Best Art Mat Cutters & Blades
Dual drive elite represents the next step in easy-to-use, efficient picture framing point driving tools.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"If you do any framing you NEED this tool."
"Works great, thought I have just used it a few times."
"This product is well built and sturdy."
"Another frame was a painted composite (mostly glue) wood frame that had the factory points falling out It took longer to remove it from the wall and hang it back up than it did to repoint it."
"Great tool, can put those point in quickly and not have to fight the other tool I use to use, looks great when finished, I've used both ridge and flex points, this driver does not have a issue with either, can say buy with out issue from Amazon!!!"
"Bought to re-attach picture to frame - needs adequate recess of picture into frame in order to work."
"I love it!"
"Works so easily and so glad I purchased this for securing my prints in their frames."
The 450-1 Artist Elite is an excellent mat cutter for moderate volume at-home framers needing a standard 40″ (101cm) capacity machine. Cut Easily with Straight Cutter Elite & Pull Style Bevel Cutters, includes both bevel and straight cutting heads.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is large enough to handle 32x40 mat boards (4-ply) and foam core (either 1/8" or 3/16") with mat borders up to about 6". I regularly cut mats for 16x20 and 16x24 prints, sometimes using a common 22x28 frame, and sometimes custom sizing to 20x24 and 20x28 respectively. A mat cut at 22x28 at a frame shop will run me around $35. But this mat cutter has everything you need to do single-opening cuts in a 4-ply mat and do it well. The pros: * great price. * handles 4-ply mat boards up to 32x40. * handles 1/8" and 3/16" foam board. * has production stops for bevel cutting. * has a cutting stop/guide for the ruler. * big enough to be easy to use but not too big to manage. The cons: * The squaring arm is short. So you need to measure with a tape measure very caefully if you are going to cut your 40" mat to a 28" length because just setting the edge at 12" on the ruler is not necessarily going to be right. * It's difficult to cut less than 1-1/2" off of a mat or foam board because the straight cutter is designed to "glide" on the surface of the board you are cutting in order to keep it level. If you have to trim less than this from a mat's edge, you'll want to use a slip mat alongside your mat to give your straight cutter an even surface. Practice on some scrap mat board if you have any large pieces, but the best way to learn is to actually cut real mats to the size you need. This mat cutter comes with three of four and you will burn through blades quickly. The rails for the bevel cutting guide stick out past the edge of the mat cutter's base. It's a pain to constantly remove and install them so just leave them in there all the time, and lay a sheet of paper over them (tape it to the mat cutter's base) so that they don't come into direct contact with your mat board. Use these to check your mat for square before you make your cuts. Your first few mats will be not-so-great."
"The blades seem to dull a bit faster than I expected, but they still get a decent amount of mileage."
"For some reason mine came with no blades, or else they fell behind my work table, but it wasn't a big deal. Dull blades mean bad cuts."
"I don't mass produce frame work, but so far after framing about two dozen pieces of art, I can say that this is a real money saver over a framing store.On-line tutorials are easy to understand and make set-up a snap."
"What a wonderful mat cutter."
"The information and instructions were well written and easy to read (we are the tiny minority ones who DO read the manual before using the product.)."
"I don't cut a large volume of mats, around a few dozen a year, but the price savings with even that small volume easily pays for the cutter after only a few uses."
"The video made the learning experience easy (even for double matting), but the Elite Mat Cutter is the real star - bevel and straight cuts quick and really look professional (straight cuts take a bit of pressure)."
Includes parallel mat guide for setting border widths from 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) to 4-1/2 inch (11.4 cm), spring loaded serrated guide rail, push style #302-1 bevel cutting head with start and stop indicator, 500 mat knife for downsizing mat board and foam board, built-in carry handle in box, five extra blades and a fully illustrated matting instruction guide. Bevel cutting head and mat knife for straight cuts as well as a parallel mat guide to maximize cutting potential and options.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The cutter uses a length of rubber o-ring cord that fits into a groove machined into the underside of the long hold-down bar to avoid indents in the surface of mats inserted under the bar during the cutting process. After ruining the first two sheets that I cut, I removed the four screw that attach the bar to the base and pulled out the o-ring cord. Wiping it with a paper towel at first, and next with a microfiber cloth did not remove the black surface residue on the cord."
