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Like everyone here, I've tried so many different trimmers in my years of sbing and stamping. I've never found one that I love ,despite so many reviews and recommendations. I think I have 3 different ones now. I have the little Tim holtz one that I hate and two Fiskars. One of the Fiskars was pretty cheAp and I thought it would be a great size for cards, but the darn blade kept falling out. My bigger rotary Fiskars is okay except that I have to press so hard to get it to cut anything, plus it is bulky. I have the Marths Stewart score board which takes up a lot of space also and doesn't work that great...it frequently goes off the track when I'm scoring something. So that brings me to the Stampin Up trimmer /scorer. It would allow me to have more space and I love the idea of having both tools in one , if it works well. So if you have it, what do you think?
I have it and I really like it, although I don't score with it (blade is dull and I never replaced it) I have the scor-board which I use for scoring. I had at least three different cutters as well, the SU works the best, and the numbers are easy to read.
I have a love hate relationship with the trimmer.
Pros:
I love
the size and lightweight
The grid is excellent and the way it's made the little dark grey pieces close to the blade grid are perfect for shaving off little 1/8" pieces
It cuts straight but it's important to hold the blade holder in place
The ruler is easy to read and it's correct (not all rulers are correct)
I don't use the scoring blade. I just slide an embossing stylus along the blade groove
.
Cons:
I don't like having to order blades
I prefer that it didn't have the rubber blade guide - again don't want to order
Every now and then the blade will start to stick in the groove. I polish the ruler/blade groove with Novus and works just fine. I polish it about every 3 months or so.
Overall I really do like the trimmer. I've probably gone through 5-7 trimmers and this is the one that fits my style of stamping and doesn't take up a lot of space. I recommend it so long as the cons are not a big problem for you.
I'm a demo, so I'm probably biased
But I really like our trimmer. I've had mine for years and the numbers and grid look as good as they did when it was new. I like the convenience of having the scoring and cutting tools on the same device, especially when I take it with me to stamp away from home. One word of advice though, get a sharpie and mark (at least) the scoring blade. I may have used the wrong one a time or two ;)
Another tip. I cut an 1/8" strip of yellow frog tape and taped to the underside of the numbers on the ruler. It makes it much easier to see the numbers.
Another tip. I cut an 1/8" strip of yellow frog tape and taped to the underside of the numbers on the ruler. It makes it much easier to see the numbers.
I like being able to score and cut. It scores fine. My only trouble is I've cut instead of scored a few times by mistake. You just need to pay attention to what you're doing! It cuts tiny slivers just as easily as larger pieces.
I like the trimmer and it's one of many I use. The one downside to it for me is that I often cut those leftover half-inch strips in half and the guide just doesn't allow that because the spacing is too wide. The strips just "float". My old Fiskars is my go-to for that need.
About the scoring -- I can get good scores with the scoring blade but I do find that the score board gives a more pronounced and rounded score. I do have one customer who does not have the hand strength to get the scoring to work at all. Her hands must be quite weak because it does not take a whole lot of oomph to get the paper scored.
I use it for cutting and scoring every day and I love it. My only beef is that blades seem to get dull rather quickly so I keep a stash on hand. Small price to pay for great and easy cutting!
Mary Beth
The SU trimmer is my favorite, and I've had tons of trimmers in my craft lifetime. I love that I can cut and score, but I think my favorite feature is the wide base. I mostly make cards and I love that I can cut and score an A2 card without have to open the ruler.
It is annoying to have to remember to order the blades, but I'm trying to be better about adding it to stamp club orders.
Its my favorite trimmer and after I figured out that if you clean the fuzzies out of the track, I'm not having to replace blades as often!
Yeah, what she said. I think a lot of good blades have been thrown away because of the fuzzies.
__________________ Sharlene My Gallery - My Stampin' Up! Website "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalms 19:14
I want to buy one but I am leery of SU! retiring this trimmer and, therefore, no blades being available anymore. Does anyone know if any Fiskars blades work in these in case SU! does retire this trimmer ever?
I like the size and concept of the trimmer. The blades are terrible (and expensive to replace when needed when you consider tax and shipping). Blades dull VERY quickly - I had to change then twice when making Christmas cards. I know they had bad batches of blades in the past, but the ones I had were new ones. I clean out the groove faithfully with compressed air and still does not help. Paper trims fuzzy and tears. Highly disappointed and would not recommend. (I am a SU demo).
I have not found the blades to dull quickly but have read that elsewhere. A few tips the previous discussion brought up:
Glimmer paper will wear out the blade.
Cut in both directions. You can cut by sliding the blade down, but it also works sliding up. use both sides of the blade.
Only press as hard as you need to. Some of my customers thought they needed to put a lot of pressure on it, just because other cutters have needed it.
I like the size and concept of the trimmer. The blades are terrible (and expensive to replace when needed when you consider tax and shipping). Blades dull VERY quickly - I had to change then twice when making Christmas cards. I know they had bad batches of blades in the past, but the ones I had were new ones. I clean out the groove faithfully with compressed air and still does not help. Paper trims fuzzy and tears. Highly disappointed and would not recommend. (I am a SU demo).
