Need Info For Challenge Style 193 Paper Cutter

Don’t worry about obsolete knives, any decent Company who sharpens this type of knife can also make them, cutters are easy to use, just obey some basic rules for safety:

Loosen the screws center, left, right etc, only loosen, than drop the knife on the table, unscrew the screws complete and move knife to the left by: you either have handles which screw into the screwholes or you moved the handle up, the knife will tip forward if you don’t push it back against the pressure bar, by moving it left, it becomes free on the right side, you should have solid work gloves on, lift the knife out and lay flat on a solid table. The new knife comes screwed into a wooden sheaf, secured by srews, unscrew the screw, lift the knife out and place flat on a solid table. The used knife is returned into the wooden sheaf, there is usually a label with it, which is turned to dull and the service will pick iit up and return it sharpened to you for a fee.
Clean the new knife with a rag and some spirits, so there is no transfer of oils onto the paper during cutting. Lift new knife with both hands so its parallel to your body with the blade pointing down, move slow and deliberate, still lifted, place knife into the left side of the cutter, parallel with the pressure bar, and move it right and let it sit on the cutting stick, the knife block has a cut out into which the knife fits, so you lower the knifeblock and move the knife until it slides into the knifeblock, insert screws, center, left than right, they alos get tighten in that fashion, than the knife is secured in the knife block, insert a flat screwdriver from the left side under the cutting stick and pry it up, if it is a plastick stick and has a hole in the center, you can insert a Phillips head into the hole and pry it up, each stick can be used 8 times if square and 4 times if rectangular. Insert the stick with a new side up and use a short block of a 2x4 and the pressure bar to set it into the grove in the table. Place 20# paper on the cutting stick and lock with the pressure bar, move the handle left to right, make a cut ! Observe there the paper is cut and not, mark, pry up the cutting stick and place a strip of paper under the cutting stick there you don’t cut, repeat until the blade makes a clean cut all the width of the knife. That’s the skinny, fast description of to change a knife. Observe safety, use gloves and don;t cut yourself.

That’s an early 193. It doesn’t have the slots in the knife-bar to allow installing the blade using handles.

Challenge still has the manuals online. Search their archives for “Challenge-CutterF.143-A.pdf “.

Blades are available from resellers, but understand clearly that handling blades is not trivial - they are razor sharp and can easily remove digits if mishandled.

And so the collection starts to grow. Like typenut says most sharpening companies can make blades. These are great cutters, had one like this for years, if you aren’t cutting daily the blade should last a year or more, the more cutting you do the more you will have to sharpen it. Clamp pressure is important, it will take some practice to get the hang of it, the big thing is make sure your clamp doesn’t come up and expose the blade, if you reach in and the blade is sticking down you will get a nasty cut. How many presses now??? for a while i thought you were drifting away but now i see you are hooked.

@typenut - I can’t thank you enough for that information!!!! I have filed it away for use at a later date. I have no doubt it will come in handy!

@AnonyMouse - I tried to download their PDF but it said it wasn’t available. I will give it another shot—perhaps something was wonky with the website at the time!

@dickg - I am still here! In fact, I never left! Ha ha ha. I am always on the board quietly reading and trying to learn. I am still trying to collect the things I need, bit by bit. It’s hard! I have a Sigwalt No. 4 tabletop. I just scored a Morgan Line-O-Scribe last weekend; it needs some love (which I’ll be posting about soon) but it’s a neat press. It came with two metal drawers and a ton of original type. I have been hunting for a paper cutter for 6 months. I could never find one close to me, and I wanted an old hand lever. There is just something cool to me about owning something from the past and giving it new life. Once I have a paper cutter, I’m off to the races!!!!!

Does anyone know was year (approx) this cutter is?

I have one like this. and 4 years ago I bought 5 blades. Brand new. Wasn’t happy that they were made in Taiwan.
You can order them from Reduction Engineering
235 Progress Blvd.
Kent, Ohio 44240 ask for Dave Axe… (yes Axe)
330-677-2225
I really doesn’t matter who you order from, they all come from one supplier and shipped from the same warehouse.
So the shipping will be the same from no matter who.

http://www.challengemachinery.com/manuals/F.143-A.pdf

@Theo - Thank you so much for that information!!

@ Luke - THANK YOU!!! Been looking all over for that and I was looking in the wrong place on their site because I didn’t know what “model” it was under!

also have the same thing but much older
that style Challenge cutter is common as dirt

it’s a good straight forward small shop paper cutter

as stated by others just be careful about the blade

yours truly

I know there is a place in London Ontario that will make new blades. Probably a bit far for you shipping wise but if your stuck I will track it down.

I have the same cutter, just got it a few weeks back. Bought it from Don Black Line Casting ( Craig there is fantastic to deal with ) Best investment I ever made. Love it, cuts like a dream very easy to use, very accurate.. love it!