I just came across an article that stated that you should Oil your rotary blades. Something I have never done. I have noticed that they are oily when I replace for a new one. What are they talking about, and do you use machine oil?
Thanks
Barb in Wi where the sun is shining, temp around 30 (heat wave for us) and we are all waiting for the snow to hit come this weekend. Right now mostly all our grass is showing, as snowfall this winter has been only 8 inchs. Wonderful for us summer gals

wow...I've never oiled mine either! Something I've never even thought about! Hope somebody that knows posts about it!

I'm hoping this weather misses us again.....every time they have predicted snow for us (NW WI) so far they've only been right once!! It has gone south of us every time! And up til now that upset me as I enjoy winters but now that I got a taste of spring the last few days, I don't want it anymore!!! LOL

well I've never thought about that either but come to think of it, things that move need to be oiled (most things) like bobbins and such so I guess with all that lint it probably would make it roll smoother if we oiled them once in a while with a light oil like machine oil just be sure to wipe it off carefully before you use it again.

hmmmm ... i had a cutter i hadn't used for a looooooong time and noticed the blade had little rust spots. i'll bet the oil prevents that, too.
i vote for either machine oil or a light spritz of the ever-popular WD-40
carefully wiped, of course, as kathy says

Before giving the heave-ho to the blade, try taking apart the rotary cutter and carefully flipping the blade to reverse it. Oil the blade with a small drop of sewing machine oil, and after re-assembling the cutter roll it through some scrap fabric to clean it. I've extended the life of a few blades this way. Of course, if the blade's badly knicked it may need replacing... :roll: But worth a try!

I am in agreement with oiling the Rotary Cutter blades. Why? When I sliced 2 fingers trying to remove the blade from the cutter, I found that spraying WD40 on it make it loosen and come off easily. (thanks to someone who sent me that tip.) Now, when I notice a lot of lint and gunk on my blade, I take the assembly apart and wipe the blade to remover the lint that seens to collect at the post. This also inhibits the movement of the blade. Spray that blade and keep it rolling.

No more cut fingers from struggling to get that blade off the post. And while we are talking about blades, here is a good place to stock up on new ones.

http://www.houseofhanson.com/lpsharp.html

Having 10 blades on hand is a real Treat...or should I say, Luxury

And why would you throw those blades away? They can be recycled just like a lot of other things. See above link.

I save my old blades to use for cutting paper...I have an older cutter for this purpose.

June, thanks for the website for the new blades. I'm going to gather up all of mine and send them in. I go thru alot of blades and it seems like they get more expensive every time I go to the store to get one.

Has anyone tried using the blade sharpener on their blades? I've been wanting to purchase one but not sure how well they would work.

Tricia

i use them. the sharpened edges don't last as long as the first edge does but it only takes a few minutes each time and i'm pretty sure the sharpeners have paid for themselves already. (the price will scare the beejeebers out of you unless you remind yourself how expensive the new blades are. LOL)

you do eventually get to a point at which you just can't get back a sharp enough edge to cut anything but paper. which is why i'm so glad June found the recycle place.
i find that by the time it needs sharpening, the blade and holder both need cleaning so it all gets done at once.

they're like most of the gizmos we can get. some of us love 'em. some will give you 72 reasons to avoid them like the plague. i plan to sharpen my blades myself several times before sending them to the recycle site to get new ones.

Thanks, Patrice,
Yea, the price has kind of kept me from buying one, so just keep buying blades. But I guess I should just break down and get one anyway and do like you-sharpen and then recycle. It would probably be worth it. I've got a gazillion blades laying around!!!!! I always feel like its such a waste, but I'm so glad I didn't throw any out.

I think you will be pleased with what you receive. I know others have mentioned places to buy cheap blades, but we KNOW the name OLFA means quality. They were in new, sealed packages and regardless of what someone else said, I do not think they are sharpened and repackaged. I firmly believe this man is being honest and gives us a good buy.

I put my used blades in one of the plastic holders, then put it in a small mailer. It cost 87 cents postage to mail. No return postage required.

June

A friend of mine who cuts glass said that keeping the cutter well oiled helps keep it sharp. I wonder if it is the same with rotary cutters.

I saved that website for recycling to my favorites, my gosh, how reasonably priced are they? Cannot believe it!!

I am going right now to take my rotary cutter apart to clean and oil it. I feel like such a doffus, I clean and oil my sewing machine before starting a garment, patches, etc. but never ever thought about that rotary. sighhhh

Thanks for this wonderful reminder. I think I'll sticky it to my quilting basket, or should I cross stitch and glue to my forehead? Don't answer that Patrice!

who? me?

poor, innocent li'l ol' me?

:shock:

I use a product called Sewers Aid. It may be a synthetic oil, heck, I don't know. All I can say is it works.

I read somewhere that if you take the blade off, turn it over, put it back on the rotary cutter and oil it, you will get some extra life out of the blade. I'm going to try it the next time my blade gets dull.

Now I know this is going to sound strange to you girls, but there is always a substitute lurking in the kitche.

I learned a long time ago that kitchen shears need to be washed after cutting certain items (chicken is one) and the best oit to use for keeping the pin on which the blades ride from rusting or losing the ability to open and close...use some of your good cooking oit. I use Canola oil, so a drop of that does wonders for scissors. It is safe and sanitary to use with food. So why not for the rotary cutter if the WD40 is not handy?

