# Is there a trick to using Clean Cut Blades?



## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

I have purchased some Clean Cut Blades, and the first blade I put in did well. It didn't last very long though. Maybe a week just cutting regular Oracal 651 vinyl. Is there a trick to using these things? The tips look as if they are bent after one use, and they are not very sharp rubbing my finger across the top. Any suggestions? 

I purchased 5 total, and I am about to put my 4th one in. They go dull after a few uses, and the blade is out only the width of a credit card because I checked. I actually just put a new one in, and the pressure is up to 20 on my Graphtec plotter, and it is still not cutting smoothly.

I'm thinking it is the plotter causing the problem because this has been going on for a few weeks with different brands of blades.


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

it is certainly not the blades...I have been using a cleancut blade for almost a year on exterior vinyl...I suspect that it could be your plotter...But more likely your blade is extended toooo far...the blades extension should be just a bit less than one half the thickness of a credit card...try that setting


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## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

charles95405 said:


> it is certainly not the blades...I have been using a cleancut blade for almost a year on exterior vinyl...I suspect that it could be your plotter...But more likely your blade is extended toooo far...the blades extension should be just a bit less than one half the thickness of a credit card...try that setting



Thank you. That is why I think it is the plotter or I am setting the blade wrong. I was doing it the full thickness of the card instead of 1/2 that. I will try to see if that works better. Like I mentioned before I am definitely not a professional at this so it is trial and error.


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## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

charles95405 said:


> it is certainly not the blades...I have been using a cleancut blade for almost a year on exterior vinyl...I suspect that it could be your plotter...But more likely your blade is extended toooo far...the blades extension should be just a bit less than one half the thickness of a credit card...try that setting



Also, are you suppose to be able to feel the blade poking through the holder or no?


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## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

barely feel it...half the thickness of a credit card is not very much


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## Kammies (Dec 16, 2010)

JJL618 said:


> Thank you. That is why I think it is the plotter or I am setting the blade wrong. I was doing it the full thickness of the card instead of 1/2 that. I will try to see if that works better. Like I mentioned before I am definitely not a professional at this so it is trial and error.


 
Your CleanCut Blades should last you months. I use them on a daily basis using oracal 651 and different brands of heat press vinyls.

You want to make sure that the blade does not cut the silicone release liner you can adjust the blade in the blade holder and on the machine itself and depending on what kind of software you are using through your software. 

Do numerous test cuts until you find the right settings. You can cut 1" circles and squares to help. Main thing is that you do not cut the liner. Paper will dull your blades the fastest, aside from reflective material. 

You will find that different color vinyls seem to have different thicknesses not sure if that really is the case or not but it sure seems that way so you have to adjust the blade accordingly. 

Just my 2 cents


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## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

Well this is somewhat embarrassing. I believe I have putting my blade too far out ever since I got the thing. No wonder my blades don't last long. 

Thank everyone for the help!


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

OK I got this information from Ross at Clean Cut. For the 45 degree blade change down force to 12-13 gm, for the 60 degree blade change down force to about 20 gm and at 1/2 speed.

Place blade in holder, turn once. Hold in hand and test on a sheet of your vinyl on a hard surface to get the depth of the blade correct. It should just barely poke out.


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## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

lben said:


> OK I got this information from Ross at Clean Cut. For the 45 degree blade change down force to 12-13 gm, for the 60 degree blade change down force to about 20 gm and at 1/2 speed.
> 
> Place blade in holder, turn once. Hold in hand and test on a sheet of your vinyl on a hard surface to get the depth of the blade correct. It should just barely poke out.


 
Thank you. I will try this if I start having problems again. The way the manual for the plotter makes it look is that it is suppose to stick out a good amount. I believe I have been bending the tips of the blades due to it being too far out.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

JJL618 said:


> Thank you. I will try this if I start having problems again. The way the manual for the plotter makes it look is that it is suppose to stick out a good amount. I believe I have been bending the tips of the blades due to it being too far out.


Tell me about it. I was doing the same thing. Cutting with a vengeance. The directions do look like the blade is supposed to really be poking out there...


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## Kammies (Dec 16, 2010)

JJL618 said:


> Thank you. I will try this if I start having problems again. The way the manual for the plotter makes it look is that it is suppose to stick out a good amount. I believe I have been bending the tips of the blades due to it being too far out.


 
Don't forget to check / change your cutting strip. Chances are if you are bending your tips by cuting too deep, you cut all the way through the teflon strip. 

If that had happened you will get skips and uneven cutting.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Kammies said:


> Don't forget to check / change your cutting strip. Chances are if you are bending your tips by cuting too deep, you cut all the way through the teflon strip.
> 
> If that had happened you will get skips and uneven cutting.


OK I know this is going to sound like a really stupid question, but how does one replace the strip? I see graphtec has them for $22.50 for my cutter, but there are no instructions on the website for changing them. Mine does have a groove cut into it but I don't see how it comes off. Are they stuck on with adhesive backing or something, and if so, how do you get the old one off?


