Does anyone use any of those blade sharpening tools/devices on their exacto or scalpel blades? I tend to keep blades in use that should probably be changed but I have this weird thing about waste and not finding replacements.
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Amazon has bundles of replacement blades (150/300 packs) for $0.05-0.07 a blade. I am more breaking the tip than dulling the edge so that works better for me instead of trying to get the edge back.
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I have decent luck with the tips. Yep it just seems cheaper to buy more blades than sharpen them again but I saw the product and thought “;maybe I’m just the guy not doing this?”
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I haven’t done this….yet but you can repurpose them for some additional use. One example. You can dull the sharp edge more and use the other side of the blade as a scraper.
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Many years ago, I tried to go the re-sharpening route with X-acto blades, but the results were never worth the time or effort.
Nowadays, my approach is:
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Stop agonizing over replacing the blades, I just do it. I keep a large box or two of spare blades and I toss out the old and replace with the new without any worry. They are consumables, and I just expect them to get used up as they get used. That’s their lot in life.
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However, in the interest of economy, I also realize that I don’t always need the literal “sharpest knife in the drawer” for every job. So, I employ and “multi-blade / handle” approach:
a. I have three different #1 handles that I use.
b. I have color-coded the ends of these using a red and black Sharpie. One handle is red on the end, one is black, and one is un-colored.
c. I keep one handle with a new, very sharp blade. One handle has a slightly used blade, and the third has a well-used, almost done for blade.
d. When my new, sharp blade is not up to some task where I need the sharpest possible edge, I change the well-used blade (and throw it out!) with a brand-new blade.
e. Thus, the rotation of handles changes: the new blade in the handle that once had with most used blade, the previous newest blade becomes the slightly used blade, and the old slightly used blade becomes the current most-used blade.
f. All that’s necessary is to pay attention to which handle has which blade. I can usually just look at them to see, but the colored ends help speed up the selection.
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Nobody resharpens hobby blades. Not only is it difficult to get the scalpel edge back, it’s not an economy of time nor effort. Like Ryan said, hobby blades cost $.07 a piece. If your time is worth, say, $50 an hour, and it takes you 10 minutes to perfectly resharpen a blade, then that’s $5.00 for a second hand blade! Just get a new one out of the box. They are expendable.
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It’s not that hard to sharpen old blades, just take A fine grit sand paper and fold it over and place the blades in between the folds and move the blade back and forth as you squeeze the knife edge back and forth.
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I don’t use a sharpening device, but I do sharpen the No.11 scalpel blade I use for cutting masking on glazing. I use a piece of ceramic, the type that is used for SIM cards. I’ve used the same blade for years.
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