"Scalpel blades" Topic

Hi

I have a twist head scalpel knife and had bought some blades on ebay but they are bloody awful and blunt very quickly. Can anyone recommended tom quality blades that will last. Also what size/type?

Regards

Chris

I buy Excel or Exacto blades. I favour the #11 blade. Exacto are slightly better blades; less brittle and stay sharper a little longer.

Swann Morton are fine (but I wonder if they are faked)

Hmmm, haven't see a twist on head for a scalpel.

Our modeling instructor recommended using scalpel blades instead of the X-Acto ones, since they were less expensive, and sharper, at least to start.

Not sure about their durability in comparison with each other, since I never used them for long enough, side by side, to cut matt board, and other stuff.

I do believe the scalpels are sharper to start.

The kind we used came in little, individual paper packets, sold in connected strips, and with a perforated tear line for each.

Of course, X-Acto has a better distribution network for the hobbyist, generally.

scalpel blades will be very shap at the start, but arnt designed for a long cutting life, the disposable nature of them in modern medicine ensures this.
modelling blades will be designed for a longer useable life but even that will depend on what your using them on, ( longer on thin card, far shorter on metal)
the size / type is something you have to decide on for the job at hand, wonderful on one job will be the wrong, shape, thickness, size, edge side for another.

I got a 100 box of scalpel blades for about £5.00 GBP from either Amazon or eBay.

They are very sharp – but do blunt after a while.
I am always amazed at how sharp a new one is, they will easily cut into metal figures.

Basically I need them for cleaning mold lines and flash and bits of plastic modeling.

I use Techni Edge #11 Hobby Blades.
Cheap on Amazon.
link
They work well. And at that price, I don't mind them wearing out. But they do last pretty well.

Try these:

link

I use Swann-Morton. I first used them in my working life then brought them into modelmaking. The lifetime is limited, but they're cheap, so what's to not like? I use 10A, 15 and 15A, and have one of each on the go at once – the differeny sizes and shapes cover all my eventualities (except for very big tasks where I use a 60 or 60B)