Chapter 4 - Working With The Microtome; Sectioning Instructions; Conditions Of Knife/Bladeedge; Setting The Cutting Angle - Thermo Scientific HM340E Operation Manual

Chapter 4 – Working with the Microtome
Due to moving parts on the knife/blade holder and the extrem sharp- ness of the microtome knife or
blade, working with the microtome might lead to hand injuries if the safety instructions given in this
manual are not carefully attended to.

Sectioning Instructions

Note
To cut usable sections, the following points are of utmost importance:

Conditions of Knife/BladeEdge

ONLY USE A SHARP KNIFE
If the cutting edge is blunt, move the knife/blade horizontally either to the right or left side to continue working
with the sharp area of the cutting edge, or have the knife re-sharpened or replace the used blade by a new one.
•
For optimal sectioning, front and back of the knife must be clean.
•
Especially paraffin waste must be removed thoroughly.
Angle of the knife [a] in relation to the block surface [b]:

Setting the Cutting angle

1. Clearance angle
2. Wedge angle β
3. Upper sharpening angle
4. Lower sharpening angle
ε
5. Blade angle
6. Angle of inclination
The knife/blade must never be placed on an angle that is too flat since the knife/blade does not cut into the block
at all this way. Only the rear side slides over the sectioning surface.
50
α
γ
δ
ϕ
Thermo Scientific Rotary Microtome HM 340E