Dear Joel,

I use the Accu Edge low profile blades with the Accu Edge blade holder on
my 1512 and they work great, even with huge slabs of uterus and cervix and
bone. When I have a problem, usually a new sharp area of the blade solves
it.   One thing to keep in mind is to completely scrape all paraffin off
the sides of the block since a wax "cushion" in the block holder will allow
for a minute amount of "play" and can result in thick and thin or venetian
blind areas in dense tissues.  Also, keep the jaws of the object clamp free
of wax fragments and beware also of wax in the blade holder as well.  Hope
this helps.

Jeff Silverman HT HTL QIHC
Southampton Hospital NY USA
peptolab@hamptons.com

----------
> From: JBenoit@aol.com
> To: histonet@Pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject: disposable microtome blades
> Date: Monday, October 19, 1998 5:03 PM
>
> Hey Histonetters,
>
> Here I am again with another problem for you experts to help me with. We
still
> use steel microtome knives and we're having problems with our sharpener
and
> we're thinking of switching to disposables. We have 2 Leitz 1512
microtomes
> that we love and that work perfectly, but a lotta good that does with
poor
> knives. We have 2 disposable blade holders, ones a tissue-tek accu-edge
and
> the other is a reichert-jung. So finally heres the questions:
> What type, brand, company and catalog # would you recommend for the best
> result using a Leitz 1512 and the holders I mentioned?
> Which holders work the best with Leitz 1512?
> Which blades (brand) work the best on uteri, cone (leep) specimens, bone
and
> other hard tissue?
> We have used disposables in the far distant past and had a lot of
problems
> with hard and dense tissue. So any and all help, comments and
recommendations
> will be most welcome.
> Also, any hints to aid in microtomy with disposables are greatly needed.
> Thanks a million in advance,
>
> Joel Benoit
> Cooley Dickinson Hospital
> Northampton,MA
> 01061-5001
> (413)582-2179
> FAX (413)582-2946