How to Clean Dirty Old X-Acto Knife Blades

Hold your X-Acto cutting tool by the handle with the blade pointing away from you. Wipe the old knife blade with a lint-free microfiber cloth dampened with a lubricant, such as WD-40 or knife blade oil. Wipe the blade on both sides until you’ve rubbed all debris.

Remove your blade from the handle to clean it if the metal is coated with rust or hardened debris or if debris has slipped into the chuck-style collet or under the knurled collar that locks the collet. Twist the collar counterclockwise to loosen the collet and then carefully pull the blade away with your fingers or pliers. If you need to clean the collet and collar, grasp the head of the collet, turn it counterclockwise until it unscrews from the handle and pull it and the collar away.

Place the old blade, collet and collar in a bowl. Pour enough oil into the bowl to cover the pieces and then set the bowl aside. Wait a day for the oil to cut through the debris and then remove the pieces from the oil.

Grip the blade by its tang with your fingers or pliers. Wipe the rust or debris particles from the blade with an oiled cloth. If you have soaked the collet or collar in lubricant, wipe these pieces. If necessary, slide a piece of paper or the blade between the grooves on the collet or push a cotton swab through the collar to push debris from the pieces.

Dislodge any remaining tough debris or staining materials from the blade as needed with a non-abrasive scrubbing pad. Hold the blade by its tang with pliers. Scrub the blade surface with the edge of a non-abrasive scrubbing pad. When finished, rub the blade with an oiled cloth.

Return your restored X-Acto blade to the handle when finished. Slide the tang of the blade into the collet and turn the collar clockwise. If you removed the collet and collar, slide the collar onto the collet’s threaded screw, grip the head of the collet and then turn it clockwise into the handle before returning the blade.