Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

While accidental cuts are usually the primary fear and focus of those engaging in
knife play, cuts themselves are typically not terribly dangerous unless you sever
a major blood vessel, rupture a critical organ, or slice something off that should
have stayed where it was. More concerning should be the risk of serious
infection to the subject from a non-sterile blade or the risk of transmission of
blood-borne disease or infection from the subject to others, if any bleeding
occurs. To reduce the risk of infection, the subject should shower prior to the
knife play scene, and the Top should wash his hands thoroughly with a strong
antibacterial soap. Knife blades should be disinfected with isopropyl alcohol or
hydrogen peroxide, rather than with boiling water. Putting a knife in boiling
water can warp the construction of the knife and will hasten the oxidation
(rusting) of the blade.
One particularly useful rule of thumb is to treat all blades as if they are
dangerously sharp. That way, a momentary lapse of concentration or mix up in
blades won’t result in a trip to the E.R. It is rarely the sharp knife that causes a
mishap; it’s the one that you thought was dull.
Always anticipate sudden or seemingly irrational fear reactions. It’s always
tempting to toss out the worn-out saying, “expect the unexpected,” but the truth
is, fear should be expected and when people are afraid, they can do incredibly
crazy things. You should expect that, and plan accordingly. Flinching, jumping,
jerking, and pitching forward or backward may not be entirely rational things to
do when someone is holding a knife to your throat, but the Top should always
anticipate it, nevertheless.
If you do not have a fully stocked first aid kit nearby, I highly recommend that
you postpone your knife play scene until you do. And by fully stocked, I mean
that there are enough sterile bandages (not band-aids, but real cloth bandages)
and gauze pads to properly dress a wound with a standard first aid dressing or -
in the event of very heavy bleeding - a pressure bandage. If you don’t know
basic first aid, I would suggest that you have absolutely no business engaging in
BDSM knife play.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t address what is - at least for the Top - quite
possibly the most dangerous aspect of BDSM knife play. Cutting your subject’s
clothing, without first getting permission to do so, is almost always going to end
up being hazardous to your health.