The Framers Forum

I ve watched a Korean framer today cutting a window with just a Stanley knife.and a FLAT steel rule
Consistent 45 degs, no over cuts.
I've never seen this before, so will post a video when back
Unless I'm told, plenty on here can do that, don't bother with the video.

I certainly can't, but one of my friends who trained as a graphic designer in the days before computers, learnt how to do it many years ago.

Nearly 40 years ago, while at college I used to pin and glue 100's of brown and gilt mitred mouldings in my bedroom for a guy with a Gallery in Tunbridge Wells who was wholesaling these framed with prints of birds all round the UK. When I quit my degree without a job to go to he asked me to work in the Gallery front of house. In the back were 2 master craftsmen, Tom and John, and particularly John. John did mounts and finishing. He would not use the new mount cutters because of the over cuts, he cut 45 degree cuts with a straight edge and a Stanley knife. He even cut a clover leaf shaped mount with a 45 degree bevel free hand for a copy of the engagement photo of Charles and Di to go in the Gallery window!

As I was a novice he cut a 45 degree guide through a stack of mount board for me to use as a guide rather than the straight edge - an awful lot cheaper and easier to store that my Gunnar!!

The secret was to sharpen the blade on sandpaper after each run of the blade. I guess that John was in his 50's when I worked with him for 3 months before getting my "proper" job, and he was using the same Stanley knife he was given as an apprentice. It was while I was there that the sandpaper sharpening of the blade finally worked through the end of the knife itself so it could no longer hold a blade - I think it was the first time I saw a grown man cry.

Aye lad. If you told that to the young folks today they wouldn't believe you.

I have heard that the old timers used to shape and sharpen and old chisel to do this (in the days before Stanley knives) and replace the wooden handle of the chisel with a cut down broom handle. The technique was to pull the modified chisel to wards you with the end of the broom handle sitting on your shoulder and against the side of your neck. It must have been quite a skill to do this.

I'm not sure of my facts, but I don't think that proper mountcutters even existed before the early 1960's and yet I've seen some amazing mounts from the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. I love to hear if anyone knows anymore about this, I expect someone will know more!

I can't do it and I often get asked to cut mounts for amateur photographers / artists who have given it a try.

I more than a little bit impressed when I see really 1st class mounts with oval apertures cut manually by hand and clearly not cut by an oval mountcutter, because they were not available that long ago. If we were living in an era before the invention of proper mountcutters, we would have to learn how to do mountcutting by hand.

There was an older framer working at the gallery where I was trained and he could still cut mounts by hand and they were perfect, but he told me that it took a lot of training and practice over many years to get to do it well. They did a lot of washlines and decorations in those days as well and there were not any more hours in the day, than there are today.

I wonder how we would do if we had to do this ourselves?

Here are 2 still pictures.
Cant add the video, guess I'm doing something wrong
Will read the instructions, to see if that helps
Sorry 2nd one so big, can someone reduce it, bit out of my depth doing pictures
Now all of a sudden its smaller

Keith Hewitt wrote: no over cuts.

Cut by hand or not, that's a bad haircut!

Needs a bit of sandpapering to clean up the tear-outs.