| Product Review - Orbital Rotary Cutter Blade Sharpener Now, who doesn't love a brand new, sharp rotary cutting blade? But does anyone love the cost of those little buggers, especially the 60mm blades? Being the cheapskate that I can be sometimes, I have to tell you that I was very excited to see the new sharpener that came out earlier this year from USA Sharpeners. The packaging states: Creates a straight, razor sharp cutting edge in seconds! IDEAL FOR:
Crafts Upholstery Paper Cutting MUCH MORE! The Orbital Rotary Cutter Blade Sharpener retails for $29.95, so it isn't cheap. Its claims to be ideal for quilting, crafts, and so on probably apply more to the blades it sharpens than the sharpener itself, but I guess they needed to fill the label with something, right? The only thing that really matters, though, is that after sharpening three 60mm blades, or four 45mm blades, this baby will pay for itself - or so I thought. As you can see from the photos below, the instructions on the back of the package are quite extensive and detailed. Being the trained professional that I am, there was no problem following them, since the instructions are well-written and understandable. My 60mm cutting table blade had just developed a nick, so I was ready to test the Orbital Rotary Cutter Blade Sharpener. After going through the four steps outlined, I was ready to try out my newly sharpened blade. Boy, was I disappointed when I discovered that my blade was actually in worse shape than when I started. I didn't have a nick in the blade anymore, but now I had a section of blade about 1" long that didn't cut. I did not understand how that could happen, so I repeated the entire sharpening process, front and back. Alas, I now had TWO large dull spots on the blade. I contacted USA Sharpeners at www.usasharpeners.com for advice. They very kindly sent me a reply that stated their directions had been updated and expanded, and included a copy for me to use on my second go- round. The new instructions are contained in a two-page .pdf file, with the biggest change being a warning to "ALWAYS USE SHARPENING OIL, now packaged with the sharpener"! Unfortunately, my sharpener didn't include any oil (or even a reference to oil), so I bought myself some WD-40 and followed the updated directions. I re-sharpened the first test blade, and did a second blade that had dulled in the interim. End result: my blades are still dull, and I've wasted a whole lot of time and money using a product that doesn't perform as promised. My recommendation - the Orbital Rotary Cutting Blade Sharpener DOES NOT WORK! Please don't waste your money. I won't be carrying this one in my shop. |
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| CHESTER COUNTY QUILTING 702 Village at Eland, Route 113, Phoenixville, PA 19460 Phone - 610.917.2527 Fax - 610.917.0141 Contact - ChesterCountyQuilting@verizon.net |
| Package front |
| Package back |
| Top view of the cutter removed from the package |
| Bottom view of the cutter showing how the grinding wheels and bushings are stored |