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I have a couple of Martha Stewart punches and my SU Scallop punches that have never cut clean from the beginning. What do you do to sharpen these? i have tried punching through aluminum foil before, but I didn't really notice any improvements. Maybe I didn't punch enough foil? They are useless unless I punch plain office paper. Thanks!
__________________ ~Nina (product designer for Penny Black, Spellbinders and Want2Scrap)
"O taste and see that the LORD is good..." ~Psalm 34:8 Etsy * Facebook * My Blog
I don't remember who had a video on their blog about sharpening punches, so if anyone remembers please tell me!
Anyway, this person sharpened her punches using a Soda can. She cut the top and bottom off the can and then cut up the middle so you have a flat piece of metal to work with. I tried this with my circle and square punches and it worked great. Just be careful and wear safety glasses and watch your fingers. I didn't try my more intricate punches, though, sorry.
From my experience, punching the soda cans works SOOOO much better than even multiple layers of heavy duty foil. Usually 2-3 punches on a can is enough to make them good a new. Someone on another thread also suggested putting the wonky punches in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before use. Haven't had to try that myself, but others had success with it.
__________________ Randa Trying to be a Breast Cancer Survivor Follow me on Twitter @craftjunkiesc
So, Randa, have you tried the soda can trick with some intricate punches? I have the lace border one from Martha Stewart and the SU scallop border that I love, but can't get a clean cut from both.
__________________ ~Nina (product designer for Penny Black, Spellbinders and Want2Scrap)
"O taste and see that the LORD is good..." ~Psalm 34:8 Etsy * Facebook * My Blog
So, Randa, have you tried the soda can trick with some intricate punches? I have the lace border one from Martha Stewart and the SU scallop border that I love, but can't get a clean cut from both.
I tried the soda can with a Fiskar's three corner snowflake punch and Holly leaf border punch and it worked. They both have a bit of tiny detail.
__________________ Randa Trying to be a Breast Cancer Survivor Follow me on Twitter @craftjunkiesc
I punch through sand paper and it also helps sharpen the punches. The sand paper removes any rough spots around the edges of the punch where the paper gets "hung up". Try a medium grit and work up to a finer grit. You can get an assortment pack of sand paper in most dollar stores so you don't have to raid your other half's workshop. Hope this helps.
__________________ Keeper of an even larger zoo - with 2 no make that 3 dogs, a cat, a rabbit, a snake and a fish......
Subbing - I've got a Martha Stewart doily punch - and I've tried tin foil and wax paper - and I cant get a clean cut even through thin paper!!! I'll see about the pop can idea and maybe the sandpaper too.
Deb, do let us know how the soda can works on the MS punch...I'm too afraid to try it, I've already broken 2 doily punches! (Michael's took 1 back, Wilton replaced the second).
Critter2, thanks for the sand paper tip. I'm going to try that on my round punch, which always leaves a little bump on my circle.
I tried putting the MS doily punch in the freezer when it stopped punching. It worked well the first time, but when I tried it again, the metal broke and the punch ended up in about a dozen pieces, springs and plastic everywhere! I think the white metal that's used gets too brittle when cold. I was able to return it to WalMart for an exchange, but I won't be trying it again! I'm anxious to try the soda can...looks like a winning idea.
__________________ "Life is much too important to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde Proud to be a member of Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge DT! My BlogMy Gallery
Okay!!! I think I might have a solution for the wonky Martha Stewart Doily Punch! I had my husband have a look at it tonight -and he said - it's not sharp enough - and there is not a lot you can do about that - but you can apply more pressure to make it punch.
So - here's is what he did and I tried it too.
We placed my Martha Stewart punch on a concrete floor - and my husband got out a rubber mallet - kind of like a hammer - except it is rubber so it won't break the punch when you hit it. It's important to have the punch on a hard surface like a concrete floor or some sort of hard surface like that.
Then I put my bazzil cardstock into the punch - lining it up with the guideline on the front of the punch. Then I pressed down on the lever just enough to hold the paper in place with the lever. I held that lever down with my left hand - I am right handed - and the rapidly tapped - -lightly pounded the top of the actual centre of the punch until I could feel the punch go downwords a little - and then I knew that I had punched through the cardstock!!!
I was so thrilled!! Be careful when you use you mallet when you hit the top of your punch- the part that does the punching - but to be honest - my husband kept telling - be careful - not too hard -but I had to hit it harder to get it to go down.
My husband emphasized that several rapid punches to the centre of the punch area was the way to go rather than just one or two hard taps with the mallet - otherwise you will break the punch. But it worked perfectly - and no damage to the punch!!
I'm so thrilled that my formerly useless punch is now useable!! I have not used SU cardstock - but when I do - I'll let you know if it works okay. I think that it will.
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Originally Posted by debzi333
Okay!!! I think I might have a solution for the wonky Martha Stewart Doily Punch! I had my husband have a look at it tonight -and he said - it's not sharp enough - and there is not a lot you can do about that - but you can apply more pressure to make it punch.
