Knife v/s Bud's Wire Cutter

Dorymae said:

Most likely your loaf is moving back when you go to cut. Try putting something flat behind the loaf and hold it steady with one hand. I think you'll find the loaf starts pushing against your hand trying to move.

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I'll try that, thanks! I try to hold the loaf still by pressing down on it, but I've never put anything behind it.

Someone shared recently that she uses that rubbery non-slip mesh stuff people use to line drawers. She puts a piece of the mesh underneath her loaf to keep it in place when she cuts. I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a good idea.

I have the same Bud cutter that you do, JBot. I try to carefully pull the arm straight down when I cut. I think it's really easy to put a wee bit of sideways pressure on the arm, and that makes the wire drift sideways. Also I don't try for speed either -- just slow and steady.

Also, make sure the bolt and nut that holds the arm onto the cutter is snug enough. I tighten the nut and bolt enough that the arm just starts to be hard to move up and down -- and then back off the pressure by 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn.

DeeAnna said:

Someone shared recently that she uses that rubbery non-slip mesh stuff people use to line drawers. She puts a piece of the mesh underneath her loaf to keep it in place when she cuts. I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a good idea.

I have the same Bud cutter that you do, JBot. I try to carefully pull the arm straight down when I cut. I think it's really easy to put a wee bit of sideways pressure on the arm, and that makes the wire drift sideways. Also I don't try for speed either -- just slow and steady.

Also, make sure the bolt and nut that holds the arm onto the cutter is snug enough. I tighten the nut and bolt enough that the arm just starts to be hard to move up and down -- and then back off the pressure by 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn.

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That's a good idea about the mesh, I'll try that. I'm attaching some pictures of recent cuts so you can see what's happening. Part of the problem is that the cuts are not consistently crooked in the same way. These are all oriented in the same direction, so you can see how it changes from cut to cut. The pictures are of the side, not the top; it's NOT a bird's eye view. So it's not like the wire/bow isn't at a right angle to the base; it is. It's drifting on it's way through the soap. I did these just now, and I was SO careful to go slow and not put sideways pressure on the arm.

It worked perfectly at first. I contacted Bud when it started doing this, and he said if it continued that he would replace it, but I don't feel right about that because the problems started after I fiddled with the tightness of the bolt. I'm certain it's my fault. It's never been the same since.

Hmmmm. I'm running out of ideas for you. The sides of two bars (if I'm following your description properly) do show a consistent drift in one direction. If it's not your technique (as in putting side pressure on the arm of the cutter), then I can think of two possibilities. The first one is more likely and the second is a bit of a long shot.

It might well be that the log is sliding slightly as you cut as others are suggesting. I can't say I've seen this with my wire cutter, but I have seen it when cutting with a bench scraper blade. If this is the case, the cutoff bar should be narrower at the bottom than at the top, because the heaviest part of the log will want to slide away from the cutter. Also the problem may be more obvious as your log gets smaller, because the log can slide easier as it gets lighter. I think the drawer mesh stuff will help with that.

"... it's not like the wire/bow isn't at a right angle to the base; it is. It's drifting on it's way through the soap..."

Another possibility is that you inadvertently misaligned the blocks on either side of the cutter arm when you adjusted the tightness of the bolt and nut. Those blocks need to be perfectly vertical so they keep the arm perfectly vertical. If they are not, the arm will make a correct perpendicular cut when looking at the top of the soap log, but the cut will not be vertical when viewed along the side of the cut, just like what is showing in your pics. If you have a small "square" like carpenters use, you could use the square to check this. If you don't, try doing the not-so-obvious thing of loosening the bolt a touch more, so the cutter arm has a tiny bit more wiggle room as it moves up and down. Try a cut or two, bearing in mind to put even downward pressure on the arm, and see if that works better.

DeeAnna said:

It might well be that the log is sliding slightly as you cut as others are suggesting. I can't say I've seen this with my wire cutter, but I have seen it when cutting with a bench scraper blade. If this is the case, the cutoff bar should be narrower at the bottom than at the top, because the heaviest part of the log will want to slide away from the cutter.

Another possibility is that you inadvertently misaligned the blocks on either side of the cutter arm when you adjusted the tightness of the bolt and nut. Those blocks need to be perfectly vertical so they keep the arm perfectly vertical. If they are not, the arm will make a correct perpendicular cut when looking at the top of the soap log, but the cut will not be vertical when viewed along the side of the cut, just like what is showing in your pics.

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You know what? I think BOTH of these things are happening. It would explain why the cuts don't always drift in the same direction. When I'm careful not to let the log move, the cutoff bar is wider at the bottom (blocks not perfectly vertical). When the log does move, they're narrower at the bottom. And every 4th bar or so, the two problems converge and I get a straight cut.

So this is extremely helpful, thank you so much! I will use the mesh next time I cut, and I need to buy a square anyway, so I'll see if that's the issue and if I can correct it. I'll let you know what happens!