Doc Edward Morbius ⭕​

@kensanata My #SearchFu pays off.

"How did the romans trim their toenails" isn't specifically the scope of the question, but does turn up numerous informative results:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+did+romans+trim+toenails&ia=web

("anthropology nail trimming" was ... spectacularly unproductive.)

Two of the better (still not great):

Tedium at least cites texts, including the Bible. Knives seemed in common use:
https://tedium.co/2017/02/07/fingernail-trimming-history/

Not very authoritative, though methods are mentioned: "How Did People Trim and Maintain Their Nails in Medieval Times?"
https://about-history.com/how-did-people-trim-and-maintain-their-nails-in-medieval-times/

how did romans trim toenails at DuckDuckGo

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Jul 7, 2021 at 6:08pmWeb
Show threadDigital Mark λ ☕️ 8647Jul 7, 2021

@dredmorbius @kensanata The second one's odd, as if they don't know about pocket knives. Both Roman & Viking soldiers had small folding knives, which were more likely for grooming, both cultures were cleaner than Western Christians.

I'm a primitive man myself: Knife then file for all my nails, rarely clipper for thick big toenails. Haven't lost a digit yet.

Also I mostly use a trimmer or safety razor, but I have shaved with my knife and survived.