For
cutting any thin masking material on a flat surface, be it a painted
latex material, a commercial frisket film, or even masking tape, you
will eventually be unable to avoid the need to cut curves for your
designs. While any fresh, sharp blade can do the job, the angle of
attack for that blade comes into play. Too sharp an angle, and you
can't get it to cut without ripping the mask or skipping along it. Too
shallow an angle, and controlling the blade handle gets to be a
challenge -- especially within the confines of an R/C body shell. Notice the angle presented by each of these blades - an X-Acto #16 on the left, an X-Acto #11 on the right. Pointed straight up, the #11 is pretty much unusable at that angle. The #16 on the other hand could concievably cut a thin, compliant mask.  To match the angle of the #16, the #11 has to be tilted. Look at the lateral distance from the tip of the blade to the end. On the #16, while it's about 5/16 of an inch, for all functional purposes it's actually zero, as the blade is vertical an can pivot on its tip. On the #11, it's 3/4 of an inch. Extrapolate the length of the handle from the blade as shown, and you can imagine just how much of an arc the handle will traverse using a #11 to match the turning capability of the #16, which again can pivot on its own tip.  If you want to make smooth flowing curves, like those in a traditional hotrod flame pattern, you'll have to get the angle of the blade to be as shallow as possible. Notice how both blades are about matched in angle, and yet the lateral tip-to-end distance is 3/4 of an inch for the #16, and 1-1/4 inches (plural!) for the #11. Again, extrapolating the handle onto each blade, and the #11 will require much more swing room than the #16 to create the same curved cut. Just an illustration of how slight variations on the same tool can make a significant difference in the finished product. |