Tip: Protecting Your Hands While Shucking

One of the big reasons oyster shucking is so daunting is that many people are afraid of hurting themselves, so we’re fleshing out our shucking guide with tips for protecting your hands.

The most important thing you can do to protect yourself while shucking is to use an oyster shucking knife — be it ours or someone else’s. The knife is designed for the shucking process so they just work, and you don’t have to worry about breaking that fancy paring knife you got for Christmas or impaling yourself with a screwdriver trying to make it work.

The next thing you can do is cover your hands while shucking. There are options from chain-mail gloves to tea towels that are intended to protect your hands in different ways. Chain-mail gloves can be quite pricey, but will do the best job. Cut-resistant gloves aren’t fool-proof, but they’re the best value and super convenient as you can order gloves (and shucking kits!) from us and pick them up with your oysters. These gloves give you a good grip and will save you from hurting yourself while shucking the right way and lessen the damage if you shuck the wrong way. Tea towels work on the fly and do best to protect you from the sharp edges of the oysters; with that said, they can work like a bulky glove if used with a shucking knife while doubling the towel over and remembering that it’s about finesse, not force.

Here’s our comprehensive shucking blog and video if you need a refresher on safe shucking.