I am assuming that your block is properly trimmed and aligned to begin with.

Try these one at a time.
1.  Use a paintbrush to lift the sections from the knife edge, being careful not to touch the cutting edge with the brush.  
2.  Increase humidity in the room to reduce static. 
3.  Adjust knife angle.
4.  Clean both the front and the back of the knife with a Q-tip dipped in xylene.  Allow the xylene to evaporate completely before you resume sectioning.
5.  Retrim the edges of your block.
6.  Try another block.
7.  If none of these help, put off sectioning until another day.
Elizabeth 

Elizabeth Wurdak, PhD
Biology Department
Saint John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321
Tel: (320) 363-3177

> ----------
> From: 	histonet-bounces@lists.utsouthwestern.edu on behalf of Campbell, John Thomas (UMR-Student)
> Sent: 	Thursday, June 22, 2006 1:49 PM
> To: 	histonet
> Subject: 	[Histonet] slicing paraffin embeded specimens
> 
> I am just getting started in histology and I am having trouble keeping my slices from bunching up on the microtome. What can I do to keep this from happening? I am using a manual slicer, slicing the specimens into 14 microns thick slices.
> 
> John Campbell
> Graduate Student 
> University of Missouri Rolla
> Lab phone 573-341-4069
> Cell phone 573-694-0596
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 

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