Fear not... I'm not trying to harm myself!
Not to fear:) The kinfe is going to be used for good and not harm! Im using it to remove the dead skin that forms on the hands from gripping chinup bars, weights and softball bats. They are all that stand in the way of the baby soft hands that all real men should long to have...NOT! I want to remove them not for cosmetic value but because if they get too large and hard, they can pinch up when you grip the bar and they can rip off (I've had it happen before...) painful, bloody and unnecessary (although quite macho).
Most experienced athletes have gotten thsese before. Here is the best way I have found to keep them to the correct size where they are thick enough to protect your hands, yet not so large that they bunch up and rip off.
1. Soak hands in bucket of warm water for a minute so that the skin gets soft
2. Get NON-SHARP knife (butter knife works well)
3. Saw away at the skin deposits. you should start to see skin come off. Make sure its pain free. If it hurts... please stop (d..dd...d...dUH!)
4. Admire your new elegant hands!
For ladies I know this can deter your from lifting weights as exercise. Dont' let it! Just wear gloves. It will (I'm serious this time) keep your hands' skin supple and ladylike. Why I don't use gloves is becuase they start to stink after a while, I foreget where I leave them and tend to lose them, and (most important) they affect my grip strength i.e. ability to hold on to really heavy stuff.