So - here's is what he did and I tried it too.
We placed my Martha Stewart punch on a concrete floor - and my husband got out a rubber mallet - kind of like a hammer - except it is rubber so it won't break the punch when you hit it. It's important to have the punch on a hard surface like a concrete floor or some sort of hard surface like that.
Then I put my bazzil cardstock into the punch - lining it up with the guideline on the front of the punch. Then I pressed down on the lever just enough to hold the paper in place with the lever. I held that lever down with my left hand - I am right handed - and the rapidly tapped - -lightly pounded the top of the actual centre of the punch until I could feel the punch go downwords a little - and then I knew that I had punched through the cardstock!!!
I was so thrilled!! Be careful when you use you mallet when you hit the top of your punch- the part that does the punching - but to be honest - my husband kept telling - be careful - not too hard -but I had to hit it harder to get it to go down.
My husband emphasized that several rapid punches to the centre of the punch area was the way to go rather than just one or two hard taps with the mallet - otherwise you will break the punch. But it worked perfectly - and no damage to the punch!!
I'm so thrilled that my formerly useless punch is now useable!! I have not used SU cardstock - but when I do - I'll let you know if it works okay. I think that it will.
I will be right over with lots of cardstock so we can pre cut all of my sizes for the next year
__________________ teresa kline-enjoy life! paperie blooms-blog 2klines-ig
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It would be really great if the manufacturers of these punches solved the problem by improving the quality!! Has anyone made a call to a company like EK Success to complain? I'd like to know what they had to say.
Has anyone tried the soda can on their SU punches. I have one that never makes a clean cut & one that if I don't give it a wack on a hard surface b4 I use it the punch parts don't even line up. (My demo told me to wack it) Another person I know has one that has never worked for her as the punch parts are also out of line.
I've sharpened SU punches by punching through soda cans with good success, but I haven't tried it with the more intricate punches, such as the eyelet border.
It would be really great if the manufacturers of these punches solved the problem by improving the quality!! Has anyone made a call to a company like EK Success to complain? I'd like to know what they had to say.
This thread is so funny. The lengths we stampers will go to!!! Mallets and tearing apart soda cans. I knocked a shelf off the wall when I desperately banged my MS doily punch very, very hard. Why aren't we doing what we should be doing -- refusing to buy inferior products and complaining to the manufacturers that quality stinks???? Because we would rather be ripped off than give-up our stamping toys.
I have a couple of MS punches that work OK, but not great. Thought I just had bad luck in choosing a particular punch. May I suggest, now that there are many dissatisfied with the dependablility of the product, that each of us who own an inferior punch email MS online, bringing this fact to the company's attention. We are great in numbers!
I just tried the tin can on two MS punches I have. The zig zag punch improved greatly but I'm still having problems with the lace doily punch. One thing I did notice when I flipped the punches upside down and squeezed them is that some of the prongs do not go past the hole opening; that's most likely the culprit-the short prongs. I think I'll contact EK/MS and see what kind of response I get.
Where did you get a number for Martha Stewart....I would like to have it...I will call about my punches too....thanks....Jewell.....I tried to use my doily punch the other day and it was horrible.....thanks for all the info....we are great in numbers...
I just tried the tin can on two MS punches I have. The zig zag punch improved greatly but I'm still having problems with the lace doily punch. One thing I did notice when I flipped the punches upside down and squeezed them is that some of the prongs do not go past the hole opening; that's most likely the culprit-the short prongs. I think I'll contact EK/MS and see what kind of response I get.
I noted the same thing about my punch - that some prongs are not as long as the other - but that is part of the design. When the punch punches - for me by using the rubber mallet - it punches in three phases because the pressure needed to punch the paper all at once is too great. It was my dh husband who has an enginering/ mechanical line of work that explained that too me.
That's why you have to do several raps with the mallet on the punch - with each rap you are punching through a different part of the doily punch. Ideally thought - it would be sharp enough that you would not have to use a mallet!;)
Not to be sexist or anything.... But, have you noticed that things designed by men very often do not meet the day-to-day demands of use by real people (meaning women) who actually use the product??? Like vaccuums. Or small appliances. Or kitchen design. Cleaning products. When's the last time your man has REALLY cleaned the shower??
Anyway, Fiskars will replace dysfunctional punches if you send them a photo of the dead one(s). The problem is you get the same, or similar, punch in return, so you end up going around in circles. Use a punch a few times, they have to replace it, ad infinitum. When what they really need to do is change the design of the punch to begin with!!
Glad I got all that off my chest, but they have us by the short hairs one way or another.
You ladies are hilarious here! I have to admit, I have stepped on and stomped on a few punches myself to get them to work properly. I think one of the problems is that we do not have the hand strength and arm strength required to operate the punches that were most likely designed by and tested by a man, LOL!
