both handle knives with proper care now and it hasn't been repeated.
 
jill jackson said:
Believe me it doesn't matter what sex you are, if you cut yourself bad enough you will soon learn to respect a sharp blade!
I laid my forefinger and thumb open to the bone when I was younger and my Mom cut herself badly once, too. We both handle knives with proper care now and it hasn't been repeated.
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How true. I know a female meat cutter who's knife handling skills are amazing.
 
hunterfisher808 said:
How you do guys feel about it?:D
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Train her in the safe use of them. After that, tell her no more sharpening from you until she uses 'em right. My wife is pretty good with a knife in general, and stellar in the kitchen. Some of her friends, on the other hand, make me want to have a medic standing by...

thx - cpr
 
jill jackson said:
Believe me it doesn't matter what sex you are, if you cut yourself bad enough you will soon learn to respect a sharp blade!
I laid my forefinger and thumb open to the bone when I was younger and my Mom cut herself badly once, too. We both handle knives with proper care now and it hasn't been repeated.
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Sorry if the thread title sounded sexist, that was'nt my intent....I also agree with the old adage "Once Bitten Twice Shy" :D
 
I once took a cab in San Francisco driven by a rather rogueish dude who told me a tale about females and knives. He had been in a biker bar for a few hours and was sitting at a table minding his own business when a gorgeous blond sat across from him and made it apparent that she was fond of him in a not so subtle way. As they chatted she put her snakeskin boot-covered feet up on a chair next to him and he saw what was outlined under her jeans, jeans that looked like they were painted on they were so frikn tight and complementary to her amazing rump..... This guy carefully slides her denim pantleg back to reveal a large and extremely vicious dagger. Evidently he had a deal going with his friends that if he ever ran into a woman who wore a boot knife he would marry her. He married her and they were still madly in love at the time. How could you not fall for a dame like that?
 
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I think most non knife people, used to using dull knives in the kitchen will be unprepared for how sharp they can get.

I remember a few years ago I sharpened my mothers kitchen knives at her request. The next day she had a bandage on her finger and asked me: “please make them duller”
 
People who work with knives professionally, as in the meat packing industry, usually wear cut-proof gloves. They do so for a reason...

In the home kitchen, rather than dull knives, sharp 'people' are the best defense against a cut finger. Knowing how to use the tools correctly is the best way to all the blood on the inside of the skin. It's not the tool, it's the use of the tool that needs work.

That being said, I have to go now and change the bandage on my finger...

Stitchawl
 
My wife cuts herself pretty frequently with kitchen knives. As with many gender-based criticisms, I'm not so sure this is a female thing as much as it is an attitude thing. Some people are very focused on careful use of manual implements and some aren't.

I get a lot of satisfaction out of working with my hands, and I get a lot of information tactilely, as opposed to visually. I happen to be male, but I've seen women who lean in that direction too.

The adage about dull knives being more dangerous than sharp ones is generally true. Although it's quite possible to dull a knife to the point where it is simply not going to incise flesh, and it's not that difficult to get quality knives sharp enough that they will cut skin with all but the finest touch.

I very rarely cut myself to the point of drawing blood (at least not with cutting tools) but find it much easier to get shallow skin cuts when handling super-sharp knives.

And back to the original question, yes, it makes me very nervous to watch people flail about with blades.
 
J.Mattson said:
I think most non knife people, used to using dull knives in the kitchen will be unprepared for how sharp they can get.

I remember a few years ago I sharpened my mothers kitchen knives at her request. The next day she had a bandage on her finger and asked me: “please make them duller”
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I agree. A person used to dull knives will hurt themselves with sharp ones. About 25 years ago while going to college, I worked evenings at a supermarket. One of the produce guys was tired of using the dull knife to trim heads of lettuce and asked me to sharpen their knife. I used the meat department's stones (I wish I had that set of sharpening stones today. It was a set of three 12 inch India stones,) to hone a razor edge on the knife. When I got to work the next night, three different produce people had bandages on their thumbs and I was told to never sharpen their knife again. I thought I would be a hero. Go figure.
 
You have to exert much more force using a dull knife than a sharp knife.Which means if you slip you'll slip alot harder.See where this is going?
 
Just my two cents:
I agree with Jill that man or woman if you are careless or even extremely proficient with any blade and get cut then you won't be in a hurry to repeat that experience. My roommate does not feel comfortable with knives except in the kitchen and the knives we have are not the kind that I could sharpen even though I'd love to be able to. But, I have taught her to be a lot more careful and respectful of knives. If I were you, I'd show her exactly how sharp those knives are (like show her that they can shave the hair off your arm or how the sharpened knives cut a tomato compared to the duller knives) and then show her how you would perform her kitchen tasks with the knives. Every woman and man in my family has at least one horror story involving a blade of some sort in the kitchen. And we have all learned our lessons. And we pass those lessons along. :)
Good luck!
Gray
 
60_watt said:
That's somewhat true. A sharp knife will leave a cleaner cut and make it easier for your skin to heal. However it's much easier and common to cut yourself with a sharp knife without putting much force into it. The sharper knife will cut much deeper with less force than a dull knife.
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Agreed. My dad just cut himself the other day, but it wasn't that bad at all since it was a dull knife lol
 
If you're playing with a knife, a dull one is safer, if you're using it properly, a sharp knife is safer.
 
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