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Maybe it's just me, but I'm not crazy about my Fiskars cutter (bought at ACMoore for around $20). It seems to leave little fuzzies behind, and it cuts crooked unless you squeeze the clear guide thingy together while you pull the blade. And I haven't used it enough for the blades to be dull, but maybe that's what it is. I'd be willing to shell out for a nice one if I thought it would be improvement. Is it just me?
Also, is your fiskars cutter one of the "triple track" ones? I have found that the old style do cut crooked, but the new triple track ones cut straighter. They also have a better measuring grid.
I just bought a guillotine paper cutter at Office Depot. It's not portable, but I LOVE the quickness and accuracy of the cut (as long as I am good about holding my paper straight ).
Downsides, like I mentioned before, it's not portable and it's kinda pricey...
My cutter was also cutting crooked. I e-mailed fiskar and they replaced the whole cutter, free of charge!!! I didn't have to send them anything. They just replaced it, no questions asked.
If you are very serious about a cutter, the top of the line is the genesis trimmer. Expensive but is said to cut like a dream. I've ordered one (takes months to get) and they are over $200 but I'm tired of not being able to shave off very small amounts.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I got a really great paper cutter from Office Depot - it ran me like $32 or something like that. I love it! It cuts really nicely. It has a guide marker too that will help you to cut very straight. It is the office depot brand too.
I also have the mini cutter from CM...I had that from a few years ago...while I completely support SU, I do have to say I love this paper cutter, since it is portable and has a drawer too. I wish SU would come out with a paper cutter like this.
My advice would be to get away from Fiskars altogether. Carl cutters are really good. I started with a Fiskars cutter, which Fiskars replaced for the exact same reasons you are stating. The second one didn't work well, so they replaced it with a third (new style). That one also doesn't work. I'm pretty disappointed in their product. Their customer service is great, but if the product is no good, no amount of great customer service will fix it.
i'm using the ultimate trimmer by fiskars and really like it. i started with (what sounds like) the same model you are now using and quit using it for the same reasons. the ultimate cuts much straighter and has a sturdier feel to it while still being portable.
Many people on here are recommending the CARL cutting system. It is significantly more expensive, but they swear by its accuracy.
I originally had the Fiskar one....(which I hated!!) I don't feel the blade slide is made sturdy enough to cut straight, especially when you cut cardstock!!
I do have the CARL....and just LOVE it!! It was worth the investment for me and I have 'straight' cuts now!!
If you get your Carl cutter from everafterarts.com, he offers almost 50% for his cutters to anyone who is a demo. I know they also sell these at Staples office Supply stores, you could go there and check them out first.
I have the DC-210 heavy duty 12" and the 6" DC-95, both are rotary cutters and I love the both. That is strickly my opinion. I had 4 Fiskars and they all left the little fuzzies and cut wavy, uneven cuts. Now I have striaght, clean unfuzzy cuts and it is a wonderful thing.
Ok I am not an advocate for either the Carl or the Fiskars cutters, however. You can not compare the Carl rotary cutter and the Fiskars personal paper trimmers, because that is like comparing apples and oranges.
I have the original Fiskars paper trimmer and I also have the triple track new trimmer. The original one is having the wobbly problems as well and I contacted Fiskars and they are going to replace it at no charge to me. I have no problem with the trimmer, but for my workshops I would like to be able to cut more paper at a time so I have ordered the Fiskars rotary trimmer. This one would be comparable to the Carl Cutters. Here is a link to the web site.
I have a Fiskars with a rotary cutter blade....it has great markings on the cutting surface...and you can put in a rotary scoring blade...it's portable enough....I think I got it at Joanns.com for half off or somthing....they are normally $50 +, I think....but better that those little blade jobbers...
I have the Fiskars triple track one and love it so far.... I have 3 of the old ones, Fiskars kept sending me a replacement but they just never worked right. I think this triple track one is way better than those old flimsy ones. I got mine at Menards when they had a bag sale think it was like $11 something... If I would have known it would have cut so much better would have ordered the one out of the SU catty, but didn't want to be stuck with another bad trimmer....
I have the double and triple track trimmers and found that the triple does cut straighter. The only fuzzies I get occur with the US White/Ivory paper. I believe I saw another discussion about 2 months ago where others experienced this with the same paper and that SU! was aware of it...I think it is the composition of the paper. :?
Thanks for the tip about the emory board...never thought about using one but it makes perfect sense!
__________________ Work makes me crazy....stamping keeps me sane!!!
How many sheets of card stock do the big carl cutters cut through? I have the rotary fiskars now and it does about 3 sheets of colored card stock at once. I would like to find something that does more to save me time when I'm getting ready for a stamp camp.
I bought a lower end Carl paper cutter, I think it is the PRT-100, any how my problem with this cutter is that the arm does not raise up so to cut small pieces it is not a good cutter, I have to break out the Fiskars. My Question to the other Carl owners is do the larger more expensive ones have the arms that raise up so you can cut the 1 1/2 or 1/4 in pieces easily? Thanks I know someone has the answer to this question!
I have them all. The Fiskars never seems to cut strait. The Carl was a little better but still had problems. The Genesis is expensive but I love it. Yes, you have to wait 6 months to get it but it's worth the wait.
