Letter to Fons & Porter
Sherry
together they
were impossible to separate. I tried using two hemostats after trying
to slide them
apart didn't work.I tried to wedge another blade between them. That
didn't work.
I really didn't want to end up telling this story in the Emergency
Room, so I threw
them down in frustration and walked away.
Then I got the bright idea to load the whole stuck-together mess into
the rotary cutter,
and cut fabric. They then collected enough fabric threads/lint it kind
of wedged them apart.
I generally don't take the time to write manufacturers over stuff like
this, but the more
I stewed about I realized how *dangerous* that is. And how hard would
it be to
place tissue or waxed paper between them during packaging??
So I wrote to Fons and Porter. (and I was sure to tell them that I
have loved every
F&P product I've bought -- except this one). They wrote back and told
me the
blades have oil on them, and all I had to do was put on some kind of
special
glove (which I don't own)..and slide them apart. Duh. These blades
were stuck
together until the atom bomb drops. They weren't sliding anywhere.
The last paragraph informed me that the proper method of loading the
blade into
my cutter was on the back of the package. Double duh.
Thanks for the vent. I'm on bloodthinners. There's no way I am buying
a F&P
three-pack again. I'm a klutz to begin with, and that's a combo for
disaster.
Thank you, kind folks, for allowing this vent. :-)
Sherry
J*
i dont find their reply satisfactory at all.
did they apologize?
was it possible you got a defective package?
did they even consider this as a possibility?
did they offer to replace the package? on the off chance it was a bad one.
i would not accept their excuses or reasoning.
tho to be fair i didnt actually read your letter or their response.
maybe thats just me tho.
i've never had those blades or bought anything from Fons and Porter.
now i dont think i'll ever bother if that is the best they can do for
customer service.
i wonder did they even consider who you might pass this info on to
considering we are in the 21st century and the internet allows us to
communicate on a daily basis with quilters around the globe.
<shrug>
j.
"Sherry" wrote ...
disaster Thank you, kind folks, for allowing this vent. :-)
Sherry
DiMa
to find that he wasn't cutting true and had lots of threads like yours. I
had even cut myself quite badly trying to find out what the problem was.
Like you I threw my cutter down in disgust and my OH said he would look at
it - he is mechanically minded LOL - and said I had inserted two blades. He
used his thick work gloves to slide them apart for me plus the other three
as well.
I will never trust myself to do that again - it's a real pain in the bottom.
I would follow up with F&P, that is truly bad customer service. Your
feedback was warranted but their attitude was not.
Maybe other F&P customers have had the same trouble. Mine were not, they
were OLFA blades.
--
Di
I'm creative! You can't expect me to be neat too.
Vic Australia
"Sherry" <srid...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:f7a1a57d-97c0-4402...@k39g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
DiMa
...to find that it wasn't cutting true etc...
--
Di
I'm creative! You can't expect me to be neat too.
Vic Australia
"DiMa" <sas...@alphalink.com.au> wrote in message
news:4c3ee6b6$1...@news.comindico.com.au...
Polly Esther
reaching down the throat of one of the gators to see what he was choking on.
I am afraid, very afraid. I've found that using the finger of a rubber
glove or part of a wide rubber band will sort of grip/stick to the top blade
and slide it away from the others. Polly
Maureen Wozniak
(in article
<f7a1a57d-97c0-4402...@k39g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>):
That does not sound like very good customer service. But I've been kind of
down on F&P since I heard a rumor that they won't let customers use the
bathrooms in their shop in IA.
Maureen
DiMa
thimbles in future.
--
Di
I'm creative! You can't expect me to be neat too.
Vic Australia
"Polly Esther" <Poll...@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:8a8e2p...@mid.individual.net...
Mary
Olfa blades, and am pleased to have a nice little stockpile of them
tucked away. (Whenever I find a REALLY good sale on them I buy them
-- last time was at Tuesday Morning.)
I find F and P stuff to be extremely over-priced and the quality to be
not at all worth the difference. I never hesitate to pay more for
better quality, but try not to be an idiot, and sometimes think F and
P thinks we are idiots. Their response to you seems to prove it.
PhillyQuilter
them when new and they seem to stay sharper longer for me. I get them
at JoAnns when I get a coupon.
Diana - PA
Sherry
> oh dear, Sherry.
> i dont find their reply satisfactory at all.
> did they apologize?
> was it possible you got a defective package?
