Paper Trimmers

These tutorials/reviews are a product of extensive reading, researching and lots of time spent on making them. Please do not copy, or share on your page (for promoting your items in your shop) unless I give you permission to do so. Please ask nicely....I won't say no...but you need to ask.... You can link it on your blogs if you have used these tutorials...please share the link with me when you do use these tutorials...I would love to stop by and see what you have done! 

Yes, yes...its finally the turn of the paper trimmers...I had to abandon my SIP (stamps ink and paper) post to get to this....You guys are one impatient lot! :)

Firstly there are three types of trimmers - one comes with a straight blade, the other comes with a rotary blade and the third comes with guillotine blade.

The straight blade/V-blade is the most common of the paper trimmers..It has a small blade that will slide in a specially designed track.

Pic courtesy-www2.fiskars.com

 There are many many brands available... There is Fiskars, Tonic, Carl, Cutterpede, Cricut, Martha Stewart etc..

These are just the different brands..but essentially all have the same kinds of blade.
Coming to the pro's and con's.
I personally don't prefer this kind of a trimmer, so far. But there are some who will swear by this kind of a trimmer. So its a choice you will have to make as to what to buy.

• Most of these are within the price range of 15-25$. 
• You get different blades for cutting and scoring, and additional zig-zag, waves, postage border, perforating etc (in some models)
• Clear ruler to see where the paper cuts through.
• Board sizes are up to 5 1/2 to 6 inches, and some come with a fold-able arm to measure papers up to 12". So if you open the foldaway arm, you can cut a 12x12 sheet of paper, in most.
• The main advantage with this is, you can start cutting in the middle of the sheet of paper, or add slots, which you can't with the other paper trimmers. 
• Blade cuts both ways.
• Highly portable. 

Cons-

• The need for replacement blades. All of these will need replacement blades every 6-8 months depending on your usage. Some have used blades for 2-3 yrs, some wear out a blade in 6 months. 
• There is chance with excessive usage, the carrier strip (the groove where the blade runs) may wear out..again that will need replacing.
• If you blades have started becoming dull, your paper cuts will feather out. 
• Since the clear plastic ruler sometimes gets scratched or cut while cutting paper, your groove itself will become crooked...again leading to inconsistent cuts. 

If this is the one that you want, going by the reviews, I would recommend the Fiskars SureCut Deluxe paper trimmer. 

So far, I have read the best reviews of this across all boards. Maybe one of you who owns this can do a review separately.( JK, wink wink..I'm hinting at you!) Here is a video showing this trimmer's short but sweet review

Coming to rotary trimmers..

They have a circular blade housed in a cassette holder.  I don’t know much about them, except that some of them come with a self sharpening tool within the cassette,  so everytime you use that cutter, you sharpen the blade as well…

They do last for a pretty long time. Again, the track in which the blade runs, might need replacing once a year …again depending on y our usage.

This is what the blades look like.

 Costs around 40-50$ on an average.

 There are some who swear by rotatry trimmers and some who would not use it. Here is the video of one such trimmer in action.

Fiskars, Carl, X-acto are some of the companies that have fantastic Rotary trimmers.

Now my favorite trimmers, The guillotine style trimmers.

 

Pic courtesty - Julia Stainton

Click on over to read the most wonderful review of this trimmer..Warning..I'm a highly biased when it comes to this kind of a trimmer..so I will favor this..form your own opinion on your usage.

Pro’s

• Self sharpening blade. Never needs replacing. At least not for 4-5 yrs .
• You can get very thin slivers of paper if needed. I have cut up to 2mm thin slivers and long thin curls for paper bouquet..
• Impossible to  cut your finger in the guillotine..(I tried once)
• Comes with a good paper gripper, to keep your paper steady while you’re cutting.

Cons

• You cannot cut into the middle of paper, to cut windows or slits.
• It takes a while to judge where the cut will be exactly.
• Bigger trimmers mean bigger handles..it can get a little bulky. (12x6, or 12x12)
• Since the blade is self sharpening, over time, it tends to shave very tiny bits of metal off the cutting edge..after 4-5 yrs, the lower edge may give you inconsistent cuts.
• There are no replacement blades, if your blade cuts wonky, its time to get a new one.

This is what I own.

My personal experience: 

I’ve had my Fiskars 8.5 x 5 trimmer for 5 yrs now. Never ever had a problem..Recently, I do find that my mats are inconsistent by 1-2 mm or so…you could never see in the cards, unless I tell you.

But other than that, no problem at all…I got the hang of judging my cut, within 3-5 days of using it.

Here's a short video of how they work

It is always recommended to cut all the way through to the end of the blade in this type of a cutter, to keep the blade sharp.

Best ones in this category are Fiskars, Tonic. Would recommend this without hesitation.

And now to the ones that are available in our market...

Morn Sun is one company from Taiwan...they're in the range of 800-1000. Very small base, but does come with multiple blades. 

I am hesitant to recommend this because of its small base. I don't know how steady it will hold the paper while you cut it. Anyone who has it, please share the review.

I haven't used it, but seen in my stationery superstore in Mumbai. Ananda Stationery in Chennai also stocks it. I think you could get it around in stationery stores that stores exclusive items..maybe Venus in pune, Anupam Stationery in Mumbai.

