Paper Cutters — Honing a Competitive Edge

The technology grew out of the space program, Foth says. NASA engineers noticed changes in the molecular structure of materials exposed to the extreme cold of space.

The improvement in wear resistance depends on the original quality of the knife and type of paper being cut, but edges of processed knives should withstand 60 to 125 percent more cuts, Foth claims. The treatment should only need to be applied once, since a sharpened knife will exhibit the same performance enhancement—if the blade isn't excessively ground until the point where it turns blue, he says. "Cryogenic processing actually makes it a little easier to true up the blade, since about 10 percent less material needs to come off the edge to make it sharp again."