Cigarette rod cut-off knives for cigarette makers
A rod cut-off knife cuts the continuous cigarette rod into lengths on the maker; it is a defined wear part, replaced on a schedule the line sets. Steellogy makes these knives to your approved drawing or from a worn knife in our own plant in Poland, with dimensions, hardness and edge condition checked on a sample from each batch.
- SpecificationMade to your drawing
- ProductionOwn plant in Poland
- InspectionSample from each batch
What the part does
The cigarette maker forms tobacco into a continuous rod, wraps it in paper, glues the edges and cuts the rod to the required length. The cut-off knife performs that last operation, at maker speed, on a rod that is already wrapped and glued. That is a different duty from cutting tobacco into cut rag upstream, and different again from dividing finished filter rods at a filter cutting station.
In the documented Molins arrangement the knife is carried on a rotating member and the rod is supported in a ledger while it is cut. Rotation describes the motion of the assembly, not the outline of the knife: a rotary cut-off knife is not automatically a circular disc, and the shape, mounting and bore pattern come from the drawing.
The same patent describes how the knife is consumed. Sharpening removes material from the knife, an outward feed compensates for what has been removed, and the knife is spent when no further feed is available; the patent also discloses spent-knife detection through an aperture in the knife itself. That is a historical mechanism rather than a removal limit for every current maker, but it explains why the starting and limiting dimensions of a cut-off knife matter as much as its edge.
One maker family also spans several knife variants and revisions. Protos and MK-series machines of the same nominal model can carry different cut-off knives, and the machine makers do not publish which variant belongs to which revision. That is why the drawing, the part number on your own system or the worn knife — not the machine name — defines what we make.
Machines and stations
Machine contexts include Hauni / Körber Protos makers, Molins MK-series makers such as MK 9, and the G.D 121. Hauni is the historic machine brand; the company is Körber Technologies.
G.D 121 is a cigarette maker; G.D X-series machines are packers and carry no rod cut-off knife. An enquiry for an X-series knife therefore belongs to a paper, foil or film cutting station, and we quote it as a packaging part. For a cut-off quotation we need the maker identified, with the drawing or the worn knife as the starting point.
Machine names describe the intended application only; Steellogy is not affiliated with, authorised by or supplying original parts on behalf of the machine manufacturer.
How it wears and when to change it
Cut-off knives are consumed at the edge and, where the station sharpens them, by the material that sharpening removes. Public sources do not establish one limiting dimension or removal point for every maker, so the criterion for your machine — cut quality, a limiting dimension under the machine instructions, or a fixed interval — is agreed with you from the line's records and written into the order.
Materials and hardness
Aftermarket supplier Arkote describes its cigarette rod cutting knives as made from specialist alloy steels, without publishing the composition; UCUT lists M2 HSS for cigarette rod cutting. Those are supplier ranges, not the specification of a Protos or MK-series knife.
For our manufacture, the approved specification states the material and hardness. Where the drawing does not give them, the quotation carries a proposal based on the drawing and the worn knife for your approval. The knives are machined, heat-treated, ground and finished in our own plant in Poland, so hardness is set and verified by us.
Made to your drawing — quality and documents
We manufacture the cut-off knife to the approved drawing revision, including its mounting features, bore or hole pattern and edge finish. A sample-based enquiry follows the same approval step: the proposed part definition is agreed before production. Repeat orders refer to that revision, so the settings the station runs stay valid between deliveries.
Before dispatch, dimensions, hardness and edge condition are checked on a sample from each batch. Material documentation, hardness reports and dimensional inspection records are available on request; their scope is confirmed in the quotation. The checks are described in how we inspect a finished blade, with qualification details in Supplier information.
Trial batch and comparison on one machine
We quote a paid trial batch for one maker, with quantity, price, lead time, acceptance criteria and the number of cycles stated in the quotation. It is not a free sample, not a guaranteed result. The proposed measure is accepted cuts or pieces between replacements, with cuts and pieces kept as separate units and the same rod specification, speed and endpoint used for both candidates. Rejects and knife-related stops are recorded alongside, and a cause that is not established stays marked as unconfirmed. You receive the comparison in writing, under our single-machine comparison protocol.
What to send for a quotation
- Maker manufacturer, model and revision, with the cut-off station identified.
- Approved drawing or a worn cut-off knife; dimensions, mounting details and any bore or hole pattern.
- Specified material, hardness and edge geometry, plus available mating-part information.
- Rod specification, machine speed, sharpening arrangements and the current removal criterion.
- Output per knife or set, required quantity and documentation scope.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, as drawing-defined parts. The machine family does not identify the individual knife variant — one family spans several — so the drawing or the worn knife defines the part for approval. Material, hardness and the applicable revision are recorded in the quotation and the order specification.
No. The X-series machines are packers; the 121 is the maker. A knife enquiry for a packer belongs to its paper, foil or film cutting station, and we quote it there. For a rod cut-off quotation, identify the maker and send its knife drawing or a worn knife.
No. The documented mechanism carries the knife on a rotating member, which says nothing about the knife's outline. Outline, mounting geometry and bore pattern come from the approved drawing or from the worn part, not from the word rotary.
On your line, from the criterion you already use. The Molins patent shows one documented approach — outward feed compensates for the material sharpening removes, and the knife is spent when no further feed remains — but that is a historical mechanism, not a limit we can transfer to a current machine. We record the criterion you apply and quote against it.