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i really need an excellent trimmer once and for all
i have an old school guillotine cutter, which serves its purpose. i have a fiskars trimmer with the wire, ok, not awesome, dicey to get really straight cuts. i bought the $70 fiskar with the led light (stupid unless you are in a dark room) and a rotary blade. it cut about 4 sheets of paper and that was it. i bought new blades, again about four cuts, put in another blade, by now its scoring paper instead of cutting. i took it back. oddly, i was using my fingers to feel the blades, thinking they were dull. no. no they werent. i am on blood thinners and was a bloody mess in very short order!
titanimum blades? self sharpening? rotary? i want lots of markings on the board. i want it to hold a 12" piece of paper. it would be nice if it had a little thingy that sat against the edge of the paper to keep it straight, but that i can live without. my husband sent me a link for a $600 trimmer, but for that it should clean toilets. (he is tired of hearing me complain) i figure my top dollar would be $250, which to me seems excessive to cut a flappin piece of paper, but i do not want to replace, replace, replace and i do not want to think about this anymore.
so ladies what is the very best trimmer i can buy in that price range? if someone has an trimmer whose cost rivals a mortgage payment, but that they cant live without, will never have to replace, accurate to within a gamillionth of an inch, let me know because i will consider it!
Hmmm. Minus the need of "cutting a 12 inch piece of paper"-----which this one won't do-----I have a 5x7 cutter by Creative Memories (no, I am not a consultant for them). It has made a BA-ZILLION cards, and I've never sharpened the blade. Nor do a have a frayed edge----EVER (will not buy a Fiskers and replace blades every ten minutes because of that). Have watched demo's use those and hand me frayed paper to make my cards---YUCK!!
I have the Purple Cows guillotine style trimmer that I bought with a coupon at ACM for around $20 and love it. I've been cutting super thick cardstock, chipboard, acetate- you name it for years now and have never had to sharpen it. Cuts perfectly with no fraying or ragged edges at all.
I gave up on rotary and blade style trimmers a long time ago, constantly had to replace the blades. Now I only use my 12" guillotine and a smaller 5" x 9" guillotine trimmers. They are self sharpening which is why the blades never need to be replaced unless damaged.
I have the Karl cutter. It is EXACT. It is pricy but you can't do better. The stamping store near me swears buy it. I have had the fiskars, looked into the Dahle, Genesis, and purple cow and the Karl got the best reviews.
Excellence once and for all? The Genesis paper trimmer will be the last one you ever need to buy. I have the 16-inch with the edgelight and the guide bar, and
It... is... worth... EVERY... penny!
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
Thanks to the OP for posting this question, I would have never thought to ask this since a "blade that never needs replacing or sharpening" is an idea that stuns me! The Genesis cutter sounds too good to be true, but I already have the Purple Cow guillotine/rotary so my next dream cutter would be more portable. Does Genesis make something smaller? I can't fine a website that shows all of the available models.
Speaking of sharpening. I bought a replacement blade for my Genesis trimmer a long time ago but I have yet to need to use it. I've had my trimmer for almost 10 yrs and haven't had to replace the blade.
Ditto. I can't believe how long the blade lasts. I went through several different trimmers until I broke down and got the Genesis. It was well worth the investment.
its hard to tell in pictures, but does the karl and the genesis have plenty of markings on the board? for example 1/4"? so when i am cutting 4 1/4", i dont have to guess or taking a 12" sheet down to an 8 1/2"? that is the only thing i can say about fiskars: the board is very well marked. and is the karl wide enough to hold a 12 inch sheet, i know its long enough. also can either cut chipboard?
sorry for all the questions, but without seeing the trimmers to answer these things myself, i dont want to plunk down $400 and then be sick with regret.
Lori, you may already be sold on the Genesis, but I thought I'd put in a word for the trimmer I use.
I've had the Making Memories Precision trimmer for about 3 years and it has a self sharpening blade. It still cuts as cleanly and precisely as the day I got it. I know everyone has their favorites for different reasons. I've been extremely happy with mine. It is very sturdy, and will handle 12 x 12 papers. Then you can fold it in half, so it's more portable.
I got mine at Michaels with a 50% coupon for about $25. Here is a link to look at the trimmer. You can read 48 reviews. Almost all are 5 stars.
I've used & loved my Carl for at least 7 years if not longer. It is a little pricey compared to those cutters at Michael's, etc. But, I can cut multiple sheets of C/S at a time or just one at a time. It has plentiful markings to 1/16th. I never see them in a brick & mortar store where you can "touch & feel" for an in-person examination before buying. And this was the case when I purchased mine online years ago.
I'll admit to being interested in the Genesis ... but only because that's my natural curiosity nagging at me (perhaps a common problem for many of us papercrafters!!). My Carl is not giving me any reason to pay again for another cutter. ;)
I too bought an extra blade for my genesis....sits in a drawer. The markings on the Genesis top ruler are every 1/16 with the numbers labeled for every inch..on the table there's a grid (where you lay your sheet) and it's marked every 1/2 inch horizontal and vertical (no number labels)
I got an Xacto guillotine that is a tad bigger than a sheet of 12 x 12 It gives me straight cuts all the time. I bought it at Wallfarts and also bought a 9 inch cutter as well -guillotine Xacto. They are very sharp blades and I know anyone could afford to pay.
