Model Railroading > My Pet Peeve Today - X-Acto Blades

I do a lot of decal work and (sometimes my Tamiya scissors don't do the trick) and I require a nice sharp #11 blade. The blades in the last bulk X-Acto "X-Life" 100-pack I bought just do not seem to last as long as the previous pack from some years ago. These are made in the USA from "global" materials (chinese steel?). I've attempted to sharpen with a whetstone and a gizmo called "the Diamond Edjer". Neither is working very well. Is anyone else noticing a deterioration in blade quality?

TJY

I have stopped buying X-Acto brand blades. They use to cost a bit more than other brands but the quality was worth it so I paid the extra. Now they don’t last any longer than the cheaper Excel blades so you will find Excel #11 blades on my workbench.

The last packs of X-Acto #17 blades I bought were complete garbage. After cutting a few pieces of styrene the cutting edge was dull and gouged. It annoyed me enough that I sent an email to X-Acto, they actually responded but it was just to assure me their blades were top quality......

Andrew C



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/21 05:10 by andrewcastle.

X-acto went corporate ,big box store sales, made in land far away how cheap can it be made business model a number of years back, the name is now being used to sell all sorts of things,  I use Excel blades now.....

+1 for Excel blades. I got so accustomed to the lackluster X-acto blades over the past couple years that my first experience with an Excel blade reminded me I need to respect these blades. They're actually sharp!

Posted from Android

fr8kar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> +1 for Excel blades. I got so accustomed to the
> lackluster X-acto blades over the past couple
> years that my first experience with an Excel blade
> reminded me I need to respect these blades.
> They're actually sharp!
>
> Posted from Android

X-actly! =). When I pulled out a pack of Excel blades, I was anticipating cheap junk, but they actually outperformed most all of my X-Acto #1 blades too.  Who knew! 

Cheers,
Harry

Olfa makes #11 blades that are better than any mentioned above. Slightly heavier steel and much, much better sharpening.

McMaster-Carr (link) has #11 blades in several different materials and price points. Haven't tried them, because I'm happy with cheap SS single edge razor blades. Some also eschew #11 blades for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaX1Zx1JmAs.

Hope this helps!

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

Thanks for the various tips. I've used Excel blades in the past (with good results) and McMaster-Carr has an incredible selection of varying blade styles and hardness. Seems like we sometimes bought items from them in my forest products days.

TJY

I've still got packs of X-acto blades from probably 30 years ago, some still unused.  I wonder if they are better than those made presently?

I switched to #16 blades 10-15 years ago.  The tips of the #16 blades don't break off like the #11s.  I buy the Xacto "X-life" 100 packs on Amazon and they sharpen fairly well with a stone.

Dennis



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/21 19:43 by CNW.

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