How To Not Add More Tools To Your Home..


General, Online shops, tools / Sunday, September 20th, 2020

Being a multicrafter, interested in all things crafty – I also love the tools that enables me to do stuff. Whether that is something I made myself because I saw the need, or whether it is something handmade I bought from others. And alas, not every tool can be handmade – some is certainly industrial. Like my newly bought Rexel classic cut CL120 guillotine.

I bought it from a norwegian online store, and I was so certain of my purchase that I threw away all that stuff it came in. If you are not familiar with the EU regulations, I have a 14 day window to change my mind about a purchase I have made online – but I need to send it back in it’s original packaging.

So, what is the problem with this rather expensive piece of equipment? The blade is dull, and will not cut through a simple 80gsm A4 paper cleanly. Nor will it cut through 10 of the same, which it should according to the manufacturer. It also states it comes with a self-sharpening stainless steel blade. Does this look like a sharp blade to you?

Dull blade
When a dull blade tries to cut through 10 80gsm A4 paper

The blade is rather long, and it seems some parts of it are sharp, and other parts of it are not. I bought the A3 size, and I need the whole length of it to be sharp, not just some random spots.

So what do I do? Now I have this useless piece of equipment, and no way of returning it since I threw the packaging away. I have sent a message to the online store asking for more information. Tomorrow I need to contact Rexel here in my country, hoping that they can help me out. Hopefully there is something I have not understood about how this blade is supposed to work, and a short call will rectify it. Today I live in the hope at least that I have not tossed away money. Usually a search on the net will give me some answers, but since I have not found anything there might just be some misunderstanding on my part. Or I got the monday product.

I can always use one of those sharpening stones on the thing, if all else fails.

Update: The answer from the online store was not helpful at all. Instead I got hold of a seller from Rexel who was of great help. After he told me how the self-sharpening works, I tried it one more time – this time using more force and pulling the handle towards the platform. And it worked! I can now cut through 10 80gsm copy paper.

There is a small space between the blade and the platform, and that is why it did not cut, it just bended the paper. Whether this is intentional or not I do not know. I do not need so much force on other guillotines I have worked with. But if that is what I need to do, then at least I know of something that works.

Update 2: I now have been working with it a bit more, and I have to say: Avoid buying this if you need something professional to work with. It is a fickle tool, and it still can cut like the pictures above show – even when I do everything right.