Method of forming teeth of a cutting blade or guard

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method () of forming a plurality of teeth of a cutting blade or guard, the method comprises: a) taking () a blank of material, the blank having an upper outer surface and a lower outer surface, wherein at least a portion of the lower outer surface is substantially planar and forms a plane of the blank; b) utilizing () a cutting device () In comprising a first die () and a second die (), wherein the first die comprises a plurality of first elements () and the second die comprises a plurality of second elements (), wherein a first plane () is defined with respect to upper surfaces of the plurality of first elements and a second plane () is defined with respect to lower surfaces of the plurality of second elements, and wherein each upper surface of the plurality of first elements has a centre part () that lies in the first plane and edge parts () that are below the first plane; c) placing () the blank in the cutting device, such that the portion of the lower outer surface faces the upper surfaces of the plurality of first elements and the portion of the upper outer surface faces the lower surfaces of the plurality of second elements; d) moving () the first die and second die with respect to each other such that the first plane is moved toward and passes through the second plane, such that each element of the plurality of first elements passes at least partially between adjacent elements of the plurality of second elements, and wherein teeth () of the cutting blade or guard are formed that correspond to the positions of the plurality of first elements and wherein the teeth have a lower outer surface formed from the lower outer surface of the blank; and e) utilizing () a bending device () to bend edge portions () of the teeth of the cutting blade or guard that extend below the plane of the blank after step d) back toward the plane of the blank.