Like the ubiquitous printer question, another one you'll see often on papercrafting forums is "what paper trimmer do you use?"
First, let me back up and say that before I got into paper crafts, I had no idea such a wondrous tool existed for cutting straight lines. I remembered the terrifying "guillotine"-style paper cutters in elementary school with the giant, heavy sharp blade, but didn't know there was a safer option that is an indispensable tool for scrapbookers and card makers. My friend Jenn clued me in to this and I bought an inexpensive Fiskars Personal Trimmer with a replaceable sliding blade.
Cutting paper is hard on metal blades. I found that my trusty trimmer would stop working well after a month or two and the edges would be jagged, it would stop cutting through photo paper, or cuts would start looking crooked even though I swore I had lined up the paper properly. Switching the blade helped a bit, but didn't help the crooked cut aspect.
I got frustrated a lot so I started looking around to "trade up". Some people raved (and ranted) about really expensive Genesis or Tonic brand trimmers that were hundreds of dollars. I love me some tools, but just wasn't ready to invest that much in something I wasn't sure I'd love.
I found the Marvy Uchida Paper Trimming Buddy on Amazon and liked the idea that the blade was somewhat protected in the cartridge (not as dangerous for little fingers) and that the trimmer itself seemed more substantial than my small one, so it wouldn't slip around on the table. I also LOVED that it had other blades to cut scallop edges, and score paper (but not cut through it). So I took a chance on it thanks to the good reviews it had.
And it worked beautifully for a few months (don't they all!). Then it started to cut jagged edges on my photos, so I tried to fix it by flipping over the rubber strip that the blade sits on. No luck. I tried a new blade, and still no luck. Cuts were still crooked and uneven. Sigh.
People on the 2Peas message board were raving about the ProCision Trimmer, which has a "forever" blade, as in, NEVER needs to be replaced. I looked it up and thought the $120 MSRP was more than I wanted to spend and just muddled along with my Marvy Uchida cutter and retrimmed ragged edges with scissors (grrrr).
While I was debating what to do next, Black Friday approached. All Fiskars tools were 60% off at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft, and I got a coupon in the mail for an additional 25% off. I couldn't get to the store fast enough. I snapped up that ProCision and paid less than $40 for it. (Seriously.)
It's huge and substantial, but not too heavy to move if I need space on my desk. The cutting blade is anchored on a set of rails so it doesn't get squirrelly and move sideways unexpectedly. When I'm cutting shorter lengths, I can leave it folded up so it takes up less space.
I've been using it a LOT since Thanksgiving and I LOVE it. It can cut multiple sheets at once. The ruler lines are easy to see so I rarely have to measure and mark anything before cutting. The blade is still sharp after 7 months of regular use. Fiskars products come with a lifetime warranty, which is pretty amazing. Now that I've used it, I think it's well worth the MSRP to never have to buy new blades or deal with wonky cuts. So it's even more of a bonus that there are good deals to be had on it.
There are just a few things I don't love about it. The 6" mark is right where the unit folds, so it's hard to line up correctly. I believe there are workarounds for this on YouTube - I just haven't been annoyed enough to figure that out yet.
Sometimes, when sliding the blade away from me to cut, I get a slightly more ragged edge. Nothing I need to re-trim, but it's just more "fuzzy" than cutting the other way. I haven't figured out if that's just for a certain paper type, or if it's the way I'm pushing it.
My new craft space is small and this trimmer is big. I need my trimmer to be handy most of the time, so I leave it out, but I'm always moving it to get the things stored behind it. If I had the Craftroom of My Dreams, I'd have plenty of room to keep this thing unfolded on my desk.
But overall, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's dreamy. It might be my Forever Paper Trimmer. And that's saying a lot.
(No one paid me to write this. I just really, really LOVE this trimmer!)
Cutting paper is hard on metal blades. I found that my trusty trimmer would stop working well after a month or two and the edges would be jagged, it would stop cutting through photo paper, or cuts would start looking crooked even though I swore I had lined up the paper properly. Switching the blade helped a bit, but didn't help the crooked cut aspect.
I got frustrated a lot so I started looking around to "trade up". Some people raved (and ranted) about really expensive Genesis or Tonic brand trimmers that were hundreds of dollars. I love me some tools, but just wasn't ready to invest that much in something I wasn't sure I'd love.
I found the Marvy Uchida Paper Trimming Buddy on Amazon and liked the idea that the blade was somewhat protected in the cartridge (not as dangerous for little fingers) and that the trimmer itself seemed more substantial than my small one, so it wouldn't slip around on the table. I also LOVED that it had other blades to cut scallop edges, and score paper (but not cut through it). So I took a chance on it thanks to the good reviews it had.
And it worked beautifully for a few months (don't they all!). Then it started to cut jagged edges on my photos, so I tried to fix it by flipping over the rubber strip that the blade sits on. No luck. I tried a new blade, and still no luck. Cuts were still crooked and uneven. Sigh.
People on the 2Peas message board were raving about the ProCision Trimmer, which has a "forever" blade, as in, NEVER needs to be replaced. I looked it up and thought the $120 MSRP was more than I wanted to spend and just muddled along with my Marvy Uchida cutter and retrimmed ragged edges with scissors (grrrr).
While I was debating what to do next, Black Friday approached. All Fiskars tools were 60% off at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft, and I got a coupon in the mail for an additional 25% off. I couldn't get to the store fast enough. I snapped up that ProCision and paid less than $40 for it. (Seriously.)
It's huge and substantial, but not too heavy to move if I need space on my desk. The cutting blade is anchored on a set of rails so it doesn't get squirrelly and move sideways unexpectedly. When I'm cutting shorter lengths, I can leave it folded up so it takes up less space.
I've been using it a LOT since Thanksgiving and I LOVE it. It can cut multiple sheets at once. The ruler lines are easy to see so I rarely have to measure and mark anything before cutting. The blade is still sharp after 7 months of regular use. Fiskars products come with a lifetime warranty, which is pretty amazing. Now that I've used it, I think it's well worth the MSRP to never have to buy new blades or deal with wonky cuts. So it's even more of a bonus that there are good deals to be had on it.
There are just a few things I don't love about it. The 6" mark is right where the unit folds, so it's hard to line up correctly. I believe there are workarounds for this on YouTube - I just haven't been annoyed enough to figure that out yet.
Sometimes, when sliding the blade away from me to cut, I get a slightly more ragged edge. Nothing I need to re-trim, but it's just more "fuzzy" than cutting the other way. I haven't figured out if that's just for a certain paper type, or if it's the way I'm pushing it.
My new craft space is small and this trimmer is big. I need my trimmer to be handy most of the time, so I leave it out, but I'm always moving it to get the things stored behind it. If I had the Craftroom of My Dreams, I'd have plenty of room to keep this thing unfolded on my desk.
But overall, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's dreamy. It might be my Forever Paper Trimmer. And that's saying a lot.
(No one paid me to write this. I just really, really LOVE this trimmer!)
Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteMany many thanks a lot,share for your review.
ReplyDeleteGREAT review, and very well written! I have this trimmer and love it. :)
ReplyDeleteI swore I had lined up the paper properly. Switching the blade helped a bit, but didn't help the crooked cut aspect. Snijplotter
ReplyDelete