5 Essential Cutting Tools
The Most Needed Blade Tools for Scrapbooking and Paper Crafts
Since scrapbooking and paper crafting are all about using papers and embellishments, these five tools will get any cutting job done.
One of the primary actions in scrapbooking and paper crafting is cutting. Whether it is paper being cut to size, ribbons being trimmed or shapes being cut out, it is essential to have a quality assortment of paper cutting tools at the ready for any task. There may be other cutting tools out there for specialized tasks, but these are the five basic cutting tools that belong in any scrapbooker's toolbox.
1. Desktop Trimmer
The desktop trimmer is the workhorse of the scrapbooker's cutting tool arsenal. The desktop trimmer is large enough to cut 12" wide paper into usable rectangular shapes, trimming photos to size, cutting photo mats and a variety of other activities. There are three main categories of desktop trimmers:
- Rotary Trimmers - This type of trimmer has a circular blade that rotates as the user moves the blade cartridge down the cutting track. Rotary blades provide straight cuts, and are long-lasting. Many rotary trimmers have other blades available, such as deckel or scallop shapes to create a decorative edge. The rotary blade generally prevents this type of cutter from being portable, so this sort of trimmer is generally relegated to the desktop.
- Guillotine Trimmers - A guillotine trimmer consists of cutting surface and a large blade that is the length of the cutting surface. The user lines up the paper in the cutter and lowers the blade handle to cut the paper to size. An anvil blade is at the edge of the cutting surface, so a guillotine trimmer can be envisioned as a very large pair of scissors. Guillotine blades are extremely sharp, so many of these trimmers have extensive safety guards in place to prevent the user from cutting themselves, but sometimes these guards can interfere with the cutting action. Guillotine trimmers are more expensive than rotary trimmers, but have a very long lifetime. Some portable guillotine trimmers are available, but they may not cut full 12" sheets of paper.
- Stationary Blade Trimmers - This type of trimmer is generally not used for desktop or heavy duty work, but their compact size makes the stationary blade trimmer perfect for traveling or going to crops. The cutter consists of a small pointed blade in the cutting head that the user moves along a vertical track to cut the paper. The small blade gets a lot of action, so these types of blades dull quickly. However, the blades are replaceable, and the trimmer and blade are both inexpensive.
2. Micro-tip Scissors
Micro-tip scissors will also get a lot of use. These small scissors with a sharp point can be used for trimming ribbons or other embellishments, cutting small pieces of paper, or cleaning up the edges of die-cut shapes. In a pinch, the sharp point can be used to start a small hole for a brad or eyelet. It is best to choose a pair of micro-tip scissors that have a non-stick blade surface in case they cut through any adhesive.
3. Large Shears
While large shears will likely not see as much use as micro-tip scissors, they are very useful to have around. When free cutting any large shapes, large shears will be much easier on the hands than their smaller counterparts. Do not use shears that were previously purchased for cutting fabric, since paper dulls the blades much faster than fabric would.
4. Craft Knife
A craft knife, when paired with a self-healing mat and a glass cutting mat, is an invaluable tool. Craft knives generally have removable blades so that they can be replaced if they dull or if they break. There are also retractable craft knives, which may be useful to crafters who may have young children around. A self-healing mat is useful for general cutting, while a glass cutting mat is useful for precision cutting, such as free-cutting title letters.
5. Circle/Shape Cutter
A circle or shape cutter may be the least-used of the cutting tools in this list, but for anyone who has ever tried to free-cut a perfect circle, these are worth their money. There are several different types of shape cutters out there, but they each generally have an adjustable blade cartridge that rides on the end of a swing arm or in a track in the shape tool. Circles are the most common shape available, but there are also tools that can cut ovals and other more complex shapes.
While other, more specialized, cutting tools do exist, these basic cutting tools will allow the user to perform just about any cutting task needed while scrapbooking, paper crafting, or stamping. For more information on general scrapbooking tools, check out this article: 10 Essential Scrapbooking Tools.
Looking beyond the basics in cutting tools? Check out 5 More Useful Cutting Tools.
