In this blog I will be doing a product review of Razertip’s cleaner / scraper tool. Razertip claims the “tool removes carbon buildup from most sharp Razertip tips quickly and easily. Prolongs tip life (compared to using abrasives).”  It goes on to say that it can be used with one hand, and while the burner is powered up.  I don’t have a way to test if this tool can prolong tip life, but I can test the other claims.

Let’s get started.

I do have a video version of this product review available.  Click on the image to the left to watch the video.

OVERVIEW

The cleaning tool is made out of hard black plastic.

There is a hinged lid that protects the metal scraping prongs.

Here’s how the scraper looks with the lid opened up. 

Yes, I know it’s pretty impressive looking.  🙂

This photo shows the metal scraper prongs.  The prongs have angled sides to them.

With the lid closed, the tool measures 6 ½ inches long (16.5 cm).

The top edges on the metal prongs are 3/16” wide (0.48 cm)

The angled side edges are ¼” wide (0.64 cm)

The tool weighs 2.29 ounces or 65 grams.

COST & SOURCING

The scraper can be found on numerous online websites including Walmart.  Most of the online websites were sites for wood working.  The prices were all very similar at a little under $12 dollars.   I’m not going to provide a link to one of the website.  If you’re interested, then do an internet search for:  razertip cleaner scraper

Razertip does sell the cleaner on their website, but it costs closer to $13 dollars.  

Since Razertip is located in Canada, the price shown in the picture might be Canadian dollars versus US dollars.  

Razertip link:  https://shop.razertip.com/products/cleaner

I did look on Amazon, but I couldn’t find it.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t on there.

TEST 1

I started out with a clean and smooth looking pen tip.

Then I began burning really dark blotches using a press and hold method.

 

It doesn’t take long for the carbon to start building up.

I rubbed the pen tip on the edge of the metal prong a few times.

It worked.  The carbon was gone, and I was back to burning really dark blotches.  

I repeated this process a couple of time. 

I was rather impressed with the tool at this point. 

In case you’re not aware.  Thick carbon build up forms a barrier on the pen tip that prevents the metal from making good contact with the board.  This reduces the color or darkness of the burn marks.   Since I was doing a press and hold burn technique, carbon build up means I have to hold the pen tip to the board longer to get the same results as a carbon free pen tip.

After I was done, I powered off my burner, and cleaned the pen tip one last time using the scraper.  Then I closely examined the pen tip. 

There are scratches in the metal!  Lots of scratches! 

I wasn’t very happy about this.

TEST 2

I repaired the pen tip and decided to do a second test.   

The reason was that I was concerned that maybe I messed up when using the scraper.  Maybe I got too close to the sharp corners on the metal prongs, and that’s what caused the scratches.  

This time I chose to burn on leather because that creates a lot of carbon in a very short amount of time.

As you can see from this photo, there is a lot of carbon on the pen tip.

This time I was extremely careful when rubbing the pen tip on the edges of the metal prongs.  I made sure I wasn’t close to the corners.  There was a lot of carbon on the pen tip, so it took a bit to remove it all.

When I examined the tip, there were scratches in the metal!  Very disappointing! 

REPAIRING

To remove the scratches, I first rubbed the pen tip over a leather strop that had some polishing compound on it.  That didn’t do a thing.

I had to resort to an extremely aggressive cleaner; a Dremel equipped with a green rubber polishing bit.   That quickly removed the scratches.

I must warn you that the polishing bit also removes some of the metal from the pen tip. 

If you use it too often, you can reduce the thickness of the pen tip to the point where it becomes unusable.  What happens is that there is so little metal, that the tip gets super-hot even on low heat settings.  I know this from personal experience.

Colwood sells these polishing bits as “tip cleaning burrs.”   I asked them how safe they are, and was told that I could use them as often as I wanted.  They wouldn’t hurt the pen tip. 

I was using them almost daily. After a few months I noticed that my pen tip was producing darker and darker burn results at lower and lower heat settings.  By the time it really dawned on me that the ‘cleaning burr’ was damaging my pen tip, it wasn’t useable anymore.   Apparently the salesperson is an idiot, or it’s a ploy to force you to buy replacement pen tips.

Here’s a photo of my polishing bits.  They are a bit dirty from use.   Amazon sells sets of them much cheaper than Colwood does.  Here’s an affiliate link:  https://amzn.to/40SMvWX

ONE HANDED USE

I placed the cleaning tool on my easel.  This worked. 

I should point out that my hand is not resting on the cleaner tool, but the tool is resting on the lip on the easel.

When I tried to use the angled sides of the prongs, the pen tip moved the cleaning tool around.  That didn’t work.

Then I placed the cleaning tool on a flat surface and tried to use it.  That didn’t work.  The pen tip kept moving the tool around.

When I rested my hand on the cleaning tool, then I was able to use it.

Even with the weight of my hand wasn’t enough to keep the tool in place to use the angled sides of the metal prongs.

PROS & CONS

THE PROS

• It is easy to use
• You can use it with one hand
• It easily removes carbon build up
• Can use it while the pen tip is hot and the burner is running

THE CONS

• It scratches the pen tips
• Tool moves if not secured by the weight of a hand or other means

DO I RECOMMEND IT?

Would I recommend Razertip’s cleaner scraper tool?   I’m not sure. 

I like that you can use it without turning off the burner. 

On the flip side, I really don’t like that it scratched up my pen tip!

A solution is to have a dedicated pen tip for this. 

The pen tip I used for testing is one I don’t like.  I consider it to be my use and abuse pen tip.  If I ruin it, I don’t care. 

It is a perfect tip to use in this type of situation.  If this had happened to a pen tip I actually liked, I would be furious!

Another option is to use a really cheap wire tip.  Amazon sells sets of 20+ tips for under $15 dollars.  At that price, who cares if one is ruined.  This option works if you have a handset that will accept this style of pen tip.

Here’s an Amazon affiliate link to this set of wire tips:  https://amzn.to/3E1fY7K

I guess it really boils down to need.   How often are you burning at high temperatures?  Is carbon build up a common problem for you?   If it is, then this tool might be worth it.  Especially if you have a pen tip that you only use in situations like this. 

I would really caution you against using it on any pen tip that you paid a lot of money for.

IN CONCLUSION

That’s it for this blog.  Hopefully I was able to provide some helpful information.  More importantly, I hope this blog can help you decide if this tool is something that can be of use to you.   

Until the next blog. 

Brenda

Dec 5, 2023

Want to subscribe? 

• Click on the “Leave a Comment” field at the end of any post (blog) and a subscribe option will appear.
• Put something in the comment field (if you put “test” or “just subscribing” I won’t make your comment public)
• Fill in the sections for your email address and name, and then click on the “notify me of new posts via email.”
• You will get a confirmation email from WordPress confirming you want to subscribe.
• Click on the confirm button in that email and you’re done.

Please note that I do not send out emails.   If you have a WordPress account there is a way to subscribe within the WordPress system, but I cannot provide specifics on how it works as I don’t know.