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## JJL618 (May 19, 2011)

lben said:


> OK I know this is going to sound like a really stupid question, but how does one replace the strip? I see graphtec has them for $22.50 for my cutter, but there are no instructions on the website for changing them. Mine does have a groove cut into it but I don't see how it comes off. Are they stuck on with adhesive backing or something, and if so, how do you get the old one off?


I was wandering the same thing. I didn't even know my plotter had one.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

JJL618 said:


> I was wandering the same thing. I didn't even know my plotter had one.


Really? Neither did I. When they started talking about changing the strip, I was scratching my head? What are they talking about???? Sure enough, there is a strip. Not sure if it is on there or not, but graphtec sells one. What ever the area is that my cutter cuts on is grooved now, so I'm assuming that's the strip. 

A few weeks after I started using it, I put a piece of vinyl in to cut and left the room. When I got back in, the cutter was cutting a way... but the sheet of vinyl was on the floor. Not good. That blade was as dull as any could get after that. But it left a serious groove in the strip.

NOW on to my NEXT stupid question... When cutting and determining the depth of the blade.. when you peel off the vinyl should there or should not there be a slight cut in the backing sheet, not through it but visible?


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## Kammies (Dec 16, 2010)

lben said:


> Really? Neither did I. When they started talking about changing the strip, I was scratching my head? What are they talking about???? Sure enough, there is a strip. Not sure if it is on there or not, but graphtec sells one. What ever the area is that my cutter cuts on is grooved now, so I'm assuming that's the strip.
> 
> A few weeks after I started using it, I put a piece of vinyl in to cut and left the room. When I got back in, the cutter was cutting a way... but the sheet of vinyl was on the floor. Not good. That blade was as dull as any could get after that. But it left a serious groove in the strip.
> 
> NOW on to my NEXT stupid question... When cutting and determining the depth of the blade.. when you peel off the vinyl should there or should not there be a slight cut in the backing sheet, not through it but visible?


 
The teflon strip is removable it is held on with an adhesive which is already affixed to the strip its actually double stick tape. When removing the old strip be sure to use an adhesive remover to get all of the gum residue off. If you do not get it all off of the platten when you lay down the new strip it will not lay even causing high and low spots which will lead to uneven cutting. 

Next for the blade depth. The ultimate blade depth in my opinion is just deep enough to cut through the vinyl leaving a very very light score on the silicone backing paper. Should not even break the surface of the paper. Let's say you accidently lift off a letter or part of you design while weeding, you need to reposition the piece back on the paper the only way you should be able to see where the letter / piece was is it look at in in a very well lit area and at an angle. Thats how light of a score I try to keep it at. 

If part of you paper is coming off when you transfer you text/image to your substrate then that definatley is too deep. If you take you paper after you had transfered you text/image and fold where your cut lines were and you can see the silicone top broken and showing paper only then that is too deep. (am I making sense? if not I can try to reexplain)

Sorry for the long story. 

I'll stop now. If you need more info just ask.. Ill try to explain better. 

I have been doing vinyl for approx. 10 years now.
First Machine ever was a vinyl express lynx. Still have that btw. I've also had an Ioline, Graphtec and a roland. 

Clean Cut blades are the best in my opinion.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Thanks Kammies. I guess I need to up it just a tad more because I'm still seeing a good score on the backing. Geesh and I can barely see the blade now! Wow and to think that blade was out about 1/16th of an inch! But it didn't cut through the backing at all. Strange.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

Along with grooves being cut in the cutting strip over time the strip can be worn down. The friction of the material moving over the strip can wear down the surface, also causing you to need more force on the blade to cut, the cutting strip should be replace a least once a year. If you are using the cutter a lot you may need to change it every 6 to 9 months. 
Don’t feel bad about not knowing what it was or how to change it. When the cutter has a problem cutting most people assume they need more force on the blade. With time and experience and information on this site you learn that there are several things that can affect the cutting. Keeping the holder clean is another thing that gets over looked. If it has an adjustable cap make sure you check it for bits of material when you change the blade. It doesn’t happen often, thankfully, but sometimes you could get a bad blade. Blade depth is also an issue when cutting materials. It is kind of standard now to say ½ a credit card thickness of blade exposed, however if you are cutting flock material you need less blade than that to get a good cut. Truth is you need just a fraction more than the thickness of the material. In the case of cutting flock you are only cutting the adhesive on the material. If the blade is set too deep it will get stuck in the fibers and want to pull and rip the material rather than cut it. I Flock blade will last almost forever because it should never make contact with the carrier the fibers are attached too. What dulls the blade in normal cutting, in most cases is the carrier, if you are seeing a deep scratch line in the carrier you are cutting too deep. It is a fine adjustment to cut the material and only slightly scratch the carrier. The goal is always to cut with the least amount of pressure and still be able to weed the design. As the blade is used you may need to increase your pressure, just remember to lower it back down before cutting with a new blade.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Thanks CW. I did sublimation for 2 years and just started vinyl and screen printing. I'm still learning. So far every thing I've attempted has come out acceptable. I just got some 305 screens so I'm going to start learning CMYK process screen printing. It's all a learning process. I'm just glad I found this forum when I started. It's been a godsend for me.


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