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I'll start by saying I'm not asking for people to tell me I'm modeling wrong, I have my way of doing things and have done it this way for years. Don't come into the thread with "well actually you shouldn't...."

When I'm trimming nubs/flash off of models, I typically use an xacto 11 on flat parts of a model. Over the years what I've come to recognize is that there's an ideal sharpness for doing this, slightly duller than the way the blades come but obviously still sharp. It's just a little easier with slightly duller blades, and while I've never had more than the equivalent of a paper cut, it's easy to get little nicks in your thumb when you have a brand new blade. Not a huge issue but it can dry out the skin a bit in the winter, and hurts a little.

I've only just recently considered, has anyone come up with a way to slightly dull brand new blades where they're in that sweet spot I like? I don't want to mangle a dozen blades trying to find a way that works, so was curious if anyone had come up with a solution already. Hitting/smashing the blade? Cutting something harder than plastic a couple times?

Thanks for any tips.

I just use use it normally until it hits the sweet spot? Not helpful, but just wanted to let you know that you are not crazy. Whenever I switch up to a new blade, I always get a little mangled until it calms down. Not to the bloodied level, but lots of little nicks,

I've heard good things about the GW mold scraper, but never could get myself to pay for a specialist tool that does what a universal hobby knife can do. But we spend enough time cleaning up minis, it might be worth it.

I use scalpels and have the same view when it comes to cleaning mould lines off models. Brand new blades are a touch too sharp/rough on the model. A little bit of use and they dull down to a very nice level that then works for a good while.

The problem with the GW mould line remover is its thick. It works great, but its too chunky for small fine detailed models with tight corners where you can't get the thick nub of the tool in. I think it was more a tool made so that GW could sell it to minors over a blade which can come with some additional problems/legal elements (esp in this day and age in the UK where knife crime is quite significant)


Personally I've two approaches

1) Metal models. Generally a bit tougher and don't tend to chip/mark from a sharp blade so easily. So just switch to cleaning some Infinity/Warmachine/warcaster models with a fresh blade.

2) A very high grit file and running it over the edge to dull it just a little. Kinda tricky and not my preferred method as its easy to just ruin the blade outright for cleaning.

You could find a way of cycling blades. I find super sharp blades are great for cutting models up for conversions. Once the blades dull you could use them for your desired purpose. I even keep super dull blades for when I'm making milliput bases or scenery. You can use them for scraping the surfaces flat or making brickwork, slabs etc.

I know exactly what you are talking about here as I am not keen on brand new deadly sharp blades myself. I have used some slightly rough grade sandpaper to dull a blade but it is hard to gauge when it is "just right"

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
You could find a way of cycling blades. I find super sharp blades are great for cutting models up for conversions. Once the blades dull you could use them for your desired purpose. I even keep super dull blades for when I'm making milliput bases or scenery. You can use them for scraping the surfaces flat or making brickwork, slabs etc.

I guess my problem is that I have a separate knife (something sturdier than a #11) for conversions, and alternately use a saw for a lot of conversion cutting.


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petrov27 wrote:
I know exactly what you are talking about here as I am not keen on brand new deadly sharp blades myself. I have used some slightly rough grade sandpaper to dull a blade but it is hard to gauge when it is "just right"

I might try the sandpaper trick, even if it's just to get that initial super sharpness off. I can always do it super sparingly and then it'd still at least be somewhat duller.

I haven't tried it, but maybe just get a sacrificial block of wood and just hack at the corner of the block with the knife a whole bunch of times and see if it dulls out?

Another one might be cardboard, get a box of corrugated cardboard and just use your knife to cut it into small bits, I've never done it intentionally but I have found in the past that cutting cardboard dulls knives quickly.

Sandpaper will do exactly what you want; dull the blade to your preferred sharpness. Usually I'll use 200-300 grit for the purpose.

And yes, older blades make the best mould line scrapers!

I know exactly what you mean and I effectively do what QAR suggested; I have two knife handles and I use one for the super sharp blade for trimming/cutting and the other for a blade that’s dulled and is more useful for scraping and general cleanup. As the blades dull they get swapped around.

I will say that the GW mould line scraper is quite a useful tool, particularly on softer resin, because it has the same “dullness” effect, but to the next level. The concave curves are also useful for mouldlines on curved surfaces, such as heads, particularly where there’s fine detail such as ears, which even a dull knife could accidentally nick.

I go back and forth between those two tools, plus a couple of cheap dental pick sculpting tools, which are great for getting into nooks and crannies, panel lines, etc.