"Good shopping experience with Dremel + Logan + US Art (LightMaster), Wescott, Puzzle Saver, Apple Barrel paints, Black & Decker, UGG, Walnut Hollow (except: remember, their nib tips for Woodburning pens are proprietary so other tips may not have the same thread), Seealle products, US Art Supply and Pacon Corp."
"Obtained some great prints as well as an old 50's concert bill featuring twelve act's including Buddy Holly etc. You can buy bulk mat boards precut at the Hobby Lobby at a reasonable cost (cut from their remnants,so the quality is good) to start with."
"Simple to use and decreased the amount of crooked cuts that i had with a hand held cutter."
"This is what I needed."
"This however, works well and I was able to start producing some lovely framed and mounted photos the first day."
"I say get this one, remember how much you love making mats and if you decide to upgrade later then you'll have the practice you need to make huge cuts."
"It is easy to use and works great."
Best Hand Sewing Needles
Its thick, three-layer construction helps extend the life of knife blades. Vertical rulers, metric and standard Horizontal rulers, metric and standard 2" and 3" star templates 30°, 45°, and 60° angles 1" graph background Dowel and Wood Stick Size Chart, ranging from 1/16" to 5/8" Airplane Specification Conversion Chart (standard to metric); includes Wing Area, Wingspan, Weight, Wing Loading, Fuselage Length, and Engine Sizes Bolt, Screw, Drill and Tap Size Information Table. Non-slip, reversible mat guards against damaging work bench tops and provides a firm base for any cutting job.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Recently I started getting back into gunpla building and the coffee table just wasn't cutting it...and the wife was freaking out that I might carve into it. The squares and ruler markings are nice if I ever decide to get into some other types of arts and crafts."
"First hobby mat I've ever owned, and it's a huge quality of life purchase."
"Only problem was by accident I splashed some lacquer thinner on the surface and found out it dissolves the ink print."
"Awesome!!"
"Great hobby mat, has many conversions and good markings."
"Crafting in my retirement..."
"Love this matt going to ge 3 more to extend my work area."
"Pros: - works if you are planning to build a model kit."
Best Art Knives & Blades
This is the most popular craft and hobby blade, which features a sharp, fine point for precise, detailed cuts on a wide variety of light to medium weight materials. For delicate, precision cutting, detailing, trimming and stripping.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Unlike the pointed tip that genuine X-Acto blades have (top blade in photo), these blades have a rounded tip (bottom blade in photo)."
"With foam board they do not dull any faster than name brand blades (not much experience with other applications)."
"I just love these - and because they are so cheap, I can swap my blade out much more often which only makes these seem even sharper."
"Being wrapped in paper and then stuck in a cheap plastic blister pack makes getting out a new blade a cautious process."
"I dug an old Xacto knife from when I was a kid for a project and quickly learned a dull blade creates a lot of problems."
"Best price for the amount of blades."
"I cut a lot of foam core, paper, and gator board and these blades just keep right on cutting."
"Great price for blades."
Best Paper Trimmers & Blades
Safety features include protective guard rail and blade latch hook. Durable plastic construction makes paper trimmer lightweight and easily portable; alignment grid and dual scale ruler for precise measuring.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Works OK."
"I wish it didn’t have the bar where you have to put what you’re cutting under- beside the blade- so I could use it for longer/larger sizes."
"Great product just not professional grade (whatever that is) material... Would buy again!"
"I prefer the longer paper cutter since I tend to cut a lot of longer laminate with it."
"I imagine mine is slightly defective since it doesn't cut square when lining it up against the positive stop along the back."
"This cutter is very precise and does a great job."
