Has anyone ever sharpened a paper cutter?

[backseatpilot]

I acquired a Kodak trimming board which I was hoping to use for cutting negatives and the like. Turns out the blade is extremely dull. Has anyone had success sharpening one of these? I have various grit whetstones that I use for my kitchen knives, as well as diamond files, but I've never tackled something like this before.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

That's something I'd pay someone to do. And I'm a machinist.

However can you post a photo of the blade? Can it be removed from the arm?

 

[Kino]

Both the blade on the arm and the one on the board will need to be re-ground to a flat surface. While the arm will be fairly easy to grind, the blade on the board might prove more problematic if it doesn't have enough material to allow sharpening.

If the edge of the bottom blade is exactly flush with the board edge, it will not have enough surface area to be ground unless you relocate it toward the edge a bit after sharpening. Might be easier to replace the bottom edge than adjust it.

The blades should be ground at a 90 degree angle to the sides of the blade and all burrs removed from the edge; no taper.

 

[eli griggs]

Take it to a professional for best results or buy a roto trim.

 

[MattKing]

When I investigated this a few years ago the people who sharpen knives and kitchen utensils were unable to do it.
In older days, you would be looking toward those who provided services to the printing industry.
I'm not sure where I would look now - perhaps someone with expertise in maintaining old saws and other similar tools?

 

[Kino]

At this point, it's probably better to just buy another cutter and display this one.

 

[BrianShaw]

This kind of guillotine cutters are easily sharpened but it’s a completely manual task and not a quick one. That’s why knife sharpening pros won’t touch them.

 

[eli griggs]

This thread provoke me into going ahead, tonight, and buying a 12" Pro RotoTrim cutter. (two guide arms) even though i have traditional guillotine cutters, so precision cuts of negatives, both paper and film are pain free and the cut material slides easily into dark slide holders.


Cutting medium to size is so routine, life's too short to mess around with dull or misaligned blades, IMO.

 

[BrianShaw]

Good decision.

 

[mshchem]

This thread provoke me into going ahead, tonight, and buying a 12" Pro RotoTrim cutter. (two guide arms) even though i have traditional guillotine cutters, so precision cuts of negatives, both paper and film are pain free and the cut material slides easily into dark slide holders.


Cutting medium to size is so routine, life's too short to mess around with dull or misaligned blades, IMO.

Absolutely, British made! I would get a 15 inch just to give yourself more room.

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[mshchem]

Like scissors hide them, even from your spouse. My artist wife destroyed a beautiful guillotine cutter of mine. I caught her in the act.

 

[Bill Burk]

I have sharpened a few paper cutters and it’s not as fraught with disaster as people are saying. You basically want to sharpen one side only and then deburr the flat side after. I even sharpened a deckle edge cutter. That was entertaining. They always work better afterwards.

 

[AERO]

Buy a scalpel and a good metal ruler

 

[Chromium VI]

I use an old Susis rotary cutter, very good piece of kit, but it needs a new blade. Thankfully this blades are quite inexpensive. Here in portugal there were a few manufacturers of guilotines for film and paper (very popular for cutting single sheets and to trim Imagesetter and Chromagraph negs back in the day) there are still people that sharpen those big and curved (and heavy) blades.

 

[mcfitz]

Like scissors hide them, even from your spouse. My artist wife destroyed a beautiful guillotine cutter of mine. I caught her in the act.

Hide your scissors from EVERYONE - especially if you're left handed and have invested in good quality scissors for us lefties.

 

[mshchem]

Hide your scissors from EVERYONE - especially if you're left handed and have invested in good quality scissors for us lefties.

I catch my darling better half using my drop forged chefs knifes and leaving them in the sink! Rosewood handles with brass rivets! She even ran one through the dishwasher once .

I keep my nice paring nice in my sock drawer in our bedroom, nice and safe and dry.

 

[BrianShaw]

Sometimes the problem with guillotine cutters, especially the older ones, is that in addition to the sharpness, the tension might be bad. If the blade arm is spring-loaded then tension adjustment is generally self-explanatory but if it is just hinges or uses spring washers it might be more challenging to bring that aspect back into spec.

 

[MattKing]

I keep my nice paring nice in my sock drawer in our bedroom, nice and safe and dry.

Clearly we have been watching too many English murder mysteries, because this brought rise to horrible thoughts ......

 

[gordrob]

Clearly we have been watching too many English murder mysteries, because this brought rise to horrible thoughts ......

Midsomer Murders no doubt has an episode with a knife in a sock drawer. They have everything else.

 

[mshchem]

Clearly we have been watching too many English murder mysteries, because this brought rise to horrible thoughts ......

Probably need more than a paring knife. I keep the machete in the closet

 

[Rick A]

I catch my darling better half using my drop forged chefs knifes and leaving them in the sink! Rosewood handles with brass rivets! She even ran one through the dishwasher once .

I keep my nice paring nice in my sock drawer in our bedroom, nice and safe and dry.

I caught my son's GF putting my Henckels Damascus Santoku in the dishwasher, we had a chat. A week later she was making Hasselback potatoes and using a pair of metal straws for spacers with my Santoku again. After a more serious talk my knives are completely off limits (I think she knows I really don't like her but tolerate her for peace sake).

 

[mshchem]

I caught my son's GF putting my Henckels Damascus Santoku in the dishwasher, we had a chat. A week later she was making Hasselback potatoes and using a pair of metal straws for spacers with my Santoku again. After a more serious talk my knives are completely off limits (I think she knows I really don't like her but tolerate her for peace sake).

You are a very forgiving person. No 3 strikes with the Henckels!

 

[runswithsizzers]

If it's not cutting now, you can't make it worse, so why not give it a try?

Remove the blade -- if there is a a spring, be sure you understand how it works to avoid injury.

Clamp the blade to a board or bench top, bevel up, allowing the edge of the blade to hang over a bit. Start with your most coarse stone or diamond file -- watch closely under good lighting to see where the scratches appear on the bevel to be sure you are holding the file at the correct angle.

Because the blade is so thick, I would expect this first step to take a while. Keep working on the bevel with the coarse grit until you can start to feel a small burr ("wire edge") on the back side of the blade. Still working on the bevel, switch to a finer file or stone to replace the coarse scratches with finer ones.

When you are happy with the bevel, unclamp the blade and work a medium or fine stone flat on the back side of the blade just enough to remove the burr or wire edge. It is important to avoid grinding a bevel on the back side of the blade. If the wire edge re-appears on the bevel side, dress the bevel with the fine stone again until the burr disappears.

I doubt the fixed bar on the cutting board will need much attention, but if it does, treat it like the back of the blade to keep it flat.

 

[eli griggs]

I doubt the fixed bar on the cutting board will need much attention, but if it does, treat it like the back of the blade to keep it flat.

They do wear down, especially aluminum, so replace as needed.

 

[darkroommike]

My mother taught me a trick for scissors that also works with guillotine paper cutters. Get a package of assorted "Wet or Dry" sandpaper, 3M brand if you're rich like me. Cut several thin slices off with the grit side both up and down, using a piece of cardboard just back from the blade to hold the paper flat at the cutter. Repeat for progressively finer grits. If there is a burr you can strop it off with a piece of leather (I usually don't bother).

My old boss had a giant cutter that he took to a local shop and it sharpened up just fine but the guys that will tackle that kind of job are all retired.

You could always message a few makers of paper cutters to see who they recommend for sharpening.