Just my 2� worth. �
Last edited by arubberstamper; 04-01-2012 at 03:04 PM..
The Genesis trimmer with an edgelight is $399. It only comes in 16". The 16" without the light is $295. (Does that darn light really cost more than $100????) The 12", which does not have a light option, is $265. If I was a profession, making money from my cuts, I might think of getting one. But I'm just a hobbiest and I can't justify that kind of money for something that only cuts a straight line.
I have a Making Memories trimmer. I haven't had the problem of it losing it's measurement markings as some people have. But I'd still rather use my narrow Fiskars cutter with the swing arm. The MM trimmer doesn't cut photos very well.
my husband spends so much on his hobby, i think telling me to go ahead and buy the super expensive genesis was merely to relieve his guilt! my but these are expensive addictions, i mean hobbies we have!
I have a Genesis and a Rotatrim Professional 15" and I like the Rotatrim better. The cost is comparable to the Genesis (slightly less).
I like that the blade housing sits on 2 steel tracks so it doesn't move freely. I also like that the blade depth is stationary. I have yet to find the exact right place to adjust the Genesis blade to.
ok, so i have to adjust the blade depth? does it need to be adjusted differently for copy paper, versus 110lb cardstock, versus normal weight cardstock? oh see and i had thought i had made up my mind. dear.
Lori, don't worry. Genesis Trimmers do not require adjustments. Barbara purchased her trimmer on eBay. The eBay trimmer she purchased was quite old and quite used, and she told me it was delivered to her in pieces.
Barbara, if you will call us when you have a few minutes and you can be near your trimmer, we will be glad to walk with you through some troubleshooting steps to help you get your trimmer adjusted. Our number is 404 869-0081.
Genesis Trimmers are built to last forever. We are in touch with customers who are still using Genesis Trimmers purchased more than * FORTY * years ago! In my 14 years of selling this product (and 5 years manufacturing it), we have not come across one yet that was damaged to the extent it could not be repaired.
Lori, don't worry. Genesis Trimmers do not require adjustments. Barbara purchased her trimmer on eBay. The eBay trimmer she purchased was quite old and quite used, and she told me it was delivered to her in pieces.
Barbara, if you will call us when you have a few minutes and you can be near your trimmer, we will be glad to walk with you through some troubleshooting steps to help you get your trimmer adjusted. Our number is 404 869-0081.
Genesis Trimmers are built to last forever. We are in touch with customers who are still using Genesis Trimmers purchased more than * FORTY * years ago! In my 14 years of selling this product (and 5 years manufacturing it), we have not come across one yet that was damaged to the extent it could not be repaired.
I have a Dahle and LOVE it! it's big but works great.
Ditto! I too did my research, not only from the web, but through SCS, and so glad I got the Dahle.
I purchased mine through: Dahle 550 Rolling Trimmer Paper Cutter - Paper Cutters and at the time it was just under $100. with the GSA discount - I clicked on it to see what it was, and it let me order as a business, even with my individual name, never questioned. It was free shipping and it came quickly.
I love it, cuts straight, clean, no paper burrs, and you can do very fine paper strips if you're adding pieces to a vase, etc.; and it cuts multiple sheets.
So, if you haven't made your purchase, good luck.
my husband swears by german engineering. i was impressed that the genesis was american made. i figured i married a korean, i drive a japanese car, i thought this would be my big american purchase! frankly, i am paralyzed about making this decision. the light on the genesis keeps swaying me. the price is a deterent. with the dahle can i see where i am cutting? my eyes are so bad, its just so frustrating. the dahle 440 does cut mat board so i guess it would cut chipboard. i have never used a paper larger than 12 inches so i dont need a huge format trimmer. can anyone tell that i do not make decisions well?
Lori, don't worry. Genesis Trimmers do not require adjustments. Barbara purchased her trimmer on eBay. The eBay trimmer she purchased was quite old and quite used, and she told me it was delivered to her in pieces.
Barbara, if you will call us when you have a few minutes and you can be near your trimmer, we will be glad to walk with you through some troubleshooting steps to help you get your trimmer adjusted. Our number is 404 869-0081.
Genesis Trimmers are built to last forever. We are in touch with customers who are still using Genesis Trimmers purchased more than * FORTY * years ago! In my 14 years of selling this product (and 5 years manufacturing it), we have not come across one yet that was damaged to the extent it could not be repaired.
Bonnie
Thank you Bonnie. I have sent you a pm.
I am puzzled about the blade position because I did buy a brand new carriage assembly and blade through you and I didn't think that it would need adjusting either. I'll give you a call.
Barbara
Last edited by barbara32ca; 04-05-2012 at 04:56 AM..
i really need an excellent trimmer once and for all
