Sharpen Your Punches And Dies With Soda Cans

Those who have owned a manual die cutter like the Sizzix for some time, may notice that after a while it might get kind of dull and not cut correctly anymore. You may be wondering if there is something that you can cut it through to sharpen the blade.

Some people say with paper punches you can always punch through aluminum foil to sharpen them, but personally I have never had much success with this. If you’re like me, try this instead:

3 Steps To Sharpen Your Punches And Dies

1. If you are talking about the Sizzix in particular, and you are having trouble getting some of your dies to make clean cuts, then it is probably, your slide plate. You can try using a shim (piece of cardstock) under the pad. I found if you add a thicker shim to it, made from leftover cardstock, it often helps make clean cuts.

2. When the plate gets completely worn out, just flip it over and use up the other side. But if it continues to give you trouble then it may be time to replace the whole pad. You can replace it for about $3.00. As soon as you put a new pad down, the Sizzix starts to make clean cuts all over again.

3. Another thing you can try is actually sharpening the dies by cutting thorough metal: soda cans, to be more precise. Linda from StampBusters demonstrates this on the video below:

Just remember: it is important to be very careful when cutting the cans apart. Consider using a trimmer (either a rotary trimmer or a guillotine type) to even up the edges. This makes it less likely that you will cut yourself.

4 Tips To Maintain Your Scrapbook Punches

I just came across a lovely post by Lisa from “Love to Create Memories”, entitled “Sharpen And Refresh Your Scrapbook Punches“. She shares a couple of tips to help you keep your punches sharp. Although some of them, like punching through tin foil and soda cans, have already been mentioned here, you should head over there and see what she has to say about using punches vs. die cutters and how to proper clean your punches and lubricate them using wax paper to make them last longer. Thanks, Linda!