I know this is an old thread - but if anyone else is reading reviews, I wanted to add my opinion. I've had the exact same problem as SandyK - the paper cuts fuzzy and tears. I'm a SU Demonstrator and make lots of cards and my trimmer never has made clean cuts no matter what I have done with it. I now only use the trimmer when I do classes but cut as much of my cardstock as I can before classes on a guillotine trimmer. One of the ladies in one of my stamping classes also purchased a trimmer when I did - and neither one of us has been able to make clean cuts with our trimmers. The blades when we bought our trimmers were having a problem - but the new blades won't cut well either. Something just isn't right with these trimmers. Stampin Up also has had problems keeping blades in stock, so buying another trimmer was a necessity.
I really like the way th SU trimmer is set up. The score blade has actually been my favorite part.
I have had nothing but bad results from the get go with the cutting blade cutting thick rough edges. I complained to SU several years ago and tried replacement blades. I kind of gave up. I don't want to have to use my nails to scrape away the excess fuzz on the paper.
I bought a large Carl trimmer and it cuts like butter and multiple pieces. But it is not very portable.
So many have liked the small tonic guillotine. It cuts pretty smoothly, but leaves random notches on trimmed edge. I was disappointed since I thought the rave reviews from the carmaking gurus swear by it.
Maybe I'll try a smaller version of the Carl for portability. They make an awesome product.
Another tip. I cut an 1/8" strip of yellow frog tape and taped to the underside of the numbers on the ruler. It makes it much easier to see the numbers.
OT Oh Kathy, you brilliant woman. I just did this with my Tim Holtz ruler. I covered the entire back. Love yellow frog tape. Now love ruler. Thank you!
Another thing I want to mention about the SU trimmer. I found blades dull faster than my other timmer blades from other companies. When they dull the edges of the paper are frayed and I have to run my fingers all along the four sides of the card stock. If I want to use Papertrey thick cardstock, GinaK thick cardstock or Michael's thick cardstock I have to swipe up and down 3 - 4 times to cut the paper. Seems to me the blade is too small to cut theses papers.
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
Last edited by lesliespringer; 07-07-2017 at 01:15 PM..
So many have liked the small tonic guillotine. It cuts pretty smoothly, but leaves random notches on trimmed edge. I was disappointed since I thought the rave reviews from the carmaking gurus swear by it.
Maybe I'll try a smaller version of the Carl for portability. They make an awesome product.
Is that the one Tim Holtz put his name on? I purchased that small guillotine trimmer and was frustrated by that same issue. I would end up with these "notches" scored into the cut edge. I finally figured out it happened when I brought the cutting arm all the way down. If you look at the arm you can see the plastic ridges that make those notches. If I only bring the arm down far enough to trim the piece (smaller than the full length of the cutting platform)...no notches.
I'm happy I figured it out; but it's annoying to have to be that careful. I am on the hunt for another "less touchy" one. I have considered the SU trimmer off and on. My SU demo has one and uses it but so often her paper has those fuzzy edges so I come to my senses and don't order one. Plus, I also don't like that I have to place an order to get replacement blades.
I know that our envelope punch is the same as We Are Memory Keepers, but is our trimmer the same as somebody else's? I'm trying to find a cheaper source for replacement blades since they dull so fast.:confused:
Cobby....I just saw your posting on the TH trimmer by Tonic. As I read it, I thought I was reading my own entry. I came to same conclusiin, just be careful and don’t bring the arm down too far to avoid notches from the plastic mold.Before I figured that out, tonic offered to replace it. Not sure what would have changed about trimmer. Maybe you and I were the only ones not using it correctly...ha.
When I first got my SU trimmer it was great. Lately, though I am very unhappy with the fuzzy edges. Change the blade and still only get a few clean cuts before it starts fraying the edges again. I am thinking the quality of the blades is not as good as it used to be. My feeling is that a SU Trimmer should be able to cut SU cardstock better than it does.☹️
I have always liked the style of SU trimmer. Same problem though, just not clean edges.
The demonstrators all use it of course; maybe I’m just too fussy. I did see one video where a demonstrator addressed the fuzzy edge issue and how to shave them off your cardstock. I like the trimmer style and always use it for scoring and just occasional trimming.
I had received 6 packages of Neenah 110# from a reputable company we all buy from.
2 edges of each sheet were fuzzy. Yuk. It turns out the company I bought from does not do the slicing to size of cardstock. They offered to replace it all. Very generous, but this was not life changing. I took their advice and used a nail file on the edges. I am hoping next order from them will be smooth all four sides after my input.
I have found same thing ordering SU thick whisper white....fuzzy edges when I receive.
Maybe fuzzy edges just a part of life now......my finger nails are wearing down fixing the problem!
��. Think we all will have worn down fingernails. I just watched a video on You Tube by a demo called “The Cow Whisperer”. She recommends the manicure sanding block CD you can get at Sally’s Beauty Supplies. We have a few of them in Canada now so will search one out.
I keep an emery board in the holder on my desk that has my bone folder, scissors, stylus and stuff. People might assume it's for my nails, but it's for my paper. I hate fuzzy edges. Saves the wear and tear on my nails.
Pam, that is what I was doing as well until I saw this little video. I picked up one of the blocks that she recommends the other day and have used it several times already. I also found one that is even finer than the two she mentions. I find them a little easier to use as they don't flex the way the emery board does. This is the direct link to her video.
Another tip. I cut an 1/8" strip of yellow frog tape and taped to the underside of the numbers on the ruler. It makes it much easier to see the numbers.
Great Idea. This was the one thing that I didn't like so I used a sharpie to mark the 1", 2" etc. Yellow frog tape - great!
Review of Stampin Up Trimmer please
