My evil little pokey plant or agave has 4 pups that need to be transplanted. How do I do it without getting poked and dying?

in a word: gloves.

Remove it from the pot and CAREFULLY separate the pups making sure they have some roots along with them.

Some people cut off the tips of the sharp spines. Mind you, if that's agave americana, those things can get huge.

Deebie said:Some people cut off the tips of the sharp spines. Mind you, if that's agave americana, those things can get huge.

Yes it's agave Americana and my Horticulture teacher had one that was at least 3 feet from tip to tip with one inch thorns. That darn thing used to scratch me every time I watered it. How would I cut the thorns? Heavy duty hedge clippers?

Nail clippers work well for me.

You don't have to cut the thorn off. Just the very tip where it is sharp. If only 1/4 in. cut, you don't hardly notice it and it can't cut into your skin. Maybe a little scrach but no injections. (You know what I mean). Also if very patent, you could cut the tips all along the sides of each leaf. Do just one a day or so and before you know it your done. If growing in the yard, forget about it.

I cut off one pup a few years ago after I transplanted it from a 4" pot to a 6" pot. I live in upstate NY, so it won't survive in my hardiness zone 5, wish it did though so I could leave it out all winter.

You could put a cork onto each sharp point and remove the corks later.

I use a BBQ tongs to lift plants that fight back. If you think the metal tongs might injure the plant you can wrap the tongs in cloth.
I also wear the leather gauntlet gloves to avoid injuring myself.

I didn't intend to remove the pup from mine, until seeing this discussion. Is it necessary for some reason to separate it? (With some Sedum.)

Not necessarily.