I do have all of my tips ground down pretty much square. If the bottom of the blade is pretty much polished, then friction shouldn't be a problem. The idea of grinding down the tips is that there is less surface on the cutting tip, so less pressure. Some of my newer blades have more of a ) nose shape, but eventually end up square. As the tip gets smaller, there is also less cutting pressure. I have my gates/support fingers locked in place, and not free floating. I figured that since they always seemed to twist as soon as the cutting tip is engaged, that may create some friction, or at least change the leverage point that I use to aim. Polishing off the black may help. If I lubricate at all, I lubricate the gate and the bottom of the blade. If the wood is polishing the blade, then this says to me that it is binding in the cut. With the Oneway, when set up on center, the blade does not touch the wood at all. Same with the Woodcut.

robo hippy

My theory, and I will stick to it, is that the blades when made, they get the curve in all but about the last inch of the blade near the tip, which goes straight, rather than following the curve. I have laid out a bunch of them on one of the plastic circle template things that I bought from Craft Supplies. The results were the same with every blade. When coring, the blade will track more along that straight line than it will on the curve of the blade. I have one blade that I bent the tip inwards on, and now it drifts to the inside of the cut, not the outside. I have long considered bending my own blades so I can get the curves right/perfect. I have discussed this with Kel, and he does not agree. Last time I discussed this with Mike Mahoney, he commented "you might have a point".

robo hippy