Thanks for your help, all. Sounds like I might go the Fiskars triple track route. I'm not a demo so I can't see myself spending a ton of money on a Carl or Genesis, but I'll look around. I'll also check out the Office Depot one. Meanwhile, I'm using my emery board, cutting over regular paper. I've even cut through tin foil in case that helps. I keep getting those darn nicks... It'll just make me appreciate it when I end up with a better one!
I have worn out several Fiskars cutters. I like the new SU Fiskars model. Try cutting two sheets of white/vanilla together. I found improvement with this.
Carl makes an inexpensive paper trimmer that is very portable for about $20 or $25 that has an arm that comes out with a ruler on it. I love mine. They sell them at Staples and go on sale from time to time.
I had the fiskers one too and always had problems with it not giving a clean cut. I had the fiskers guillotine type cutter too and wasn't that thrilled with that one either.
Thanks Girls!! I just sent an email to Fiskar. Mine does not cut straight. Maybe I will get a new one from them untill I can part with some of my stamping $$ to buy a Better One...
Would someone please post how to get the Carl Cutter cheaper from everafterarts.com? I sent Fiskars an email hoping they will replace mine but I would love to invest in the Carl Cutter in the future. I just want to make sure I get a good deal. Thanks for your help!
You can only get the Carl cutter cheaper from Everafterarts if you are a demonstrator. If you send them an email they will send you the price list for demonstrators, however they do require your demo number so if you are not a demo you will not be able to get the cheaper price.
hth
__________________ Stalking my postman, waiting for all of my fabulous swaps to come back!!
I have both a large rotary Fiskars and a Carl cutter.
As far as the 'fuzzies' go on either of these cutters, it is helpful to check the replaceable 'rubber' cutting mat itself that takes the direct hit of the butting blade. I frequently change this mat. As a general rule of thumb, if it appears to have an open slit in the cutting line, replace it. Next, check to be sure you have a sharp blade. These are items that I frequently check, depending on the amount of cutting I've been doing.
In my search for the ultimate paper trimmer, I have more than I know what to do with!
When I first started scrapbooking I had the Fiskars - worked for a while but the blades dulled quickly. Then I found and fell in love with the Cutterpede rotary trimmer by EK Success - Still love that one (I broke the side arm once, and got another one, so I use the broken one for scoring, the other for cutting so I don't have to change the blades)
Then I got the small 12-inch trimmer made by Carl on QVC - I like it too, except it's harded to do small (under 2 inch) cuts - so I still use my Cutterpede for that.
Then I called www.everarts.com and talked to Mike (who is really nice) and ordered the heavy duty 18" DC-238. I can't say enough good things about it. For one, I can cut a piece of 12x12 paper into triangles - can't do that with any other one. More importantly, I can cut several pieces of SU cardstock at once. When I do classes or have to cut paper for swaps (or when I was making my 125 Christmas cards), I cannot tell you how much time that saved! I've done up to 7-8 pieces of cardstock at once! Definitely one of the best investments I ever made.
The more I think about this the less sure I am what to do. I was thinking Fiskars triple track, but I'm kind of lured toward Carl. Now where do you get a Cutterpede? Is it a Michael's kind of thing? What I don't want to do is spend not quite enough money and still be unhappy. I'd rather spend a little more and be sure. I can't see spending more than $50-I'm not a demo...Anyway, good to get all this feedback. Guess I'll just shop around and see...
When I became a demo I bought the Fiskars from the SU catalog. I liked it at first. I was used to using CM personal trimmer so I liked it better than that. But then as I got more picky about my edges I realized that it wasn't cutting straight. And I had the same problem with the fuzzies. But only on the US White. I went through alot of blades. When the new one came out I ordered it and I don't have any problems with cutting straight edges. Then I heard about the Carl cutter. I tried to go the cheaper route and bought a guillotine fiskars from Michaels. I HATED it. It was supposed to cut through multiple sheets but it shredded my paper any time I cut more than once. So I took it back. I finally broke down and bought a Carl cutter (after I did my Christmas stamp camp) I LOVE IT!! I still use my fiskars when I'm doing just one or two cards. The Carl doesn't do a good job cutting the little pieces but It is excellent. When I do a class or workshop I can just group together all the full sheets that I want to cut in half as the cards and it cuts through all of them. I LOVE IT!!
If you are a demo contact Mike at everafterarts.com. Give him a call or email him and he will send you a demo price list. The discount is awesome. For those of you that are not demos, the price is still worth it.
__________________ Angie
Mother of three wonderful children (Brayton-17 months, Brianna- 5 & Kyle-eight) and one grown man (my DH).
Not being very happy with cutting results on my Fiskers, I recently saw the new CM 12" cutter in action. It has some positive attributes. Quarter inch grid lines, swing out arm on the top deck instead of underneath (more accurate with longer cuts) and the price was under $20.
I did purchase the CM cutter and so far I've been very happy with it.
__________________ The legacy you leave behind in a scrapbook is like leaving a stairway to your heart.
Donna
What CARL cutter do you recommend? I just checked and there seem to be many sizes. My fiskars is the large one, somewhere around 15" x 24" and I would be replacing this one. Thanks!
I want a better paper cutter
