Dont Cut Off Your Fingers - A Guide To Paper Cutter Safety

Every year, there are hundreds of accidents involving guillotine paper cutters across the United States. Children, parent volunteers, teachers and office workers are all at risk of hurting themselves using unsafe guillotine style paper cutters. The razor sharp blades used on these cutters along with the sheer force that they can exert makes it far too easy to cut oneself or worse cut off a finger. This article will identify three safety features that are absolutely essential for safety when using a guillotine style paper cutter. Here they are...

1. The Blade Guard - This is the most important safety feature included on most guillotine cutters. However, the first thing that many users do when they receive their guillotine cutter is to remove the guard. I am sure that you have heard people say that the guard gets in the way or is hard to work around. However, without the blade guard there is nothing to keep your fingers or someone else's fingers from getting under the blade when you are cutting. Many guillotine cutters simply have a metal bar about ½" from the blade. However, the best cutters will have a plastic blade guard that will make it impossible to get your fingers under the blade from either side of the cutter.

2. The Blade Latch - When you buy a guillotine paper cutter you will notice that there is a small latch on the front of the machine that will lock the bade in the closed position. Often this is a small piece of wire that hooks over the handle of the blade. Other times it is a metal piece that will connect with the bottom of the handle. This latch makes sure that the sharp blade is not left exposed when the cutter is not in use. If the latch is not engaged then it is possible for the handle to be left in the up position. If a person were to come by and run their hand along the blade (just to see how sharp it is) or were to grab the blade with their hand, they could be cut very badly.

3. The Tension Spring - Every guillotine style paper cutter should have a tension spring attached to the back of the blade. The spring is designed to prevent the blade from falling when you let go of the handle. Without the tension spring your guillotine cutter would operate just like a guillotine and the blade would quickly fall if you were to let go of the handle. As you can imagine, this could present a huge safety risk. The tension spring should never be removed from a paper cutter and if it becomes damaged the cutter should be put away and not used until it has been replaced.

Unfortunately, many users do not exercise common sense when using their guillotine cutting machines. Even with these three safety features in place, a guillotine cutter can still be very dangerous. It is always important to be careful when using your paper cutter and to remember that the blade is very sharp. If you haven't yet bought a paper cutter or are considering buying a guillotine cutter you absolutely need to make sure the one you choose has these three features .