__________________ ~ Jaime ~ New Stampin' Up Demonstrator!
Matt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
[quote=SUZIE-QUZIE;15244546]Not to be sexist or anything.... But, have you noticed that things designed by men very often do not meet the day-to-day demands of use by real people (meaning women) who actually use the product??? Like vacuums. Or small appliances. Or kitchen design. Cleaning products. When Is the last time your man has REALLY cleaned the shower??
Oh...I know what you mean, especially about the vacuums :rolleyes:, not every woman is 5 foot tall!! When I vacuum, I feel like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! ;)
Okay!!! I think I might have a solution for the wonky Martha Stewart Doily Punch! I had my husband have a look at it tonight -and he said - it's not sharp enough - and there is not a lot you can do about that - but you can apply more pressure to make it punch.
So - here's is what he did and I tried it too.
We placed my Martha Stewart punch on a concrete floor - and my husband got out a rubber mallet - kind of like a hammer - except it is rubber so it won't break the punch when you hit it. It's important to have the punch on a hard surface like a concrete floor or some sort of hard surface like that.
Then I put my bazzil cardstock into the punch - lining it up with the guideline on the front of the punch. Then I pressed down on the lever just enough to hold the paper in place with the lever. I held that lever down with my left hand - I am right handed - and the rapidly tapped - -lightly pounded the top of the actual centre of the punch until I could feel the punch go downwords a little - and then I knew that I had punched through the cardstock!!!
I was so thrilled!! Be careful when you use you mallet when you hit the top of your punch- the part that does the punching - but to be honest - my husband kept telling - be careful - not too hard -but I had to hit it harder to get it to go down.
My husband emphasized that several rapid punches to the centre of the punch area was the way to go rather than just one or two hard taps with the mallet - otherwise you will break the punch. But it worked perfectly - and no damage to the punch!!
I'm so thrilled that my formerly useless punch is now useable!! I have not used SU cardstock - but when I do - I'll let you know if it works okay. I think that it will.
I found that centre of the lever thing made a big difference. I thought I'd broken my biggest butterfly punch, but then when I took it apart and put it back together and looked carefully, I could see that the die part just wasn't coming down far enough when I pressed with the lever - but when I pushed from above, bingo.
Where did you get a number for Martha Stewart....I would like to have it...I will call about my punches too....thanks....Jewell.....I tried to use my doily punch the other day and it was horrible.....thanks for all the info....we are great in numbers...
I went through Martha Stewart Crafts site and sent an email. After it was submitted it mentioned that it there was a problem with a product that wasn't purchased from their site they possibly couldn't help and to check with EK Success. So, I also sent an email through EK Success and got a response but there was a flaw in my email because I stated that paper got stuck and the email from Wilton Industries included a link to a youtube video but it was of how to punch thin paper with the newer EK S. punches, the ones that lock and store flat. Well I sent a reply telling them that I was referring to card stock and not thin paper and I also mentioned that I was referring to the beige colored punches. So, hopefully I'll get another/better response.
I noted the same thing about my punch - that some prongs are not as long as the other - but that is part of the design. When the punch punches - for me by using the rubber mallet - it punches in three phases because the pressure needed to punch the paper all at once is too great. It was my dh husband who has an enginering/ mechanical line of work that explained that too me.
That's why you have to do several raps with the mallet on the punch - with each rap you are punching through a different part of the doily punch. Ideally thought - it would be sharp enough that you would not have to use a mallet!;)
Interesting. Now how about making a video to show us how you do it? :-D Knowing me I'll end up with metal flying around, LOL!
WHAT!!!???? Have we all lost our minds? This is absolutely crazy.
Today I had an oval punch that was sticking and not punching through even recycled(very thin) printer paper. I did the soda can once awhile ago and all I achieved was some finger injuries. Somehow today it occurred to me to get out some beeswax that I have had for sewing since about jr. hi. I rubbed it around the edges of the punch, and after some experimentation, and also sharpening a little by using alum. foil, it worked llike magic!!! I AM TOTALLY AMAZED!!! I also used it on the coordinating scallop punch, but that's as far as I've gotten today. AND!!! it punched out heavy cardstock without protesting at all!!! Haven't tried any intricate punches yet. But this is a start, at least.
WHAT!!!???? Have we all lost our minds? This is absolutely crazy.
Today I had an oval punch that was sticking and not punching through even recycled(very thin) printer paper. I did the soda can once awhile ago and all I achieved was some finger injuries. Somehow today it occurred to me to get out some beeswax that I have had for sewing since about jr. hi. I rubbed it around the edges of the punch, and after some experimentation, and also sharpening a little by using alum. foil, it worked llike magic!!! I AM TOTALLY AMAZED!!! I also used it on the coordinating scallop punch, but that's as far as I've gotten today. AND!!! it punched out heavy cardstock without protesting at all!!! Haven't tried any intricate punches yet. But this is a start, at least.
I did have problems with one of mine the other day and noteced that the hande of the punch was a tad bit off center so I pused it back as I was holding it down and it finished punching. I do not think I would try the malett tech but would try the pop can. The bees wax sounds intersesting too
Help with wonky punches
