A breadboard knife is a stationery tool with a small blade for cutting small parts. When working with it, you need to consider many nuances. In our article, we will discuss how to choose the right bread knife for paper.
Tool Functions
A breadboard knife is a device for the work of craftsmen who make paper decor. He cuts perfectly:
- cardboard;
- office paper;
- paper for pastels or watercolors.
With its help, craftsmen create masterpieces, because they can cut very small details.
What the tool consists of
The breadboard knife consists of two parts: a handle and a blade that is inserted into it. The handle can be made of metal, plastic, wood. The main differences of the model knives are in the form of a blade.
So, on sale you can find tools with this form of blades:
- triangular;
- rectangular;
- sawtooth;
- rounded
- with a pointed and serrated edge.
Blades for breadboard knife, In addition, they differ in size and angle of sharpening. Let's consider each of them.
Pointed blade
Its width is 4 mm and its thickness is 0.38 mm. Sharpening angle —30 °. Working with a similar tool is filigree. But a knife with such a blade requires skill and sophisticated movements.
Triangular blade
The width of this type of blade is 6 mm, and the thickness is 0.45 mm. Grinding angle - 23 °. The blade is used when working not only with paper, but also when cutting parts from plastic, wood or plywood.
How to choose a quality bread knife
When choosing a knife, first of all pay attention to the material from which its handle is made. It is better to choose tools with a metal handle. If you liked the knife with a plastic handle, then make sure that the material is strong enough and will not break under pressure. For the comfort of the master, a seal may be present on the handle so that the hand does not slip along the base of the knife.
The next thing to pay attention to is the blade clamp. This is a metal knob covered with rubber. In Chinese models, this part of the knife can be made of plastic. This tool is of poor quality, because after a while in such a mount, backlash can form and the blade will fall out.
About the choice of the cutting part was mentioned above. The best option is a stainless steel blade. It does not give in to corrosion and does not break. It is easy to sharpen, and such a knife will last a long time.
Layout mat and its analogues
To work with the tool, be sure to purchase a self-healing mat. If you are not sure that this type of creativity will appeal to you for a long time, and do not want to spend money, then replace it with a stack of old newspapers. Keep in mind that this savings is rather arbitrary, because when working on a special litter, the knives do not blunt so quickly. Also, a mock-up rug at first can be replaced with a large cutting board made of beech, a piece of glass or linoleum.
Cutting out of paper with a breadboard knife
The history of paper carving begins with the so-called pimples. This type of art came to us from antiquity. The Slavs carved drawings on paper, birch bark, leather, foil, wood.
The difference between the vytynanka from another type of creativity:
- Symmetry of the image. The sheet for this is folded into several layers and only after that the pattern is cut out.
- They use 1-2, less often three colors of paper.
- In the drawing there is folk symbolism.
Masters from Eastern Europe were engaged in vytynanka. In the western part there was a silhouette carving. Modern masters create real masterpieces in this technique. Those products that do not contain popular symbols and do not have symmetry are called paper graphics or filigree carving.
Features of cutting with a breadboard knife
When cutting with a breadboard knife, remember:
- For safety reasons, do not trust the instrument in children. They better start working with scissors.
- Draw the image scheme from the wrong side of the material.
- Start cutting with the smallest details. Then proceed to the central part. The contour, if present, is the last to process.
- Well cut through all the details. Do not leave uncut parts. Never tear them out. You can spoil the work.
- Straight lines are easier to cut using a ruler.
- In order to cut it was easier and more convenient, in the process, turn the material on which the drawing is applied.
- Prepare a contrasting background for your work and glue it.
Cutting patterns
Anyone can master openwork carving. This does not require art education, but only a lot of patience and accuracy of movements. A large number of materials and tools are not required for work.
Everyone at least once comes across a similar type of creativity in the manufacture of New Year's snowflakes.
Cutting with a breadboard knife makes it possible to create a unique decor: paintings, shelves, panels, postcards, frames for photos or mirrors. People who first see such works experience a real cultural shock from how fabulous such things seem.
Openwork lamps and houses look especially impressive, which can be illuminated with a flashlight or LED bulbs.