Lasting Effects

The most obvious and well-known danger of using dull knives is that you’ll have to use so much force to cut something that you’ll slip and cut yourself. But a subtler, more problematic danger is getting used to dull knives.

If you’re used to using sharp knives and you find yourself in the situation of having to use a dull knife, you automatically get a warning when you realize that you can’t cut as accurately or efficiently as you expect to. You can then decide to sharpen the knife, find another knife or even proceed at risk.

But if you’re used to using dull knives and you find yourself in the situation of suddenly using a sharp knife, you may be surprised at how efficiently it cuts. “Surprised” here might mean that you cut deeper or differently than you’re expecting. Depending on the exact circumstances, you may even cut something you never intended to.

Using a dull or a bad tool is dangerous each time you use it. But the lasting effects of using a bad, dull tool over and over again can gradually make even a good, sharp tool dangerous.