Not happy with new Keencut blades

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Abi
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Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Abi »

Myself and my partner have just received a new set of blades for the mount cutter and we are not at all happy with them.

Standard Keencut blades 0.015" (white packet, green print) ordered from Lion.

I'm fairly new to this but my partner is not and he's convinced the quality of the steel isn't the same, plus they came with a filmy/oily coating that was difficult to remove (ruined a couple of mounts before he got it all off). They hook and dull really quickly, after only a couple of mounts.

Anyone else come across similar?
IMG_1718.jpg
IMG_1718.jpg (38.2 KiB) Viewed 4662 times
Shiny one on the right is the new blade.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Not your average framer »

Oh dear! Keencut blades used to be amoungst thee best that you could get. I wonder what's happened to change that?
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Richard Photofusion »

Contact Lion - their customer service is very good - they are the supplier, and will help.
Contact Keencut - their customer service is very good - they are the manufacturer, and have a reputation to preserve.

Then tell us the outcome!
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Not your average framer »

It sounds like some kind of manufacturing mistake must have occurred and nobody picked it up.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Not your average framer »

The fact that the blades look so different suggests that something has gone wrong with the manufacturing process.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by pepper »

Abi, give Keencut a call on 01536 263158 and they will sort it out for you. I do know that the blades are now polished as before they weren't but they should not have oil on them. Are they definitely Keencut blades they should have their name stamped on them.
Abi
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Abi »

Andy from Keencut has contacted us with a very nice email. The shiny finish is apparently a new thing. I'll update further once my partner has spoken to him. I'm sure he will make much more sense than I will.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by KeencutTechSupport »

Point of information.

We have tried to get in contact with both Abi and her partner to get more information about the blades but unfortunately have been unsuccessful. We appreciate that this is a very busy time of year for many and they may well have difficulty finding time to answer or get back to us.

So to clarify, we did make a improvement in our TECH blades earlier this year by having them polished. The reason for this is to remove any possibility of process contaminants being carried over in the pores of the surface that could promote corrosion in blades that have been stored for some time.

Our blades are also oil free but rather than take chances we have checked all our stock and not found any fluid enclosed within the cellophane packs.

Until we have more information from Abi we cannot understand the problem or its cause, but as far as we can tell it is confined to her box of blades only. I will post here what we find and how it's resolved as soon as we know more.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by StevenG »

I have nothing to add regarding the actual issue here but I do want to say that I've spoken to Andy several times over the years and would have no doubt that any concerns that will be resolved. Based on the service & support I have received from Andy I can honestly say I'll be a lifetime customer of Keencut.

I know it's a short post but he only paid me £6 for saying all that.



PS. The last sentence/paragraph is a complete lie and only exists for comic relief.


PPS. ok, yes, it's not a lie that it's a short post - the lie is in the mention of payment.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by KeencutTechSupport »

I thought we agreed £5 😉
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Not your average framer »

Something here does not make much sense. Keencut has always had a very good name for cusomer service and support. In all the years that I have had dealings with Keencut, they have always been very switched on and a very reputation for precision manufacturering and quality control. Abi partener is also quite obviously a well experienced framer, who we would expect to know his stuff as well. However, I would suggest that polished blade might have an increased surface area in contact with the mountboard as it is cutting and may perhaps feel a little diferent when being pushed in to the mountboard and along the cut.

I would also be somewhat surprised if Keencut were making these blades themselves and I would assume that keencut are getting them made to their own specification by a specialise blade manufacturer. Don't assume that it is going to be at all obvious, why there seems to be a problem with these particular blades. It is unlikely to be something at all obvious to Keencut's own people and any investigation will probably need to involve the technical resources of the blade manufacturer as well as teencut's own resorces to determine what is going on in this instance.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Justintime »

Out of interest, has anyone compared Fletcher and Keencut blades? I've recently moved over to keencut blades and they seem to lose their edge a lot faster.
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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by Not your average framer »

Originally keencut blades beat the pants off everything else on the market. We live in very challenging times and companies may well be trying to get blades produced to the same specifications for a lower quoted price. This does not means that items are not produced to the same specifications, but maybe there are ways of saving a bit of money without compromising the specifications, but the blades don't last quite as long. If Keencut get the blades made elsewhere how are they to know that the current blades are less hard wearing, until customers complain about them?
Mark Lacey

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Re: Not happy with new Keencut blades

Post by KeencutTechSupport »

Our blades are still made at the same specialist UK manufacturer that they have been for nearly 30 years, during that time we have made two changes, the first which was more than 10 years ago which was to go from a standard 1.0% carbon steel that many blades are made from to a 1.25% carbon surgical steel which gives better carbon distribution within the steel and more consistent heat treatment results. The second was earlier this year when we took the decision to polish blades to give better corrosion protection (less contaminants carried over in the 'pores' of the surface) and the by-product of the smooth surface causing less friction and therefore less effort to use. On both occasions prices were not increased.

It is due to this second change that we were particularly interested in talking to Abi.
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