I need a paper cutter that actually WORKS...

W

wvasweetness

New member
After years of the old ruller/x-acto knife routine, I broke down and bought the Purple Cow Ultimate Trimmer II (http://purplecows.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=21) and as far as I'm concerned - it's a total piece of junk!! :thumbdown:

At first I thought I was somehow using it wrong (that's how HORRIBLE it is). I can't get a clean cut AT ALL - not one. The trimmer is hard to use/line up - and the big guillotine cutter sucks. They aren't lying about it being a "safety trimmer" - there is NO way I could cut my finger with it... it won't even cut paper! :glare:

I know that some of you girls recommended this cutter (as well as lots of other ppl on the web), so I'm assuming that yours works better than this, right? LOL. :p

Anyway, I think this was the biggest waste of $40 ever (I got it 50% at AC Moore)... and I'm still left without a cutter! I need some recs with names and/or links, pleeeeease!
 
I've had the Dahle 550 since... gosh... 1999 probably? I've had it for ages, and it still cuts just as great today as it did the day I got it. It was quite an investment, but I've never regretted it for a day.
 
I still like my Fiskars cheapie trimmer I got at Walmart. Just needs new blades every once in awhile.
 
I have a Fiskars trimmer, but it sometimes will leave a frayed edge depending on the paper. I use a Carl brand cutter with a rotary blade on those types of papers.

I have heard really good things about Tonic cutters, but have yet to try one out!
 
I use a regular Fiskars one too -- very easy to line things up. To keep from getting frayed edges, you have to replace the blades often.
 
Nettio said:
I also have the Making Memories trimmer that folds in half but I didn't love it.
Click to expand...

Can I second that?? about the making memories trimmer? I had it on my wish list for Christmas last year...took me ONE CUT to figure out it was a piece of crap. You have to manually line up the paper along the grid lines, and even then - the grid lines are printed crooked on mine - so I had to "adjust".

argh.

I was eyeing a Dahl before I went digi...now I just use my good ole' fiskars trimmer because it's works perfectly and I don't cut much anymore!
 
g8rbeckie said:
Can I second that?? about the making memories trimmer? I had it on my wish list for Christmas last year...took me ONE CUT to figure out it was a piece of crap. You have to manually line up the paper along the grid lines, and even then - the grid lines are printed crooked on mine - so I had to "adjust".

argh.
Click to expand...

YES! This is what my problem was with it too! It was a royal pain and the stupid magnetic ruler did not help at all either. I'm much happier with the Fiskars one after only use it a couple of times.
 
After fussing with wavey cuts from the regular Fiskars with the channel, I got a Carl rotary one from the office store years ago and I absolutely love it!

Looks like they've changed them since I got mine, but this one is the same price range and looks sort of similar to what I have. HTHs
 
Last edited:
I have a different model Purple Cow trimmer. I really like the guillotine because I can slice up several pieces of copy paper at once when I make notebooks. Makes the work much faster.

Sorry you're having issues with yours!
 
I have a small Making Memories one. It works well. When I need to do a lot, I often just take the stuff to work and use the big copy store style one. I need to get one like that.
 
Cheapo friskers one here... I have like three of them because my hubby and mom take them from me...
 
i just use a ruler and an exacto knife, lol. i did have a cheapo trimmer from Hobby Lobby i got for like $8. it worked pretty good. then the kids somehow broke it. i haven't gotten another one, but maybe i'll use a 40% off coupon and check some out.
 
I have a Fiskars one as well and it cuts great but I swear the thing is crooked! When I was making cards last week I was careful to line things up every time and they still came out crooked. Ugh. After seeing the other responses I'm just glad to hear that maybe it's not just operator error. lol
 
I have a Fiskars, which I don't use anymore. As mentioned in previous posts it does seem to cut crooked. I have another model of purple cow that I got at Costco about a year ago. I really love it. It has both the guillotine and the rotary cutter and you can separate them if you need too. One little trick, if it has the little bar behind the guillotine that reads "press here when cutting", you need to hold it down firmly. This will help with getting a nice clean cut. I just cut some thick chipboard with it the other day and I had a nice clean cut. Good luck with your trimmer search!!
 
Same here using ruler and knife. Sometimes, when I'm feeling enterprising, I lug out the big heavy hundred year old guillotine trimmer that my stepmom has. Hehehe. It makes nice clean cuts. Downside is it's about half my weight.
 
I bought a Purple Cow 2 in 1 trimmer (http://purplecows.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_11&products_id=18) @ Costco earlier this year for less than $30. But, I'm not impressed. The guillotine cutter sounds "rough" when I cut. It cuts straight, but it the sound that bothers me. I just bought an 8.5" Tonic guillotine from RitzCamera.com: http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/EP4508443.htm?bct=t13079503;ciscrapbooking;citools;cicutting-tools
Love it! All paper crafting supplies are 20% @ RitzCamera.com until Monday.
 
I bought one at office works not to long ago - but ghee, what a pain! It is a rotary cutter, not a guillotine cutter and it truly sucks. I think, the old fashioned and super heavy guillotine cutters (mentioned here before) are the only cutters that really work perfectly. Even at school we didn't have really good cutters and I was disappointed by the results of their cutters many times - and that being a school for desktop publishing, graphic design, etc...
 
Nettio said:
I just bought the Fiskars Desktop Rotary trimmer and so far I'm really liking it. I bought it at Michael's using a 40% off coupon.

I also have the Making Memories trimmer that folds in half but I didn't love it.
Click to expand...
Oh I am the opposite. The 2 Fiskars I've tried were crap for me. The MM I have at least will cut :p. But I think I just mostly like the idea of not having to change the blade.
 
Just wanted to add a little note that might help you out. I had issues for a long time and just figured I was a moron. Make sure that you line up your papers at the BOTTOM of the trimmer (on the guillotine side). I was doing it up at the top, and I always had crooked cuts. Since I've started lining it up on the bottom, I've had much better success.

Just wanted to throw that out there. I was just reminded, as I'm chopping up paper for a big set of cards. :)
 
meems said:
Oh I am the opposite. The 2 Fiskars I've tried were crap for me. The MM I have at least will cut :p. But I think I just mostly like the idea of not having to change the blade.
Click to expand...

The MM one I have cuts fine. It was just a royal pain to get anything lined up on it. Plus I like that it has a clear plastic piece that you can use to hold down your papers without getting finger prints on them.
 
Nettio said:
The MM one I have cuts fine. It was just a royal pain to get anything lined up on it. Plus I like that it has a clear plastic piece that you can use to hold down your papers without getting finger prints on them.
Click to expand...
I've pretty much given up on trying to cut anything perfectly straight. I thought it was me but maybe it is the cutter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2026 XenForo Ltd.
Back
Top