Here is a post last year you can see how thick the raspberries get when they are growing.
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ght=berry+time
If you remind me during the summer I will take a photo of them when I prune them. Like I said before you are welcome to stop by and I can show you first hand. Hopefully this was helpful and not too boring. You can't hurt the plant, only loose some fruit. Everbearing plants produce 2 crops, the majority the first year onthe tips in late summer,fall. They then put out a small crop the following year early. You need to know the variety so you don't cut back after first crop and loose the second one. Here is where I buy all my small fruits.
http://www.noursefarms.com/Catalog/C...SPBERRIES.aspx