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- See also article: Cutting
Glass cutter, showing hardened steel cutting wheel (far left), notches for snapping, and ball (on end of handle) for tapping
A glass cutter is a hand tool which aids in the cutting (strictly, the controlled breaking) of flat or sheet glass. The wheel is usually about 5mm diameter and made of hardened steel or tungsten carbide with its edge ground to a V-section. In use, the cutter or the glass is wetted with oil or paraffin. Then the cutter is pressed tightly against the glass and a line is scribed with the help of a ruler to form a split in the surface of the glass. The split may then be widened by carefully tapping on the opposite side of the glass with a hard tool, but this reduces the smoothness of the broken edge. Finally, the glass is bent in the direction that was not scribed. With some experience, the break will occur along the scribed line.
