I’d like to pass along a tip I got from a local MMR, who also owns a hobby shop. For those of us from an older generation, I remember going to the barber and he would always shave the back of my neck with a straight razor. Before he did that, he would “strop” the blade on a long leather strap attached to the barber chair. At the time, it never occurred to me to wonder/ask why he did that.
Here’s the tip: buy a new Bright Boy track cleaner and use it to sharpen your Xact blades. Here’s what happens with “stropping” these blades. When you draw the blade with the blade edge in the aft position (i.e., not cutting into the rubber block), the Bright Boy straightens-out and aligns all those jagged serrated edges you would find if you looked at the blade under a microscope. The only truly sharp blade is one that can be made from obsidian, a rock mineral. All other blades have microscopic serrations.
I’ve done this sharpening several times and it seems to be working, at least for #11 and #17 blades. I haven’t been at it long enough to know how long/if it will help retain blade edges.
Try it and maybe post your experiences. It really bothers me to throw away a brand new blade that I might have used once to cut paper. Cost is one issue, but environmental waste is a bigger one, in my opinion.
Blades are run on a hard material to clear the pits and trash, the Leather side of the strop polishes and smooths the blade for use on hair.
I consider Xacto blades disposible. I buy bulk packs several times a year and throw the blade away when excessive force is on a dull blade.
I managed to build 6 large modulars on one xacto blade over two years with the help of a Xuron Shears that really cuts down on the consumption of Xacto blade. One of the Shears is worth several bulk packs of xacto blades no clearing necessary.
Yep. They sharpen well on a fine diamond whet stone when too dull for the strop. I hone mine a batch at a time on a cotton wheel with compound. Works for drywall blades too. I agree - why toss it in the trash when it is still perfectly usable. Clean a paint brush, hone a blade. Same idea.
The old timers knew this techniques out of necessity. The new kids (and a few older ones) have been taught to constantly buy new. Ah … the modern world.
My bulk #11 blades from Micro Mark were about 12 cents each, not worth the effort to sharpen to me. I have one X-Acto knife that always has a new blade in it for cutting, and when it dulls or the tip breaks off, I move the blade to a secondary holder. I use this secondary knife for the rough stuff, scraping and such. So I always have a knife with a new blade and one with an older blade, all for 12 cents each.
I recently saw a show (I think it was ‘Modern Marvels’) that detailed how razor blades are made. After watching the technology behind the specialized machines they use to sharpen them to the finest point possible, I highly doubt that anyone could make a simple product that could bring a blade back to its original sharpness.
Besides, as it has already been pointed out, the cost of new blades is still pretty low. So why bother trying to re-sharpen them?
The local hardware store has Xacto blades in bulk packs and the blades figure out to about ten cents each. Not worth sharpening them. I do clean my paint brushes though as paint brushes are about five dollars each for a quality brush.
Now if they can keep those 12 dollar razor blades for shaving sharp enough to last more than one month, Id be happy. Sometimes I suspect they deliberately “Under-build” a something to make it fall apart and require you to go and get another one.
I remember the straight razors. If they are kept sharp, they get passed down several generations. NOW that is longetivity.
Even obsidian would have ripples and pits on a microscopic level. There really is nothing truly smooth or sharp once you magnify it enough.
The steel used in Xacto blades is quite minor, really. I have saved a few bucks now and then by sharpening blades. The convenience was more of a reason. I just used a pocketknife stone, then stropped on an old leather belt.
What stropping actually does is break off the wire edge, a weak, ragged extrusion, that is drawn out while sharpening. A wire edge is sharp, but quickly folds over o
One thing I learned the hard way a long time ago: When disposing of X-Acto blades in the garbage, I first wrap them in masking tape. It is loosely wrapped around the pointy end to protect it.
This way they won’t cut through the garbage bag, fall out and stick into the bottom of your shoe! Ask me how I know about this!!
I also have a #17 flat chisel blade in its own holder, for removing cast on details on plastic models. Sometimes the blade is too wide, so I used a cutoff wheel in my Dremel to narrow it down to about 1/8 - 3/16"; it is in its own holder too. Less chance to gouge the surrounding plastic when removing rivets, grab irons, etc.
Chuck’em, get a new one. All that time your sharpenin blades to me is rare quality hobby time thats better used butchering styrene or chopping up the layout [;)]
I go through about 4-8 blades a week. i can not see resharpning them. i just toss them and grab a new one.
one thing i do is i have a clear plastic jelly jar with a slot cut in the top. when i replace a blade the old one gets put in the jar. when the jar is full i ducttape the hole in the lid and tape the lid on. and it goes in the trash. i have been poked by blades in the trash to many times
I’m fortunate as I have my late father’s Whet Stone, which he bought back in the late 1960s. Nothing wrong with extending the life of blade, even a cheaper one like Exacto. Sharpening an Exacto effectively takes less than a minute. Times have grown tough economically for me, so I do try and save money where I “reasonably” can.
Those brass type Xacto blade handles tend to fail after a few years use. You might be cutting into something and … “WHIFFT!” the blade be into your face shield. Im confessing to be a stingy doofus and jamming the blade holder assembly back into that handle until it does truly fail. A consistent lesson in metal fatique.
Some of you guys would love my mother-in-law. A package of “disposable” razors will last her 2 years. (no, she’s not that elusive hairy beast seen in fuzzy photos). Saving the cost of 1 sharpening tool (made in China) and skipping a Starbucks or 2 will buy quite a few blades (also made in China ?).