> did they even consider this as a possibility?
> did they offer to replace the package? on the off chance it was a bad one.
>
> i would not accept their excuses or reasoning.
> tho to be fair i didnt actually read your letter or their response.
> maybe thats just me tho.
> i've never had those blades or bought anything from Fons and Porter.
> now i dont think i'll ever bother if that is the best they can do for
> customer service.
> i wonder did they even consider who you might pass this info on to
> considering we are in the 21st century and the internet allows us to
> communicate on a daily basis with quilters around the globe.
> <shrug>
> j.
The answers would be no, no, and no. We think alike. I sorta kinda
thought they might entertain the possibility that this packaging
was defective too. But no. Here's the actual letter they sent, copied
& pasted below: I thought it was a little condescending. Like I had
not *tried* already to "easily slide the blade off"??? Thanks for
all your replies. So possibly I'm not just an idiot. :-)
Hi Sherry:
With all cutting edges you have to be extremely careful. When they
package the blades they put an oil in between each blade. What I do
is remove the blades from the container and side the blade off. It
will easily slide off the other blade. You might want to put on the
klutz glove so you won't get cut. On the back of the packaging it
will show you the correct way to put the blade on you cutter.
Sherry
I agree. In this case, I had a 40% off coupon, and other shoppers had
already beat me to the Olfa blades and bought them all. I'm not
buying these again even if I do have a coupon.
Sherry
Dr. Zachary Smith
Ok, folks... First, let me be clear, I am NOT taking sides on this
issue - just trying to help/offer a possible explanation/solution.
They package the blades in oil to prevent rusting from humid
conditions. When this is done with very smooth surfaces, a vacuum can
form between the blades, making them difficult to separate. However
sliding them apart should not be all that difficult. Another
possibility is that the package you got was very old, and the oil had
dried out, which can make them seem like they're glued together.
If it were me, I would try loostening the oil by spraying some WD-40
(if you don't know, ask someone of the y-chromasome persuasion)
between the edges, and let them sit overnight (might take less time)
or immersing them in some sewing machine oil or penetrating oil (just
enough to get some between the blades).
I can't guarantee this if the oil's *really* old, but that's what I'd
try (and wipe off most of the excess oil and practice with the new
blade to get it off the blade edge where it might stain fabric.
HTH,
Doc
Sherry
wrote:
>
I think you may be right, Doc. The little bit of oil that was on the
blades
was dark and kind of sticky. I had wondered even, if they had been
on the shelf for a long time. My next plan actually was to immerse
them
in very hot water. I really don't know why. It just sounded like a
good
plan at the time.
Sherry <----definitely lacking the y chromosome.
dealer83
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:55:14 -0500, Sherry wrote
> (in article
Thanks for posting the tips on getting these blades apart. They give
me shivers every time I have to put a new blade in.
And a note to Maureen. You are of the same mindset that I am...if
you want my money, please have a restroom available. Actually, here
in WI it's a state law. I was in an antique mall a few years back and
their restroom had an "out of order/Employees only" sign on it. Made
me so darn mad, I called the state building inspector and complained
loudly. The next time I stopped in, the sign was gone, so he did his
job. It just happened to me a week ago at a local store in my town.
I'm still pondering if I should complain again. I know I won't be
back to shop there.
Jack Campin - bogus address
> together they were impossible to separate.
Back when I was doing undergraduate physics, this was seen as a feature,
not a bug.
If you wanted a surface that was absolutely black to reflected light,
you'd use a stack of razor blades. Any light that hit those blade
edges would get reflected inwards and lost in the cracks. Perfect
black body. And it was easy to handle because the blades stayed in
a solid block.
So, this is a phenomenon (desired or not) that people have known
about for 40 years. Seems a good bet that 40 years ago they also
realized you could make them easier to pull apart by putting sheets
of paper in between the blades.
You get the same behaviour with stacks of art knife blades. I use
those a lot. I've never bought multiple rotary cutter blades, but
you'd think somebody might have worked out that unlike an art knife,
a rotary blade doesn't have a blunt back you can safely push on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile: 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin
Sherry
<bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > I bought the 3 pack of rotary blades (again). These were so stuck
> > together they were impossible to separate.
>
> Back when I was doing undergraduate physics, this was seen as a feature,
> not a bug.
