Many older leaf shutters have blades that aren't metallic. I have an Ilex No. 5 Universal shutter like that. I need to replace two blades that are cracked. The material is somewhat brittle. They are approximately 1/64" thick.

I have a dark slide from a wooden film holder that is the same thickness so I'm going to try making blades from the dark slide. Most of the dark slides I measured are twice as thick - 1/32", so I was happy to find this thinner slide. So far I've found that I can cut the material with a sharp knife - very carefully. I also tried using scissors, but scissors can chip the edge without warning.

Ideally, I'd like to try laser cutting, so I might give that a shot at a makerspace. A laser should do a clean job of cutting the pivot hole and slot. I figure I can drill the hole, but a perfect slot could be a challenge using a drill bit and sand paper. Mainly the problem is this material is brittle.

Back to my question. Does anyone know what material was used to make the shutter blades? Ill try burning a small piece to see if it's flammable. Seems I should find that out before trying a laser.

Has anyone here attempted making these blades and if so - how'd it go?

Thanks,
Scott