1) Apparatus: Double-knife, 15 mm wide cutter and a single-knife cutter equipped with a guide to make the tear test specimens 63 mm wide.
2) On the double-knife cutter, place in the stack of 5 handsheets so that the edges of the handsheets touch the lines marked on the platforms. Use fingers to press the edge of the stack firmly. Lower the knife slowly until the pressing bar holds the stack then cut them in a quick stroke. The first tensile test specimen is on top of the anvil. Remove it carefully by pulling one end toward you. Slide in the right hand side piece on the anvil, with the edge slightly over the anvil. Take another cut for another tensile test specimen. The semi-circle pieces left are used for burst test (see figure 7). Note which piece belongs to which handsheet and basis weight.
Figure 7: Sequence of cutting tensile test strips and burst test specimens.
3) Take the stack of cut handsheets at the left hand side to the single-knife cutter. Align the flat edge with the brown guiding bar. Cut them and note which specimen belongs to which handsheet and basis weight (see figure 8). You will have 10 tensile test strips, 5 burst and 5 tear test specimens, each of which you know the basis weight (from which handsheet it comes from).
Figure 8: Sequence of cutting tear test pieces and overall test pieces.
4) You can discard the small curved tops of the handsheets. The trapezoidal pieces will be used for tear test. Select 4 of these, making sure you know their basis weights as well.
5) Always handle them carefully, do not bend or twist, or even touch the testing areas of these specimens with bare hands.
6) For these next three tests, make sure that all machines are properly calibrated and inputted with correct parameters for testing.