Hi Ray,
I'm sorry to hear you've had what sounds like a pretty unsettling dream--but I'm glad you were able to resist the urge to harm yourself in this case. Dreams about self-harm can be particularly difficult for those of us with a history of self-injury, even if it's far in the past. There are many possible interpretations of your dream, but I'm afraid I can't solve this riddle for you; as I've mentioned in other comments, I am not a licensed therapist or dream analyst. However, I will say that it's very possible that your dream may be indicative of a certain level of stress or distress that may be bringing up thoughts of self-harm, especially if in the past you tended to self-harm in order to cope with difficult feelings or situations. It may be that your friend is causing you this distress, or it may be that your subconscious associates this friend with a sense of relief (which is what many people turn to for self-harm, although I don't know if this was the case for you) that you may be seeking in your everyday life.
It is surprising that you dreamt about a method of self-harm you've never actually used, but it's possible that your mind is pulling this particular image from something you've seen or read about and using it as a metaphor. If you really want to go in-depth into understanding this dream (and any other difficulties you may currently be facing), I strongly recommend talking to a therapist or counselor, ideally one experienced in dream analysis.
However, if you are not open to that at this time, you can try and work through it on your own by considering your thoughts and feelings around different elements in your dream. For instance, ask yourself questions like: How am I feeling about the friend that was in my dream? Are there any circumstances in my life that may be triggering an urge to self-harm? How did I feel during the dream? Have I seen images or read things recently that may have contributed to certain elements of this dream? (In my experience, writing down both the questions and answers can be incredibly useful in understanding the issues your subconscious may be trying to work through or bring to light in your dreams.)
I hope this helps. If you have any more questions or comments, feel free to reply here or elsewhere on the blog. Take care!
Sincerely,
Kim