>
> If you wanted a surface that was absolutely black to reflected light,
> you'd use a stack of razor blades. Any light that hit those blade
> edges would get reflected inwards and lost in the cracks. Perfect
> black body. And it was easy to handle because the blades stayed in
> a solid block.
>
> So, this is a phenomenon (desired or not) that people have known
> about for 40 years. Seems a good bet that 40 years ago they also
> realized you could make them easier to pull apart by putting sheets
> of paper in between the blades.
>
> You get the same behaviour with stacks of art knife blades. I use
> those a lot. I've never bought multiple rotary cutter blades, but
> you'd think somebody might have worked out that unlike an art knife,
> a rotary blade doesn't have a blunt back you can safely push on.
>
> e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
> Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
> mobile: 07800 739 557 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin
Okay, X-acto blades are something I know about. I've had stitches in
nearly all
my fingers, and on the bottom of one foot from a 26 year career in
pasteup art.
I also learned that when you wear sandals, and drop an X-acto on that
vein on
the top of your foot, the blood squirts out like a geyser. But you're
right about
separating blades. I never cut myself doing that. The blunt end makes
it easy.
Thanks for the chuckle and the memories. Seems like another life. I'd
rather
be quilting!
Sherry
Dr. Zachary Smith
>
> - Show quoted text -
Sherry,
Not a great idea; oil & water don't mix. Oil has different volatile
components; some are "solvents" and common to many oils, and will
loosten up the "sticky". Heat alone might work, but could also dry
things out worse than they are; too much could even warp the blades.
Doc
Dr. Zachary Smith
<bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> > I bought the 3 pack of rotary blades (again). These were so stuck
> > together they were impossible to separate.
>
> Back when I was doing undergraduate physics, this was seen as a feature,
> not a bug.
You sure you didn't just borrow that line from the old Microsoft
Windows joke?
"It's not a bug - it's an undocumented feature!" ;-)
(Applies to EQ too...)
Or maybe physicists wrote the MS Windows joke...
Putting paper between the (rotary cutter) blades could cause more
problems in the long run. In addition to cost (that some would be
willing to pay but others not) if the oil dries, the stickiness would
be even worse.
Blades are tools. The guys that design them (and how to package/store
them) are tool guys. They know that the best way to keep a blade
sharp and rust-free is with a light coating of oil. That knowledge
goes back decades (at least). The problem could also be in how much
oil they're using, but if they go too lightly, it'll dry out all the
faster.
I really think the company tries to do the best they can. Nobody's
perfect, and no company has much control over what happens after their
products leave their control. Chalk this one up to the "stuff
happens" bin, loosten those blades up with a little WD-40, or return/
exchange them. Then move on - life's too short!
Doc
(Who also goes through a lot of blades of many kinds... except razor.
8^)>
> You get the same behaviour with stacks of art knife blades. I use
> those a lot. I've never bought multiple rotary cutter blades, but
> you'd think somebody might have worked out that unlike an art knife,
> a rotary blade doesn't have a blunt back you can safely push on.
No, but it does have a big honkin' flat surface area. Usually they
slide apart fairly easily with a little opposing finger pressure.
Dr. Zachary Smith
> Okay, X-acto blades are something I know about. I've had stitches in
> nearly all
> my fingers, and on the bottom of one foot from a 26 year career in
> pasteup art.
Talk about chuckles - the smartass in me says that sounds like you
really *don't* know much about them (or how to use them safely).
However my guess would be that most of those stitches were due to dull
blades rather than sharp ones. One of the first rules of tools I ever
learned in IA (Industrial Arts) was "A sharp tool is a safe tool".
Statistically, most accidents do happen with dull, rather than sharp,
tools.
> I also learned that when you wear sandals, and drop an X-acto on that
> vein on
> the top of your foot, the blood squirts out like a geyser.
Wow! Biology and Anatomy too!
> But you're
> right about
> separating blades. I never cut myself doing that. The blunt end makes
> it easy.
Unless they're really old and the oil has dried out. I just threw a
20+ yr. old pkg. away rather than mess around with them because
they're extremely cheap ($2/pkg of 5) and I have no idea where my can
of WD-40 wandered off too... (probably hiding out with my roll of duct
tape...)
Doc
Maureen Wozniak
(in article
<a3836656-995a-4e24...@k19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>):
>
>
> Thanks for posting the tips on getting these blades apart. They give
> me shivers every time I have to put a new blade in.