If you want to deliberately dull a blade, find a rock. Sand paper would probably be annoying as you would keep cutting through it. Some slate or a granite chip wouldn’t be too bothered though.

Just a tip for those talking about moldline removal: The back/spine of most blades will work perfectly for this. Not sharp, so no accidental nicks, and not as clumsy a tool as the GW Moldline Remover (which I use it for excessive moldlines on old sculpts, or removing small detailing). The back of the knife also works on small nubs, but I usually just use the blade for that even when fresh unless it's somewhere I can't afford to leave even minimal divots.
Funnily enough, some knives only work on one side of the spine, pretty sure the other is rounded off on those.

Irdiumstern wrote:
Just a tip for those talking about moldline removal: The back/spine of most blades will work perfectly for this. Not sharp, so no accidental nicks, and not as clumsy a tool as the GW Moldline Remover (which I use it for excessive moldlines on old sculpts, or removing small detailing). The back of the knife also works on small nubs, but I usually just use the blade for that even when fresh unless it's somewhere I can't afford to leave even minimal divots.
Funnily enough, some knives only work on one side of the spine, pretty sure the other is rounded off on those.

The problem with using the back of the blade (which I do use) is that the stabby part is pointed towards the thumb. Hence my preference for a slightly dulled blade. When cleaning mold lines I actually flip back and forth all the time. Most lines are done with the back of the blade, but if there is a chunk (normally where it attached to the sprue) I flip to the sharp side, shave it off, and flip back. With a fresh blade, I normally lightly lacerate my thumb, just from how I hold it.

I do not mind scraping with a sharp blade. It just takes the right angel and pressure. I do think I actually prefer it.

I have experimented a kittle bit with the GW one. It's thiknes means it does not cut very well.

 Flinty wrote:
If you want to deliberately dull a blade, find a rock. Sand paper would probably be annoying as you would keep cutting through it. Some slate or a granite chip wouldn’t be too bothered though.

Run the blade side to side, not up and down like you're trying to cut something with it. The back and forth motion rounds the blade edge. It's quite effective.

I have a wetstone.

When I need to dull a chisel, I run the blade over it at variable angles. When I need it sharp again, I use a honing guide set to 30 degrees.

The same should work for an xacto knife, they're both metal.

Indeed xactos can reach a perfect sharpness where they cut plastic but don't cut skin.

Cutting paper is a good way to dull a blade without chipping it, I might try the side of an old phonebook with my next blade.

Run the blade through some Styrofoam a time or two. I've found that Styrofoam seems to dull any blade that is used on it which is strange for such a soft material.

Good call. I made my own carry case once but burned out so many blades cutting the closed cell foam that came with it.

Loving the opening post in this thread saying "you're going to tell me I'm doing this wrong" and every single post being a variation on "that's how I do it to"

Don't use exacto blades myself - I generally stick with a craft knife that you break segments off as they go too dull and a mould line remover - but have you ever tried putting a bandage on your thumb before using a new, sharp blade?

Needless to say I always forget this, end up with a bad case of chopping-board-thumb and make the required blood sacrifice to the gods of modelling.

necroplayer wrote:
Run the blade through some Styrofoam a time or two. I've found that Styrofoam seems to dull any blade that is used on it which is strange for such a soft material.

It's more how coarse the material is that's being cut rather than how hard/soft it is.

Irdiumstern wrote:Just a tip for those talking about moldline removal: The back/spine of most blades will work perfectly for this. Not sharp, so no accidental nicks, and not as clumsy a tool as the GW Moldline Remover (which I use it for excessive moldlines on old sculpts, or removing small detailing). The back of the knife also works on small nubs, but I usually just use the blade for that even when fresh unless it's somewhere I can't afford to leave even minimal divots.
Funnily enough, some knives only work on one side of the spine, pretty sure the other is rounded off on those.

I actually do this kind of strangely, when I want to remove mold lines if they're not very thick or on a rounded surface I.... kind of hold the blade at a 45 degree angle to the piece, pointed away from me, and then drag the blade towards myself, if that makes sense? So imagine you're just working on a totally flat piece, hold the blade so it's at a 45 to the surface as if you're about to cut into it, but drag the flat of the blade towards myself. I picked up doing it that way because in my very early days I just used a pen knife for modeling and that was the only way to remove mold lines from rounded surfaces without obliterating the model.

Graphite wrote:Loving the opening post in this thread saying "you're going to tell me I'm doing this wrong" and every single post being a variation on "that's how I do it to"

I wanted to preface with that because the Discord channel I asked the same question to inevitably turned into "well you should be using a file for that" or "you're going to cut chunks out of your model" or other useless replies.