"Cons: The biggest, and the reason for my low rating, is that the handle/blade/grid are not properly aligned. Also, the latch that is supposed to hold the handle down rarely secures it for more than a few minutes. Finally, you must hold the paper down close to the guard bar or you'll get slippage toward an incorrect cut. It's sad because this one still cuts but the hassle of never having even pages without a few extra steps is more than I want to deal with right now."
"I’m assuming my was faulty because it seems like no one would be satisfied with the safety concern of the arm swinging back down."
Best Quilting Rotary Cutters
OLFA's largest rotary cutter uses a 60mm blade and can easily and accurately cut up to six layers of fabric. Ergonomic comfort grip handle.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"► Why I like it: I looked for several key points when deciding which rotary cutter to buy. I also wanted one with anti-slip grips and protection for my pressing index finger in case I accidentally slipped. I also wanted the blade to extend and retract via squeezing and releasing of the handle so I did not have to use the lock. But by the same token, I wanted to still have a lock in case I was doing funny shaped turns and cuts. I'm not there yet, but if I reach that point, I will not have to replace my cutter with one that is more arthritis friendly if I think and plan for it now. Finally, I wanted a good brand name for warranty, blade replacement and durability. Pair this with a cutting mat and a long straight edge ruler, and you are good to go and go fast. I am not affiliated with the manufacturer, seller or any other product related company nor am I under any obligation to write this review."
"I did notice I had to double back a few times on some cuts - it just wasn't getting through."
"It also has a lock to keep the blade in at all times when not in use."
"YES, YES, YES...I love this cutter..fits well in the hand."
"The blade on this went dull pretty quickly."
"While at a friend's house quilting recently I used the rotary cutter she owns and quickly made a mental note to pack mine next time I'm there."
"Same as fabric store but even a better price than with a 60% off coupon (which are rare)."
"This product is what I wanted, but the Olda packaging is completely written in Japanese."
Best Quilting Cutting Mats
The StandardGrip mat is a multi-purpose mat that is perfect for a wide range of medium-weight materials, including patterned paper, vinyl, iron-on and cardstock. Works with the Cricut Explore machine, Cricut Expression machine, and Cricut Expression 2 machine.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"These are genuine Cricut brand and come as always with covers that attach to the mat so that you can protect it from dust while not using."
"I did purchase the blue adhesive mat to resolve the issues with cardstock and use this for more durable items."
"So definitely a good price for the quantity but somehow is the only option you have if you want to buy all the types of mats for the Cricut."
"The much needed cricut mats are essential item to have multiples of."
"I purchased these to use in my silhouette diecut machine after reading an article in a blog on how to save money on my supplies."
"I would never use my Cricut for crafting without this mat."
"Everything sticks to it and now it is so dirty that it barely sticks! I hope I don't have to buy a mat every month!"
"I hadn’t purchased mats for a quite a while, but I don’t remember them having an odor."
Best Art Sharpening Tools
Are you looking for high efficiency in work? Helical stainless steel blade, which ensures no less than 3000 times services. 6. For the helical stainless steel blade is very sharp, this product has a safety protection function, when the shaving box is taken out, the sharpener will not work even though it is plugged in. 2. To ensure the safety switch work properly, do not pull out the shaving box by too much force, if the safety switch is broken, the blade will no longer work (if this happen, use glue to stick the safety switch on). Power by three kinds of power supply: AC power supply & computer USB power supply & batteries.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Don’t get me wrong, I like the constant sharp point that a mechanical pencil gives you, but using a wooden pencil brings me back to my school days. But how many times have you experienced this – sharpening a pencil only to find that the pencil isn’t sharp, but half of the pencil is gone! Or sharpening and finding that the pencil tip is not completely sharp or breaks when you first try to use it. So yes, I am a pencil sharpening snob! Even at the blunt mode, the pencil was quite sharp. It will allow me to keep my old school wooden pencils sharp at all times."
"Received the item as promised...Just what we were looking for....something small to fit on the table and get to the "point" (Pun intended) of the. task of keeping colored pens sharp when needed !!!!"
"So far so good it does what it say I'm happy with it had this for couple of months and still working I don't use it often but when I do use it I sharpen about 30 color pencils and about 10 regular pencils and it does pretty good."