I stopped by the hardware dept and bought the smallest size WD-40 to keep in my sewing center. It will always be there when I need it.

I have a confession, I am addicted! I can never have just one of anything,(except my husband) so I have a number of rotary cutters of different sizes for different purposes.
Two of my older ones I use for cutting the bindings from my books so I can coil-bind them.
I put oil on my blade this morning when I was cutting a half inch thick book. It really made a BIG difference. I used sewing machine oil.
Does anyone else coil-bind their own books?
Joyce

Joyce, How do you coil-bind your books? It sounds interesting.

Yes, Joyce. We need a mini-course!! :-)

You might want to try to use a paint brush to periodically clean out your rotary blades and place a few drops of oil on it afterward. Be sure to allow the oil to dry before using it again.

if i'm not mistaken, you will also need a special machine

While shopping at the local Hancock's store I picked up a free pamphlet put out by Olfa on their cutting tools and mats. In the back there is a page on the "Care, Cleaning & Blade Replacement".

"Cleaning
"To maximize longevity of your rotary blade, periodically remove the blade and carefully wipe the lint and residue from both the OLFA cutter and blade. Put one drop of sewing machine oil around the center of the blade before reassembling the cutter."

There you have it. Sewing machine oil. We all have some!

May your cutters all be free-wheeling!
Happy cutting!!!

I have used the sharpener for years. I find they are not as sharp and need to be sharpened sooner than a new blade, but it saves $$. I have already purchsed replacement disc for sharpener. I keep one of the little plastic containers marked to sharpen for free(?) time. My husband has been known to sharpen while watching TV, either he does it onger or presses harder but does a better job. I tried to mark sharpened ones with magic marker and foound that the blade stuck and almost had to throw cutter away. I have oiled for years but have put on too much and had drips so run over scraps first or carefully wipe down.

sewers aid is silicone. I use a drop at the top of my needle. I slowly runs down and is supposed to reduce friction on thread. I have never had a sign of it on anything I sew.

Yes, you do need a special machine to coil bind. I bought mine over the internet, along with the plastic coils. I was extremely pleased with the prices and service from the company I bought from. If anyone needs info, let me know.

I hate to use books that you can't lay flat!
I gathered up 20 quilting books and went in to Staples. I asked them to bind just one so I could check out the quality of their work.
A girl did just one and it looked just fine. They told me to come back in a couple of hours and they would be done.
When I went back, the girl was gone, and a young guy (new hire) had done the job.
IT WAS AWFUL!!!
When he cut the binding off, he cut it starting at 1/4" that went to a half inch. A severe angle to the cut, which took off part of the printed page, which included pattern parts. I was furious! These were up to $30.00 books.
I went to the manager and showed him what had happened. I told him I wanted to be re-embursed for the price of the books. Two of them were out of print and couldn't be replaced, so I told him I wanted those back, but wouldn't pay for the binding.
I could tell he didn't like it, but you know what? I didn't like what had just happened either.
So to make this long story short, that is why I bought a binder. I tell family and friends to bring their books to me that they want bound, and no, I don't charge them, not even for the coils. I figure it is my way of "casting bread upon the waters".
You can probably tell I still get "hot" over this issue.
Thanks for letting me blow steam.
Joyce

you call that steam? Girl, please. read the threads about WalMart or fabric prices. you haven't even hit the "Silk" setting yet. LOL

we talk about all kinds of things at this board. occassionally one or a few of us will already be ticked off when we log on and everybody else gets to share our "joy". what you'll find here is a whole bunch of old friends you've never met. it's GREAT!

be yourself. join the fun.
:mrgreen:

I would be interested in knowing where you purchased your machine for book binding. I have alot of patterens that friends and family have given me and researching them in my computer and then printing them is just not time effecient for me, I would rather have a reference close at hand without having to search through record after record for what I need.

We seem to digress at times. But someone mentioned steamed.

Is anyone steamed at the new JoAnn sales flyers? There are no 50% off coupons (this was discussed some time ago) and the things they want you to use those coupons for don't help quilters one bit.

What do you like about JoAnn these days? The coupons are limited and so are the days on which to use them. I just missed it!

June

I also have wondered about the blade sharpeners. If you have a JoAnns that you shop at, I have a couple near me, take advantage of the coupons that are in the sales flier or mailer to buy the more expensive items. I have bought many rulers, templates and other items at 40% and 50% off that way. They also have ALL thread 1/2 price at times, that is when I purchase all of my multicolored/specialty threads. Haven't used them all yet, but have them when I need them.

JoAnns will also honor a coupon from Michaels, but not for fabric.

I am probably the ancient member of this "tribe". Oiling is basically for the purpose cleaning and deterring rust and especially for items that are not used frequently.

For instance: At the end of the lawn keeping and gardening season I always clean all my tools, spray them with WD40 and with the hand tools stick them down into a bucket of sand which I do with several up and down movements. The sand is for keeping them sharp.

I surely enjoy this message board and I see others do too.

:-) Just my two cents:: My DH has been sharpening my blades for the last two years or more. I do have the sharpener , that he uses, but he has more strenght and can press harder than I can. The sand paper on the sharpener does need to bee replaced once in awhile!

I also take lots of books to have them cut and spiral bound. It's the best. I use Office Max copy center and it costs about $3 per book. I've never had any problem. I also bought a book binder - I spent a little more and got the good one $150. It was worth it to have it handy. I have printed sewing books and class materials from on line.

Ramona in Rolling Hills Wyoming