I have this almost phobic fear of blades since I had a bad accident with a knife as a child. Most anything that cuts in my house if of the dull variety, unless I really, REALLY have no choice but to use something sharp.

That includes my lawnmower’s blade. I keep it dull on purpose because I have this irrational fear of getting a deep cut while clearing grass buildups around it. Also, it’s a great excuse to hide the fact that I’m much too lazy to bother sharpening it regularly :)

Earlier, I was mowing my lawn, and what with the lush, wet grass we have around here and the dull blade, the lawnmower was jamming and stalling noisily every 30 feet. My neighbor - a real Wilson kind of character - called me from behind the fence and said:

“Dude… Your blade needs honing. This is just painful to listen to!”

“Yeah I know. But I don’t want to. I keep it dull on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Well, I don’t want to end up in hospital with… missing…” The guy was looking at my feet and gave me that look… “nevermind.”