The other is Deli brand. They have 3 guillotine style trimmers. Plastic base, wooden base and metal base. The plastic is the most portable, and all are 12x12. So you need a place big enough to keep it. 

The last I inquired they were in the range of 1500-2000 Rs. 

 

 I have had a lot of problems getting the plastic one..and 6 months down the road, still haven't found it.

These are the only ones I know of. Keep updating me with what you know and I'll keep updating over here. 

P.S. I'm making a separate page for all the tutorials and basics info that I've done. Easy to locate, right under the header.

Basics of Card making/stamping -Part 1

These tutorials are a product of extensive reading, researching and lots of time spent on making them. Please do not copy, or share on your page (for promoting your items in your shop) unless I give you permission to do so. Please ask nicely....I won't say no...but you need to ask.... You can link it on your blogs if you have used these tutorials...please share the link with me when you do use these tutorials...I would love to stop by and see what you have done! 

I'm sure everyone has a list of what they call their basics..And I'm just sharing mine.Some  stampers/cardmakers wanted  info on basic paper crafting supplies and what to spend on. I thought I would provide my two cents...

I've been crafting since 2006...so whatever you see in my stash has been collected over 5 years, and I'm a very frugal shopper. Everything that came from USA is on a discount or brought during sales.

I've never paid full price for any of the items, and I rarely pay shipping. I make sure I shop at sites that give me free shipping. That way I have less guilt over spending ridiculous amounts of money (enough to feed a family for a month). It doesn't hurt to have great friends who are willing bring your stuff over to India.

This will be a long post, so have divided it into parts..I have not planned out anything, but lets see how it goes..
This first  part I'm concentrating on your Basic Tools...then will cover stamps, inks and papers (maybe in 3 different posts) . As I go along, your comments, questions will help me plan further posts...

This is the box that is always by my side when I'm crafting..

It contains all the stuff I need for everyday crafting..there is a lot lot more than this..but basics first...

 First rule of basics, get yourself a good pair of SCISSORS. I changed 3-4 till I found one that I could cut without hurting my hand. The orange fiskars one has served me really well for over 3 yrs...you'll need it for trimming your images, cutting card stock.
Always keep a sharp scissor separate for cutting ribbons. While cutting paper, scissors get dull, and will not cut ribbons as sharply. The Tim holtz scissor has been on my wish-list for 3 yrs..just got it 2 weeks ago and still getting used to its huge grip. Its mainly for cutting unmounted rubber stamps, cutting into my foam tape..which is sticky! This being a non-stick scissor, cleans easily.

Next is your Self healing cutting mat...necessary when you're cutting paper with blades or knives. Easily available in the market.

A good paper cutting blade (blue/yellow) and an CUTTING KNIFE..this one is by Camel, called Precision knife( haven't had to change the blade for over a year)..super useful for cutting out detailed images or centers of the images.

The tool on the extreme right, is what I use to pierce even holes on my project, or when I'm stitching. I have no clue as to what its called, but you will find it any shop that sells Embroidery stuff. Its similar to the Sew-Easy that is a current rage. 

On Left is my nail filer...Emery board..I use it for giving a finishing touches or distress the paper..I use it to clean up the edges of my scrapbooks too. I picked it up from a beauty shop ;)

My un-sepearable companions...My camlin 0.5 mechanical pencil (its been with me for 4 yrs now), an eraser, my white Uniball Signo gel pen, Black Sharpie marker, black sketch pen, and my water brush. (You can very well use a paint brush). You need a good ruler too..that goes without saying!!!

The white gel pen and the black marker (0.5) I use to create faux stitch lines, sharpen my stamped images with black if it hasn't stamped out properly.
And wonder what I do with my expired credit card? I use it to spread out the glue...and flatten the paper after sticking it on.

Lastly I have the corner rounder, a stack of post-its, removable tape (Scotch magic tape or invisible tape) and a basic black ink pad, which I refill with Faber-castell ink, glue and gloss, and Fevicol (forgot to show). And my newest purchase, The bone folder (paper creaser)

You do get indian corner rounder, used for photos..you can pick that up..it gives a good finish to the cards.
Post-its when I want to mask and image or just write down the measurements...removable tape-again to hold the masks in place. (just don't use this or any other tape on mulberry paper..everything rips off)
Black inkpad for quick distressing.

Bone folder (this one is of plastic not bone or teflon) is something I thought I didn't need. But after using the back of a spoon to give a good crease, using back of a ball pen..everything...This felt marvelous. And this the one purchase I would love for you to make. Indispensable.

Last one, my paper trimmer. I love it.
If you are good with making straight cuts with a precision knife and a ruler...you don't need any kind of trimmer. But it does save you a lot of trouble. I own a 8.5x5 guillotine paper cutter.
Which paper trimmer/cutter to buy is matter for another post...if you want one, I can list out another post with the pros and con's of each...

Phew that is lenghty..but too many photos too!! next will be on SIPs!!! Stamps, paper and ink. I'm not going to list what's available in the market, I'm just listing what you need to start. Then as you discover, you can explore and make your own choices!

If I've missed anything, let me know..will edit and add accordingly!!
Thanks for reading this far...