2-PACK - X-ACTO Z Series Light-Weight Replacement Blade, No 11, 4-7/8 in L, Stainless Steel Blade, Gold Hue, 5 blades per pack

You don't realize how dull your old blades are until you use a new one. These are almost scary sharp and great for hobby use. These easily cut through the plastic of miniature models and allow you to finely clean up excess plastic as well as mould lines.

These #11 blades stay sharper longer for more precise cuts. They are my "go to" blades now.

A quality product at a reasonable price

These are super sharp right out of the package. There is even a distinct quality difference between these blades and the regular X-Acto brand blades. Those are great quality but these are even better; these stay sharper longer and are even more durable. If you need to make fine, consistent cuts, then these are the blades you need. If you care about having quality tools then these are a must buy!

This may be my own dumb mistake, but I was unable to figure out how to remove the blades from their cardboard packaging, and I eventually painfully found out they were in their own separate plastic container.. I ended up ripping the packaging open out of frustration and sending the blades flying.. Not too much bodily harm, mostly just one landed point-first into my foot and stuck the landing... Now that I'm writing this out, it's -definitely- my own dumb mistake, but I'm still going to send this review out just in case anyone else out there runs into the same issue. If It's not obvious, the blades are quite sharp! So I'm gonna say they do their job pretty well

Does the job.

If your not familiar with standard blades, these may not be a big deal. However, if you regularly use standard blades, you will definitely tell the difference with the z series. Its not dramatic, but noticeable. If your a perfectionist with perfect sharp cuts, then you know that after 2-3 cuts a regular blade goes to the utility pile. With the z series you can get 5-6 cuts before I would say it goes to the utility pile. If your saying to yourself, "This guy is crazy. Who only uses a blade 2-3 times!?", then just stick to standard blades. You will never tell the difference. If you get were im coming from, then get the z series, they are worth it.

I haven't tried an off-brand of X-acto blades, though I have purchase off-brand knives that just don't fit or hold up as well as name-brand X-actos. I think these are worth paying full price for these, unless you are going to be abusing these. Then you may as well buy cheap ones that are basically disposable.