paper trimmer
 

I am looking to purchase a new paper trimmer and am looking for some advice. Does anyone have the new Fiskars rotary trimmer or the rotary trimmer from Cutter Bee? I would like to use my 50% JoAnn coupon tomorrow but don't know which one to buy. Or should I just break down and buy the Carl trimmer? Help me out, please! TIA

I bought the Fiskars rotary trimmer before I became a SU demo and I love it! It is big and it's sometimes awkward to carry around but it cuts really well and it's wonderful! I did discover that the paper started tearing, etc when the black plastic piece that is underneath the paper needs to be rotated...I didn't even know it popped out!

Anyway, I would recommend it for sure! Good luck with your choice!

I also have the fiskars rotary with the swing out arm. It does a good job. The carl I had had a lot of decorative blades but it was a huge pain to change the blades. Stick with the fiskars.:)

There are horrible reviews on Fiskars on other websites and I have never had a Fiskars that cut straight. I do like the Carl, I think I have the 200 model. It's not a pain to change the blades at all b/c they are all in individual cartridges. I really like it, it's extremely portable. I have purchased a 12" guillotine trimmer though and am waiting to receive it. I decided to buy one of those since I fell in love with my CM personal paper trimmer. HTH!

I have all three. I have several of the Fiskars Ultimate 12" rotary cutter that I can't use anymore because the replacement mat is 1/2" and the one in my cutters is 1/4". I was/am a little annoyed because it was a major investment that I did for classes and I haven't had any luck in finding the 1/4" mats. I like the CutterBee as much as the Fiskars and it is easy to find the replacement mats. Right now I am using my Carl Cutter for scoring only. I am just too lazy to keep switching out the blades.

Ease of switching between the blades would be in this order:
1. Fiskars (although sometimes they just flip out, if I knock them funny)
2. CutterBee
3. Carl Cutter

For smaller cuts, the Fiskars and CutterBee are about equal.
For cutting multiple sheets at one time, you can't beat the Carl Cutter.

HTH.

Karen

Karen -

I couldn't find blades for my Fiskar cutter (they changed channel shape since I bought it) and I contacted Fiskars and they sent me some. Try contacting them directly to see if they still carry replacement mats.

Oh, and for the original poster - I haven't gotten a multi-page cutter yet. I'm still using my old Fiskars (similar to the one carried in the SU catalog) and one sheet at a time. But whenever I get a couple packs of paper I take them to Kinkos and have them cut some into half sheets and some into quarter sheets. It costs $1.50 per cut and they can do up to 150-200 sheets at a time. I've had them do strips (~1-1/2x4") for a card I made for regional swaps, too. I'll probably invest in a Carl at some point, after hearing all the raves here, but for now this is working for me. It's nice having cards all cut out and ready to go!

Alyson

I have the big Fiskars rotary cutter that sits on my table. I've never had a problem with it except when I got a new blade and almost cut my finger off. It's very sharp. I also bought the $29.95 personal Fiskars cutter with the swing out arm from Viking for only $10.37. What a deal.

I have tried a total of 4 different cutters, both rotary and with the swing arm. With all of them, I continued to have trouble getting a straight clean cut consistently. I finally broke down and purchased a Carl Cutter, and absolutely love it. It accurately cuts multiple pages at one time, which makes cutting in quantity so much easier. My only complaint is it is hard to cut small pieces because the guide is so wide. So I continue to use my Fiskars for that. BTW - the money I spent on the three cutters I purchased before the Carl added up to more than the purchase price of the Carl... lol!

Carl Cutters at Walmart!
 

I have several cutters. This spring I invested in a Carl rotary cutter. It is awesome when I'm cutting up a large quantity of paper for a class or party. My cutting time has gone from hours to just a few minutes. However, it's a BIG thing and I don't take it out for day to day stamping.

For my day-to-day stamping I use Fiskars cutters. I love the old fashioned one except for the flimsy blade track that doesn't cut straight. Grr. I bought the Euto trimmer and it's straighter, but the measuring marks on the swing out arm aren't accurate.

So...I'm considering getting the Cutterbee at Wal-Mart.

It seems like my daughter and I have spent a fortune trying to find the perfect trimmer. She has found the purple Fiscars to be the best of the more affordable ones. I love the Fiscars rotary trimmer. But with both of these, we found irritation at not being able to cut those little strips - the ruler not going far enough towards the blade, or with anything under an inch, it's hard to cut a straight cut.

She is a scrapbooker and had seen several posts on scrapbooking pages about the Genesis trimmer. I did a little investigation and decided to go ahead and spring for it. It's on the pricey side ($225) but now that I have it, it is WONDERFUL!! It is a rotary trimmer with a gear driven blade, has a ruler that goes within 1/8" of the edge and has all precision metal parts. The downside is, it does not have a safety edge on it so you need to be careful with the tips of your fingers. But if you do a lot of cutting, it's worth it. There is at least a 7 month delay in delivery; you don't pay for it until it's ready to be delivered; and you have the chance to refuse it if you decide in the meantime that you don't want it.

I have the Fiskars with the arm and it does "okay". I am also looking for one that will cut perfect straight lines. Maybe I'll find one at the Scrapbook Convention in Charlotte Aug 2005:)

I have no problems getting straight cuts with my Fiskars as long as I hold the paper so it doesn't slip. There isn't really anything that holds the paper in place and if you aren't holding firm on the paper, it slips a little. At least that's what appears to happen with mine.

I have the Fiskars' twelve inch personal trimmer and absolutely could not cut a straight line. I tried holding the cs in the middle, near the end, at the end, pressing down on the cutter blade, not pressing down on the cutter blade--all to no avail.

I've just come back from Staples with the twelve inch pt by Carl (PRT 100) I made one cut--perfectly straight. Two cuts--perfectly straight. Three cuts--perfectly straight. It gets my vote.

Oh, and I tried changing the blades and had no problem at all. Takes a few seconds longer than with the Fiskars, but shoot, the dang thing cuts straight and that's what is important.

Rainsong

Rainsong,
How much did it cost?
Thanks.

Hang on...husband wanted to try out my crimper and used the receipt....
Deciphering crimped price... okay, price for trimmer (12"/A4, PRT 100 was $15.99. I bought an extra set of decorative blades, Deckle/Victorian (two blades) for another $9.99. I did remove the regular straight blade and replace it with one of the decorative ones just to see if it was difficult. I had no problem changing it.

I am now cutting and crimping like a mad woman.

Rainsong

I bought a small Carl trimmer this morning at Wal-Mart on my way to teaching a class. We used it during class and the consensus was two thumbs down. It looks like a Fiskars trimmer, but the cutting arm doesn't raise up. You slip your paper under it. You can't measure and cut anything smaller than 1 3/4 inches. And the swing out measuring arm doesn't have the increments marked well enough to read them. It was only $10, but I'm returning it and putting the $10 toward another Fiskars trimmer.