>
> And a note to Maureen. You are of the same mindset that I am...if
> you want my money, please have a restroom available. Actually, here
> in WI it's a state law. I was in an antique mall a few years back and
> their restroom had an "out of order/Employees only" sign on it. Made
> me so darn mad, I called the state building inspector and complained
> loudly. The next time I stopped in, the sign was gone, so he did his
> job. It just happened to me a week ago at a local store in my town.
> I'm still pondering if I should complain again. I know I won't be
> back to shop there.
Indeed, I can see why maybe a business wouldn't want every guy of the street
to come in an use the restroom, but I'm there to spend money. Just makes
sense that I'll stay longer if I'm comfortable.
Maureen
Dr. Zachary Smith
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:48:35 -0500, dealer83 wrote
> (in article
You guys need to think this through... Fill your basket/cart up with
the stuff you want/were going to buy, get up to the register, and say,
"Sorry, I wanted all this stuff but I have to go so bad I can't
wait..." and leave it all right there. When somebody adds it all up
while they're restocking it back on the shelves, they may get the
hint...
Doc
Mary
> you want my money, please have a restroom available. Actually, here
> in WI it's a state law. I was in an antique mall a few years back and
> their restroom had an "out of order/Employees only" sign on it. Made
> me so darn mad, I called the state building inspector and complained
> loudly. The next time I stopped in, the sign was gone, so he did his
> job. It just happened to me a week ago at a local store in my town.
> I'm still pondering if I should complain again. I know I won't be
In Illinois, any business that sells or provides food or drink that
may be consumed on the premises is required by state law to provide
restrooms available to the public! Some of the businesses don't like
it, of course, but that is just part of doing the business chosen.
However, there are others which do NOT offer food or drink and are not
required to offer restrooms to the public but who do so anyway, and
many of them actually post a sign in the shop window saying so! They
get some foot traffic that will never spend a nickle inside, but get
MORE foot traffic that makes a point to shop there. It's certainly
good PR. A restroom should be clean anyway, right? So what if they
go through more TP and soap and paper towels? It's just a business
expense, and not all that much more anyway. (My former brother-in-law
made his employee-only restroom available to the public, and he
actually kept track of the bills and found the additional cost to be
negligible, but the good will and occasional new customers to be worth
a lot more. He had an independent insurance agency.)
Sherry
wrote:
> On Jul 15, 11:55 pm, Sherry <sridd...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Okay, X-acto blades are something I know about. I've had stitches in
> > nearly all
> > my fingers, and on the bottom of one foot from a 26 year career in
> > pasteup art.
>
> Talk about chuckles - the smartass in me says that sounds like you
> really *don't* know much about them (or how to use them safely).
> However my guess would be that most of those stitches were due to dull
> blades rather than sharp ones. One of the first rules of tools I ever
> learned in IA (Industrial Arts) was "A sharp tool is a safe tool".
> Statistically, most accidents do happen with dull, rather than sharp,
> tools.
Statistically, if you count the hours I held one in my hand, the
safety
record isn't that bad. A thicker pica pole, when used as a
straightedge,
probably would have prevented most. The blade had a tendency to jump
the flat metal. What was most important was, the #1 rule, was "Don't
bleed on the page." Second rule was "Don't even
think about going to the ER until after the front page is on the
press."
>
> > I also learned that when you wear sandals, and drop an X-acto on that
> > vein on
> > the top of your foot, the blood squirts out like a geyser.
>
> Wow! Biology and Anatomy too!
And physics! A round X-acto, according to the Laws of Gravity, will
roll down
an angled light table, gaining momentum as it rolls, and according to
the Law
of Murphy, will land blade-down. :-)
Sherry
Dr. Zachary Smith
On Jul 17, 12:57 am, Sherry <sridd...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Jul 16, 9:51 am, "Dr. Zachary Smith" <Dr.Sm...@rochester.rr.com>
> wrote:
>
> > On Jul 15, 11:55 pm, Sherry <sridd...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > > Okay, X-acto blades are something I know about. I've had stitches in
> > > nearly all
> > > my fingers, and on the bottom of one foot from a 26 year career in
> > > pasteup art.
>
> > [T]he smartass in me says that sounds like you
> > really *don't* know much about them (or how to use them safely).
> A thicker pica pole, when used as a
> straightedge,
> probably would have prevented most.
I rest my case. BTDT, but at least I learned after the 2nd time
(neither requiring stitches though...)
Doc