X-ACTO blades

[MrConk]

Should anyone still be interested in this thread it seems that X-ACTO blades are now manufactured in China, not USA. This has been the case since Newell Brands of Atlanta, Georgia acquired Elmers.

[John Wagenseil]

Blades made in Japan, Taiwan and US tend to be acceptable. Blades from Chinese factories made out of random scrap metal often have problems.

[Diderick A. den Bakker]

Why not try to find medical scalpels on the internet? The blades are ridiculously cheap. Also invest in a simple whetstone - beware of very expensive high tech varieties, a normal one is a few dollars.
You will save a small fortune in blades.

[PaperLab]

How about #2 blade. It’s very similar to #11 but heavy duty and it seems to me is tougher and lasts longer...

Darius

[Kevin WS]

Diderick's suggestion is good.

This is precisely what I have been using for a while - cheap scalpel blades.

They do not last long, but this does not matter as they are as cheap as anything. I use them in an Olfa handle so only the tips stick out - I am wary of their brittleness!

I basically use one blade a session - 200 cost less then around 10 name brand blades! And they are super super sharp for detail work.

I also have an Olfa blade handy I use when I really need to apply pressure....

[Kugelfang]

Any suggestions on how to use a whetstone and/or stropping leather for those of us not familiar with them?

--jeff

[SCEtoAUX]

The way I use the stropping leather is to put a bunch of compound on it then draw the blade along the strop with the back of the blade leading. You should try to maintain the angle of the blade bevel but don't sweat it too much. I run the blade 10 times on each side usually.

Compound with Strop made from a piece of old belt and scrap wood.


Side view of strop

[ShadowCory]

Originally Posted by John Bowden

I got so fed up with X-Crapto blades I switched to these years ago........

I get them off ebay for around 13 bucks per 100 blades.

I just received these in the mail. They look and cut good. I ordered them from Amazon, one review showed an image of these blades that had a rounded tip. Mine, however do not. They feel a little longer than the x acto's but it may just be me.

[darter]

Swann-Morton surgical blades.

Box of 100.

100% satisfied in everyway.

Stay sharp much longer and are so much cheaper they are not worth sharpening.

I'll never go back to excel or xacto.

[herky]

Originally Posted by darter

Swann-Morton surgical blades.

Box of 100.

100% satisfied in everyway.

Stay sharp much longer and are so much cheaper they are not worth sharpening.

I'll never go back to excel or xacto.

use same over here.spend all day sharpening knifes to use in my job.last thing i need is to use blades for models that need to be sharpened,