Thread: Nick, tear, weep, cut: what is the definition?

A few months into this hobby I have found all sorts of new ways to irritate and make my face bleed. I've read the wiki and sticky posts and by now I am familiar with the use of the styptic pencil, alum block and triple antibiotic the part that is not 100% clear to me is the difference between the names used to define the injuries.

What is the accepted definition of the main types of damage I can do to my face?

I don't know the exact definitions - if you have a dictionary handy it might help somewhat, but the shaving lingo is going to vary in meaning from person to person

I think a weep is a minor nick, which is a minor tear, which is a minor cut. There's more to it than that but that's good enough for me - first blood is usually a nick according to many of the posts I've read

Just colorful metaphors. If you draw blood you cut yourself.

I think I've gotten myself pretty familiar with all those terms. That's what two months of straight shaving will do for you.

Razor burn: scraping the skin using too much pressure
Weeper: getting too close, causing a red dot
Cut: sticking the razor into the skin, more blood
Slice: a cut gone bad, a result of carelessness
Skin Flap: the result two days after a cut or slice
Nick: a cut or slice stopped before it gets bad

Razor burn happens at first, especially when going for a really close shave. Nicks and weepers are part of the straight shaving experience, at least in my case. Cuts and slices are best avoided.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Just colorful metaphors. If you draw blood you cut yourself.

Well said.

Agree with ace on every point except one: Nick- a cut that leaves both an entry and exit so there's no closure. If a nick is serious enough it could be a gouge, which is really nasty. I don't think a tear is really possible unless you are shaving with a garden trowel.

Originally Posted by flyman

Agree with ace on every point except one: Nick- a cut that leaves both an entry and exit so there's no closure. If a nick is serious enough it could be a gouge, which is really nasty. I don't think a tear is really possible unless you are shaving with a garden trowel.

Interesting! Do you mean that the blade goes into the skin then comes out the other side? That sounds pretty nasty. I've covered the repertoire pretty well, but have never done that one, and I hope I never do.

So a nick would be a minor example, a gouge even worse, and a "scoop" would be a really bad example?

Originally Posted by ace

Interesting! Do you mean that the blade goes into the skin then comes out the other side? That sounds pretty nasty. I've covered the repertoire pretty well, but have never done that one, and I hope I never do.

So a nick would be a minor example, a gouge even worse, and a "scoop" would be a really bad example?

Oh, you've done it alright. You just didn't realize it. The nick is very hard to discern from the cut because of its diminutive size. The gouge, on the other hand, I must say I have not experienced. Neither the scoop, although I suspect that would be relegated to lepers and zombies.

Thank you for the replies, One thing is for sure... I DO NOT have blue blood.