Even with the widespread use of computers and mobile devices, paper has remained stubbornly indispensable in most businesses, so paper-handling tools are still necessary. One of these is the guillotine-style paper cutter, which has a single large blade that, when sharp, can cut through a surprising thickness of paper. Sharpening the blade on a regular basis will keep it working at its best as it becomes dull from use.
The first thing you should know is that your cutter may only require honing rather than sharpening. The cutting edge of a blade, whether on your cutter, a knife, or a pair of scissors, is very thin, and in normal use, that fine edge can bend slightly, blunting the edge and impairing its ability to cut. Honing a blade is simply restraightening that edge, which is what chefs do when they sweep their knives across a steel. Remove the blade and run the flat side a few times across a sharpening steel or a piece of flat, unfinished industrial steel, or simply cut a few thicknesses of aluminium foil.
To sharpen the blade, first remove it from its mounting. Typically, this entails using an Allen wrench to remove a number of small hexagonal bolts from the blade. It's best to start at one end and work your way to the middle, where the middle bolt will keep the blade in place until the end. The cutter's instruction manual or the manufacturer's website should contain detailed instructions. Remember that the blade is sharp, so handle it with caution.
Except for the length, your cutter's blade is similar to a knife and can be sharpened on a whetstone in the same way. The main distinction is that a cutter blade is usually bevelled on one side and flat on the other, so you'll only need to sharpen one side. Use a stone that is large enough that you can draw the entire blade across it on each stroke. A fine stone with a grit of 1,000 or higher is ideal; the higher the number, the finer the grit. Each blade is ground to a precise angle, which is difficult to replicate when sharpening by hand. Adjustable jigs are used by knife enthusiasts to solve this problem, and the same products would work with your paper sharpener's blade.
Sharpening on a bench grinder is more efficient if one is available in your maintenance shop or production area. Because the high-speed wheel removes steel quickly and is time-consuming to correct, you'll need to use a fine stone and be very careful about your grinding angle. It may be easier to use a sharpening attachment on a hand-held rotary tool, which provides more control. When sharpening the blade, you should always wear eye protection. Because using a grinder wears out the blade faster, you'll need to weigh the cost of blades against the time you save by not hand-sharpening on a stone.
Whatever the width or thickness of the cut, all paper cutters use a wide guillotine-style blade to cut into a nylon cutting stick on the cutter bed. The cutting stick ensures that the blade can cut through all of the paper. When the blade blunts from repeated use, the paper begins to be "pushed" rather than sliced, resulting in an uneven and unacceptable cut. When printers and paper handlers are dealing with cuts measured in 1/1000ths of an inch, a scalpel-sharp blade is required.
The blade on the paper cutter cannot be sharpened; it must be removed. This entails lowering the blade and stopping it in the down position before returning it to its original position. This procedure is available on paper cutters. A series of bolts (usually Allen bolts) across the blade's face hold it in place. Remove each one from the outside to the centre: left, right, and repeat until the centre bolt or bolts remain-depending on whether the number of bolts is odd or even.
Paper cutter blades vary in make and model. The most significant distinction is the blade angle. This is the angle of the cutting edge to the blade's face. Sharpening must adhere to the blade angle specified for the cutting machine model. When the pitch is too shallow or too steep, the cutting performance and motor power driving the blade mechanism suffer. Check the machine's specifications for the proper blade angle.
Sharpening blades by hand with a grinder, file, or even a stone is possible. To be honest, this can take an inordinate amount of time. Imagine sharpening a pocket knife a hundred times its size. Manually sharpening a blade can also result in an incorrect blade angle mismatch. It is best to pack the blade in a protective sheath—two sheets of cut plywood will suffice—and take it to a professional saw and blade sharpening shop. Although it is available in most major cities, it may necessitate shipping the blade away for sharpening. The good news is that a cutting machine almost always has two blades: one sharp and ready to install while the other is being sharpened.
Sharp-bladed paper cutters are preferable because they cut more cleanly and safely. This is due to the narrower blade kerf (the width of material removed by a cutting action). This means that using the paper cutter requires less force, and the blade will not tear or pull the paper as it cuts. As a result, the paper cutter will last longer and perform better.
To keep the blade in place and prevent accidental injury, most paper cutters have a locking mechanism. Simply locate the locking lever or knob and turn it to the unlocked position to unlock the paper cutter. After you've unlocked the paper cutter, you can adjust the blade.
Loosen the blade adjustment knob or lever on a paper cutter before adjusting the blade. When the blade is free, slide it up or down to the desired cutting position. Once the blade is in place, retighten the knob or lever to keep it in place. And there you have it! You can easily adjust the blade on your paper cutter with a few simple steps.