Sewing Machine Knives
Sewing Machine Knives Q & A
What are Sewing Machine Knives Used for?
The knives can trim the fabric on the serger sewing machines even before the stitches are formed! They are a big reason why your edges acquire that neat, finished look.
What is a Serger?
Haven’t used a serger before? Well, if you haven’t, you should because this type of sewing machine can bind fabric together using an overlock stitch. Several stitches go into the creation of one overlock stitch. Pick up any garment and locate the finishing stitches on them. You are looking at the work of a serger!
Where Can the Knife be Found on the Machine?
The knives are located in the part of a serger that cuts material when it passes through the needle. This allows the knives to match the overcast stitch, and the result is a completely encased edge.
Upper and Lower Sewing Machine Knives
You’ll find that both sets of knives work in combination like the blades on a pair of scissors. The one that resembles an upside-down hook is the upper knife. It moves up and down when the fabric is being cut. You’ll find the lower knife beneath the needle plate. It remains stationary during the cutting.
Adjusting the Knife on Your Serger
If you own a serger, check for a dial on it. It will allow you to adjust the distance on the blades of the knives. Most brands build their sergers along the same lines. When using it for your first sewing project, you may want to test it out on a few pieces of test fabric first. Continue to adjust the blade-width of the sewing machine knives. Do that until you find the setting that produces the look you like.
When You Should Disengage the Knife
When you don’t want the knives to cut off the fabric as you sew, disengage them. This also allows you to put down various kinds of decorative stitches, sew away from the edge, do a topstitch, and apply elastic. Since the lower blades are stationary, you can take out the upper ones.
On the other hand, when engaging the blades, you can control how much fabric they will cut from the edges. In most cases, just a small trim off the edge is enough for regular serging stitches. This gives your sewing a neater and more professional look. Moreover, you won’t have to go back and trim the seam! Therefore, the blades also save you time!
Brands Available on GoldStar Tool at present:
- Brother
- Yuki
- Yamato
- Pegasus
- Singer
- Willcox & Gibbs
Check out GoldStar Tool’s entire inventory of sewing machine knives, and if you don’t know which one you need, give us a call at 1.800.868.4419 or visit us online, and our experts will guide you!
Caring for Your Shears and Scissors
The first thing you should NEVER do is cut anything but fabric with your scissors and shears intended for fabrics. The second is to never cut into a pin or needle since it will damage them permanently. When you’re finished using your shears, the best thing you can do is wipe the blades with a dry cloth to remove lint, threads, dust, and other small particles that can make them harder to use. Synthetic fibers can also dull the blades. Clean away the dry particles after every use. Keep your shears and scissors working smoothly with a small drop of quality sewing machine oil in the fulcrum or the pivot screw. Carefully open and close them a few times (point down) to distribute the oil, and wipe them, spreading some of the remnant oil over the blades. You want to oil your scissors and shears about once a month, more if you use them daily. Of course, be careful not to drop them, or they could be damaged to the point of being unworkable.
When they just don’t cut like they used to, sharpening is a must to prevent damage to your fabrics. You may have heard that cutting through aluminum foil steel wool and/or sandpaper as a way to quickly sharpen your dulled scissors. Despite their popularity, we don’t recommend these methods. Think about it—if you shouldn’t use your sewing shears and scissors for paper and other things, or attempt to cut through a pin or needle, why would you use either of these to sharpen a blade? There are better ways to sharpen your shears at home or in your commercial shop. Need something small and efficient to keep around? These handy Scissors And Blade Sharpeners are economical, convenient, and sharpen on the fly. Our ExtremEdge V2 Knife and Shear Sharpener is a fast, easy way to sharpen non-serrated scissors and knives safely. The bottom section holds it in place for simple one-handed operation, and it’s sold for a reasonable price. If you have more than a few pairs of scissors, sending them out for sharpening can shut down operations. Our Wolff Industrial Twice as Sharp Scissor Sharpening System is an investment that will save you and your workers time and money, and keep your scissor arsenal sharp and cutting perfectly every time. Priced at under $500, you can sharpen your tools in-house whenever you need to. Plus, it comes with instructions so that anyone can learn to use it for fast on-demand sharpening. Pinking shears, like our own soft-handled or heavy-duty shears, are best sharpened by a professional. There’s no reason to keep working with dull scissors and shears. Get one of our exclusive sharpening tools today.