I cut myself only once, and that is when I learned that the less pressure the better with a DE razor. After you learn the technique, it is hard to cut yourself. With Gillete Fusions, you have to press into your skin to get them to cut, with a DE, you glide the hair off... with damn near zero pressure. The pressure created by the weight of a good DE is where you need to start. Then you gently add pressure until you find that happy medium.