Sharpening a tape dispenser blade

[Christopher Tidy]

Hi folks,

I bought this really cool 3M tape dispenser recently. It's cast iron
and weighs a ton:
Loading Image...

But the blade's a little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cuts tape with a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.

Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Best wishes,

Chris

[David Billington]

Post by Christopher Tidy
Hi folks,
I bought this really cool 3M tape dispenser recently. It's cast iron
http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/3m_tape_dispenser.jpg
But the blade's a little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cuts tape with a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Chris

Chris,

Do you have a picture of the blade, IIRC the blade is usually a
seperate piece with serrated teeth, I would have thought using a
sharpening stone on the working face of the teeth would be the best
method to restore the cutting edges.

[Christopher Tidy]

On Sep 11, 11:30 pm, David Billington

Post by David Billington

Post by Christopher Tidy
Hi folks,
I bought this really cool 3M tape dispenser recently. It's cast iron
http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/3m_tape_dispenser.jpg
But the blade's a little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cuts tape with a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Chris

Chris,
Do you have a picture of the blade, IIRC the blade is usually a
seperate piece with serrated teeth, I would have thought using a
sharpening stone on the working face of the teeth would be the best
method to restore the cutting edges.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Hi David,

Thanks for that suggestion. I hadn't thought of using a sharpening
stone, and it would avoid changing the shape of the teeth - it would
only change their thickness.

I don't have a picture of the blade to hand, but I can take one
tomorrow if it would be useful. The blade is a separate piece of
steel. It's L-shaped. But turn the L upside down and bend the
horizontal tip of the letter upwards, and that's where the teeth are.

Did someone in this group once suggest acid as a means of sharpening?

Best wishes,

Chris

[SteveB]

Post by David Billington

Post by Christopher Tidy
Hi folks,
I bought this really cool 3M tape dispenser recently. It's cast iron
http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/3m_tape_dispenser.jpg
But the blade's a little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cuts tape with a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Chris

Chris,
Do you have a picture of the blade, IIRC the blade is usually a
seperate piece with serrated teeth, I would have thought using a
sharpening stone on the working face of the teeth would be the best method
to restore the cutting edges.

IF IT WAS ME .................

I'd take some cleaner and make sure I had gotten all the goo off the blade.
May or may not be the problem.

Then I'd take the right file from my six pack of mini Nicholson files and
stroke it in the right direction to sharpen it. There's even a triangular
file in there that might fit the grooves.

Those little six packs of Nicholsons are awesome. Not cheap, but handy in a
lot of situations.

Steve

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Christopher Tidy
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade?

At a food processing plant I worked at, the corugated blades were
sharpenned on a buffer, parallel to the wave. Advantage of this
method is not only was it sharp, it was slick and was less likely
jam...
--Glenn Lyford

[John L. Weatherly]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

[k***@gmail.com]

I had the same question with my meat slicer blade. Finaly I started it
up and put a diamond hone on the side that had the origional grind and
it slices like new.
I'm guessing the teeth were punched out so take it off the base if
possible and sharpen it from the bottom by laying it flat on a fine
file, whetstone or diamond hone (you can even use a slight angle if
you wish) and it will be good for another 50 years.
Karl

Post by Christopher Tidy
Hi folks,
I bought this really cool 3M tape dispenser recently. It's cast iron
and weighs a ton:http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/3m_tape_dispenser.jpg
But the blade's a little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cuts tape with a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen the blade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Chris

[Christopher Tidy]

Post by Christopher Tidy
Hi folks,
I bought this really cool 3Mtapedispenserrecently. It's cast iron
and weighs a ton:http://www.mythic-beasts.com/~cdt22/3m_tape_dispenser.jpg
But theblade'sa little blunt and I can't find anyone who supplies
replacements. It's not incredibly blunt - it still cutstapewith a
bit of effort - but ideally it would be sharper.
Anyone got an idea for a good way to sharpen theblade? I was thinking
of carefully sharpening the teeth individually using a good quality,
half-round needle file.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Chris

Thanks for all the suggestions. Sorry about the delay in replying. I
replied to David a couple of nights ago but Google Groups must have
lost my post. I need to go back to using Netscape for Usenet as soon
as I get my Unix box sorted out.

The blade is a pressed steel L shape (in cross section), mounted
upside down with the horizontal tip of the L turned upwards. Teeth are
cut into the part which is turned up, and the vertical part of the L
is screwed to the cast iron dispenser body.

I don't think goo is a problem, but rust might be.

Sharpening against a stone is an idea I hadn't thought of. My only
concern is how to hold that tiny turned up part of the blade at the
right angle. It would be easier if the blade was a flat piece of
steel, but it isn't. Any ideas?

I have some Bahco needle files. The closest to the profile of the
teeth is the half round, not the triangular. The advantage of using a
needle file is that I can clamp the L to the bench, but the
disadvantage is that I need to be careful and precise!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Best wishes,

Chris

[indchemist]

replying to Christopher Tidy, indchemist wrote:
Tried small files didn't work. I used ambersil fux remover fixed it perfectly.

--
for full context, visit https://www.polytechforum.com/metalworking/sharpening-a-tape-dispenser-blade-77476-.htm

[Gerry]

I've found, in most cases, that the apparent dullnes is caused by a
build up of adhesive along the cutting edge. This can usually be
removed with a petrolium base solvent. Another approach would be to
touch up the cutting edge by deepening the notches in the metal
cutting strip with a fine sharp cornered needle file or a dremel
cutting wheel.

[Gerry]

On Sun, 10 Oct 2021 20:18:06 +0000, ASD

go buy a new one, same brand that you are having a dull blade problem...than
take it out of the new box and put your old one in the box and return it!
is that legal..NO!
ha ha
SERIOUSLY, DO THE BELOW STEPS- AND STAY OUT OF JAIL!
best thing to do is buy a very cheap dispenser at walmart, dollar store etc.r
-- make sure the blade will fit yours--- than replace the new blade with your
old blade- toss out the cheapy dispenser which has no blade now---
meanwhile- wait for a sale- office depot where you get a free dispenser when
you buy the tape- office depot has these deals all the time--
good ruck!r

I have found in the past that simply cleanint the build-up of adhesive
and tin bit of tape from the serated edge will restore the cutting
action. Touching up the serations with a fine file from below, so that
any burr is left at the top edge will further improve things.