"It is great if you do alot of colored pencil drawing in the great adult coloring books that you can buy on Amazon!"
"Very nice my daughter loves it."
"Your natural tendency is to push the pencil all the way in but the sharpener won't work if you do that."
"Sharpener stops spinning before it can sharpen a single pencil."
Best Glass Cutting Tools
1) Align: Adjust the rollers of the bottle cutter so that the bottle rests well. 2) Scoring: Turn the bottle under gentle pressure evenly and without settling in one direction - only once. Method 2: Heat the scratch with a candle flame, always turn the bottle and then quench it , put the bottle into ice water. Cutting Length- from bottle bottom to cutting point: 5". Cutting Diameter of round glass bottles or mason jars:0.5" to 2"， provide you cut both from the top or the bottom of the glass bottles and mason jars.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pulled this out of the box, rolled a wine bottle around the cutter one time, heated some water in a tea kettle, poured hot water on the score line, then cold tap water on the score, then hot for a second round and PRESTO bottle breaks on the score line. If you get the bottle too hot it stands a good chance of cracking on the score line and beyond."
"This is the first time I am reviewing Glass Cutter Cutting Tool and though I heard about them all it was an interesting experience to have chance using one of them on my own. Once the cutting wheel is at the proper location, start slowly turning the bottle. And when you have separated the two halves with cut resistant gloves sand the edge down with something hard, like small stone you can pick up easily."
"It will only make a mess of tiny glass shards. - I have a deep pot of boiling water and a deep bowl of ice water when I actually cut the bottles."
"I received the bottle cutter a few days ago and I feel like I'm already a master bottle cutter."
"it is a glass etcher....once you etch the glass with the glass 'cutter' you need to take further steps in order to actually complete the cut. This process may have to be done a couple of times to complete the entire cut but believe me, if you know anything about glass cutting, this is truly one of the best 'etchers' i have found out there."
Best Craft Shears
They offer a longer cut ideal for cutting patterns, trimming seams or cutting long swaths of fabric. Longer cut ideal for patterns, seams or long swaths.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"LOL. I love the spring action so there is less fatigue on your hands after cutting out hundreds of quilting pieces."
"really sharp."
"Gingher makes great scissors."
"There are very nice scissors."
"Love them Really helps with aching hands when cutting."
"Perfect as most gingher sissors."
"They open easily, which is required for her, as she has rheumatoid arthritis in her hands."
Best Craft Scissors
At evergreen supply we pride ourselves on providing only the highest quality product and giving you what you need: Premium industrial grade materials - high carbon steel is harder and stronger than the competitions standard stainless razor edge retention - blade stays sharp, even after running through the toughest materials extreme ergonomically designed comfort grip - no harsher metal grips. From cutting paper, to fabrics, to leather, this is your tool superior quality & technology - built with supreme craftsmanship. Perfect size - fits in your office drawer, yet powerful enough to cut through the toughest materials.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I needes some really good quality sewing shears to help me with cutting the fabrics to sew my daughter's wedding dress. Sharp, fantastic all metal construction, rubberized coating on the metal handle to help reduce hand fatigue. BTW my daughters dress came out fantastic and we have already planned our next joint sewing venture for after the wedding!"
"I know I'm saying a lot about a pair of scissors I hadn't even tried yet, but I have bought one pair of scissors after another trying to find a pair that will stay sharp in the long run. But with the presentation of these scissors combined with the feel & the weight I'm not even concerned about them staying sharp in the long run."
"I received the Sewing Scissors and I am very pleased."
"These scissors are a precision tool.The assembly is top notch with no slack in the cut."
"What a great pair of scissors."
"Very Heavy Duty Scissors, the kind my Mom had when I was growing up, good quality and sharp not the new cheap plastic kind that does not stay sharp and you have to replace all the time."
"These are great scissor!"
"Why manufacturers use this material to enclose everything from toothbrush heads to electronics, I haven't a clue, but I finally found scissors that are stronger than the plastic."