American Cutting Edge Blog

Maintaining high-quality, slitter knives improves both the production output and quality of your slitting processes. When selecting a slitter knife manufacturer, look for one with the experience to evaluate your entire slitting process operation, make recommendations to improve blade lifetime and cut quality, and supply you with slitting knives that meet the unique needs of your business.

Slitter Blade Sharpening

Sharpening your slitter blades allows you to extend the life of your current blades and decrease knife replacement costs. When sharpened by a professional, precision sharpening knife manufacturer, slitting blades are returned to like-new condition at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new knives. All that is required to sharpen slitting blades is to establish a relationship with a precision sharpener, collect the blades, and ship them out for sharpening.

Maintaining peak wood chipper performance requires knives that are sharp, balanced, and well-maintained. Proper wood chipper blade maintenance will extend the life of your wood chipper and improve the quality of your output.

Often, operators consider wood chipper blades to be a disposable item. However, wood chipper knives can and should be sharpened to maintain the integrity of the cutting surface. It is a common misconception to believe that precision sharpening requires too much effort or is too costly. As a result, wood chipper operators often throw away blades or utilize imprecise sharpening methods.

However, when sharpened correctly, wood chipper knives are restored to like-new condition for less than the cost of purchasing new blades. Wood chipper knives can be sharpened several times at a price that is 30 percent less than the cost of buying new blades.

Are Your Wood Chipper Blades Dull?

Irregular wood chips are a sign

Industrial manufacturers have the unique position of selling both to distributors and directly to end customers. The sales team must treat each of these relationships differently and be prepared to address the distinct needs, challenges, and goals of each of these customer groups.

The goal is always to provide the end customer with the best possible fit for their needs. A product that meets their goals (both immediate and long-term) and is gained with minimal effort on their part. To succeed, the sales team must look beyond the immediate request and rely on their experience and expertise to guide conversations and purchases in a way that builds trust and promotes true partnerships.

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.

Are your chipper blades providing the performance you need? When blades are dull or damaged, the chips produced are inconsistent and are torn, instead of cut. When your customer sees that your chips are not consistent, the entire order may be rejected. Even worse, your customer may look to find another supplier.

Small business owner-operators, rental warehouses, and large-scale forestry and debris removal companies face the same question: How can I maximize the life of my chipper blades without compromising product quality?

Before you replace your next set of chipper blades, consider how these five areas impact the life and performance of your knives.

1. Are you operating within the specifications of your machinery and your blades?

Review the specifications of your wood chipper with everyone who will operate the machine. Doing so increases job site safety and can improve the overall life of your wood chippers and chipper blades.

When was the last time you reviewed your chipper blade supplier options? Most forestry and debris removal experts use the same supplier without routinely evaluating their options. If the knife is available and seems reasonably priced, why not order it? The decision is as easy as deciding to buy gas for your truck. You need the gas, it is available, and the price is consistent with your expectations. Done.

The decision regarding where to purchase your replacement chipper knives shouldn't become so routine that it's made out of habit or based solely on price. Putting a little more thought into your supplier options could have a significant impact on your bottom line. Here are some critical things to consider when evaluating your supplier relationship.

• Are you getting the right value for your purchase? There's more to a product than just price. If you're a dealer, does your supplier offer

At American Cutting Edge, our goal has always been to make cutting effortless for our customers and we've been doing that since 1965. Whether you're calling into our offices to place an order, looking for a custom solution, or shopping online, we always strive to provide customers with the highest quality products and an experience that make them want to come back time and time again.

As with anything in life, there's always room for more growth and improvement.

The new and improved ACE website is more than just a place to order knives and blades. In just a few short weeks ACE will launch a true customer portal that will provide a whole new level of access to your ACE experience with the ultimate goal to make finding and buying razors and knives and conducting business with ACE as effortless as possible.

COVID-19's final impact on the world remains to be seen. The ripple effects are being felt at every turn, in every community both on a personal and professional level whether businesses have had to temporarily close during lockdowns or convert production operations to help overcome PPE shortages. While some outcomes such as higher unemployment rates, potential supply chain disruptions, and market volatility are foreseeable, the converting and packaging industries as well as the recycling and sustainability movements are seeing a ripple effect.

As the long-standing nemesis of the sustainability and zero waste movement, single-use and flexible packaging represent a unique business case as the world faces this unprecedented crisis. Beyond the benefits of convenience that toss away plastic utensils and water bottles bring come the health benefits

What's the Goal?

At American Cutting Edge, goals are a part of everything we do whether it's the sales team, the marketing department, the accounting organization, the manufacturing arm of the business, or the shipping department. Naturally, our number one goal is making sure our customers are absolutely satisfied and come first in everything we do.

What's the daily driver that motivates you to get things done both in your personal and professional life? Setting goals can be overwhelming and time consuming but it's a critically important part of your personal and professional lives. When you're clear about your goal, motivation isn't a problem. But sometimes knowing exactly where to start can still be challenging.

As business professionals, we all know that goals should be SMART “ specific, measurable, attainable,

It's no secret that used tires are a huge solid waste problem. They exist in high volumes, are highly durable, and their composition is not environmentally friendly. Tires are often not welcome at landfills for several reasons. Among those is their tendency to trap methane gas, which causes them to bubble to the surface of the landfill. During the bubbling process, tires can damage the landfill lining that protects the environment from landfill pollutants.

In addition to being a major environmental threat, discarded tires are a health hazard. Considered a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other disease-carrying animals because of their hollow design and ability to hold stagnant water, they hold water for extended periods of time.

Plastics are everywhere. From grocery store bags and most shopping carts to single-use cups and food packaging, you just can't get away from it. According to the non-profit, Plastic Oceans, the world manufactures 300 million tons of plastic each year. When you think about 300 million tons of something, it is difficult to picture the reality of what that means.

To put it into perspective and add a visual element, here are some things that weigh approximately just one ton. Picture them in your mind as you read this list: fully grown brown bears, adult polar bears, a small car, or a shipping container. The thought of the size of these things when multiplying by 300 million is overwhelming. Yet, that's the amount of plastic the world creates every single year. What makes this figure even more overwhelming is that over half of these plastics are for single use only.

Where