I needed to describe the way in which I sometimes cut papers. I use a knife as if it was a paper knife [107660], in just the way it would be used to open an envelope. It is an easy and efficient way of cutting some materials ~ when other tools are not as useful. It does not give as clean a cut as a sharp knife against a steel rule into a cutting mat. To distinguish it from that I do not use the word cut.
To use the phrase paper-knife-cut is too cumbersome ~ and not quite accurate if I use a kitchen knife. Who owns a paper knife these days? I have one at home, but it is ~ deliberately ~ very blunt. Adverbs such as tearing ~ ripping ~ hacking ~ slicing ~ do not sound neat enough, although slicing often sounds appropriate.
A paper-knife-cut edge has a slightly rustic look. I chose the word cobble because I find that ~ a cobbled edge ~ is the best finish for some jobs. Because the cobbler's knife is often my preferred tool I use my cobbler's knife a lot. It is efficient ~ it gives a neat result ~ it is often easier than alternatives. For strong handmade papers ~ such as the Khadi 320gsm above ~ nothing sharper than a knife will slice the paper apart. I list links to some uses, below.
I find that cobbled edge complements the deckled edge of handmade papers very well. To me the mix of guillotine-cut-edge and deckled-edge on the same sheet of paper ~ looks odd. Such a mix is often acceptable in prepared materials ~ such as books.
I find the best tool for careful 'paper-knife' working is a cobbler's knife [126091]. The traditional paper knife is too blunt to be able to cobble-cut thick handmade quality papers.
I should, maybe, have mentioned earlier the various alternative names by which the cobbler's knife is known, many of them based on the shoemaker's trade ~ clip-point knife ~ leather knife ~ shoe knife ~ stub knife [126091].
A slight advantage of cobble as a base word is that it can be used as a noun, verb,or adverb. A disadvantage is that I might be talking a load of cobblers. Oh dear!
Links to related items
~ Cobble-cutting using a sharp paper knife [121978]
~ Hacking-up cardboard boxes [114910]
~ When cobbled-cutting goes wrong (1) [125438]
~ When cobbled-cutting goes wrong (2) [1254575]
~ Results of a cobble-cutting task [119688]
