Knife Care Tips; Knife Blade Life - Challenge Spartan 185AEP Operator's Manual

Electronic programmable cutter
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5. Insert and tighten the three accessable knife bolts.
6. Remove the knife lifter assembly and replace with the two knife bolts.
7. Plug in power cord, turn power on, close the shield and press the cut buttons to send knife
and clamp down. Continue to hold the left cut button while turning off power with your right
hand. This will keep the knife in the down position. Disconnect the machine power cord and
insert and tighten the right-most knife screw.
8. Restore power to machine, and place a few sheets of paper over the cut stick, covering the
stick end-to-end.
9. Double check to make sure the knife depth adjusting screw has been adjusted up (step #2,
Knife Removal). Plug in the power cord, turn the power on, close the shield, and press the
cut buttons to perform a cut cycle.
10. If the knife does not cut all the way through (and it shouldn't on the first try), adjust the knife
depth of cut by turning the adjusting screw on the right side of the machine, about one
complete turn at a time to start. Continue to make cuts and adjustments until the knife cuts
through all sheets. Remove paper and cut through a few larger lifts of paper to make sure
the knife depth is set correctly. Adjust again if necessary.
11. Send dull knives to a knife grinder – do not attempt to sharpen your own knives! Knives that
do not have a minimum height of 2-3/8" (6.0 cm) will not function properly and should be
carefully discarded. See the Knife Care Tips Section 7.3 page 25 for additional information.

7.3 Knife Care Tips

even after use. Keep the edge away from your body and keep the area clear of others when handling
knives. Never touch the cutting edge! To prevent personal injury and damage to the knife, always
keep knives in their holders with screws tightened. Even if you are aware of the dangers, others may
not be. Never attempt to hone, polish, or service the knife in any way. Failure to follow safety
procedures may result in severe lacerations or dismemberment.

7.3.1 Knife Blade Life

Knife blade life, or the time between sharpening, can be affected by many factors. One important
factor is the type of paper being cut. Abrasive paper, such as recycled paper, soft paper such as
newsprint paper, and bound books can all significantly shorten knife blade life. Also, if the knife depth
is set too deep, the knife will cut too deep into the cutting stick and can quickly dull the knife blade.
A knife can last between 2,000 and 5,000 cuts before it needs to be sharpened. Cutting soft paper
(such as newsprint paper) or paper with high post-consumer recycled content can cause the knife to
need sharpening after only 2,000 to 3,000 cuts. Cutting pure paper, such as bond paper with no
recycled content, or hard paper can allow the knife to be used for as many as 5,000 cuts before it
needs to be sharpened. In all cases, the operator should continually check the quality of the cut to
determine when the knife blade needs to be sharpened. Some characteristics that indicate a blade
needs sharpening are:
The knife hesitates or stalls while making a cut.
The sheets are not all cut to the same length (usually the top few sheets are longer than the
rest of the sheets - this is sometimes called "draw").
! KNIFE SAFETY ! Knives are DANGEROUS!!! Knives are very sharp,
7.0 Knife Installation/Changing
25

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