(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best paper trimmers & blades

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Section 1: Tools

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Note: Just because it is more expensive doesn't mean it is better. You could get by just fine with the "cheaper" options.

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| Tool | Required vs. Optional | Use | Notes | Price & Link |
|:---|:---:|:---|:---|:---:|:---:|
| Tandy Wholesale Membership | O | Allows you to get better pricing at Tandy. | This is definitely optional. Items will cost slightly more without it OR if you have a tax ID you can get the membership with better pricing for free. | $35 / Free|
| Awl Haft | R | The handle which will hold your blade. | This particular haft allows for different blades to be added or removed with ease. | $16 / $35|
| Diamond Awl Blade| R | This is the blade used for piercing the holes in your projects.| This goes in the awl haft.| $4.80 / $28
| Channel Groover | R | Used to measure and gouge channels where your thread will lay. | Some say gouging a channel is optional however I find it to be required. It further protects your thread from damage. | $16 / $80 |
| Overstitch Wheel | R | Marks where you will punch your holes. | This particular overstitch wheel is a few dollars more than the versions that only offer one wheel. | $24 / $225 |
| Edge Beveler | R | Used to bevel and round off the edges of your project prior to burnishing. | Sizes vary. The smaller the number, the smaller the round edge. | $12 / $55 |
| Adhesive Glue | O | Used to hold your pieces of leather together prior to piercing the holes. | Some people prefer binder clips instead of glue. I've found that the clips end up making marks on my projects so I've always stuck with glue. | $6 / $30 |
| Gum Tragacanth | R | Used as a burnishing agent for your edges.| Some people use saddle soap. I prefer gum trag.| $6.40 / $21|
| Harness Needles | R | Used in combination with the thread for your projects. | Avoid the stitching needles. They break very easily.| $5.99 / $7.50 |
| Xacto Blade | R | Used for cutting projects. | You may have one of these at home already. Be ready to have replacement blades handy ($21.95) | $2.49 / $50 |
| Self-Healing Cutting Mat | R | Used for cutting your leather projects.| You may have one of these at home already. If so, you can obviously use that.| $14.73 / $50.80 |
| Cork-backed Ruler| R | Used for cutting straight lines.| I highly recommend the cork-backed version. It will save from accidental cuts/slips.| $4.80 / $14 |
| Burnishing Tool | R | Used in combination with the gum tragacanth to get a good burnish.| A good piece of canvas can be used as well. | $8.99 / $80 + $99|
| Sanding Tool| O | Used to sand down the edges prior to burnishing.| You might have sandpaper at home. Feel free to use that too.| $7.30 / $0 with dremel|
| Steel Square | O | Used for creating nice, even squares/rectangles for projects. | Learn to use this correctly!| $8 / $14|
| Thread Cutters | O | Use these for cutting your thread in the hard to reach places without running the risk of damaging your project. | Scissors work for cutting thread and the xacto blade can work for cutting thread inside your projects -- just be careful! | $3.95 / $39 |
| Maul | O | Used for end punches, rivets, snaps, chisels, or irons. | You really only need one of these if you are planning on doing any of the activities mentioned previously. | $20 / $55 |
| Pricking Iron/Chisel | O | Use these to mark or punch your holes instead of an overstitch wheel and awl. I prefer using the overstitch wheel and awl but others like the irons/chisels. | There is a big difference between irons vs. chisels, diamond vs. lacing. They all produce different results. Definitely ask before purchasing! The ones I linked are very different.| $12 / $259|
| Creaser | O | Used for decorative creases on things like card slots. | Definitely optional and definitely personal preference. | $14.40 / $72 |
| Wax | O | Used for burnishing. Gives the edges a nice seal. | The $10 is my top secret wax I use. I bought a bunch on sale for $5 and it is fantastic. | $4 / $10|

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I've had mine for a few years (didn't buy it for my current project), but I think it was this one or something like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01174H37K/

Mine is by no means a high quality cutter (it's a little off true), but with a little caution it works fast and easy. Just make sure you get one that's fairly large (the little ones intended for cutting four or five sheets at a time will not work. Any A4 or larger guillotine cutter should work with a little fiddling.

Based on the middling reviews on mine, you might be better off with this one: https://www.amazon.com/HFS-Heavy-Guillotine-Paper-Cutter/dp/B00NO7PYYI/

Ideally, something like this is fantastic. It has a rotary blade which cuts more like scissors than slicing the paper. It's smoother and straighter, and you can buy other blades to use with the same system that can cut different edges, like a wave.

A cheaper version is something like this. I own this tool, but plan to upgrade to a rotary style soon. This tool may not always cut exactly straight, but I personally think it is better than the chopping style.

Also, with sliding/rotary type tools, you're less likely to lose any bits of your fingers than you would be with a chopping style cutter.

Yes! Our entire cost for the photo booth was around $200 -

$80 for a canon selphy photo printer (ebay)

$50 for the simple booth app

$10 for an iPad tripod

$10 for a photo cutter

$20 for extra printer paper (we had about 80 guests and still have some left over)

$25 for photo booth ['accessories']
(https://www.amazon.com/Graduation-Birthdays-Accessories-Christmas-GreenLF/dp/B074DZT2JM/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519329542&sr=1-8&keywords=photo+booth+props)

We already had the box lights but you can find a set of two for around ~$50.

You can do it cheaper if you don't want to print photos... I really wanted to have doubles of every strip for our guestbook. We had guests tape their 'extra' strip into a paper scrapbook and write little notes. It's one of my favorite mementos.


You can also set up the app to email/text photos guests, in addition to sending copies to a dropbox or a tumblr and then you could share the link with guests.

It was really simple and so much cheaper than any professional service I researched.

The two most common devices for automatic cutting on the consumer market are the cricut and Silhoutte Cameo. It's fairly straight forward to just cut squares out of the box, but it might not save you any time over a paper guillotine.

Also, I'd recommend just getting spray glue and making a mask for the gluing part. Spray glue is the best.

Do not huff the spray glue.

The sidebar has some great info on tools and what to do. Get an exacto knife and plenty of blades, get a self healing cutting mat, get some cardstock to print onto for a sturdy model, get some Aleenes tacky glue. Print the model onto the cardstock and then carefully and slowly cut it out. Fold the tabs, glue with the tacky glue (only takes 30 seconds to a minute to attach firmly) and continue! Take your time and cut as accurately as possible in order to get the best result..

I'm in the UK but I've got one similar to http://www.amazon.com/Amzdeal-Guillotine-Capacity-Commercial-Photocopy/dp/B00BQGK1FQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=A3%20Guillotine&qid=1464348535&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4
I've used it to cut 3mm millboard with some success (it cuts cross grain beautifully but along the grain needs some packing underneath and careful clamping)

I had to adjust the clamp on mine after arrival as it was causing the stack of paper to shift when cutting and end up being undercut, it's a 5 min fix though.

I went to staples and bought a slide cutter.

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https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-SureCut-Portable-Paper-Trimmer/dp/B000OMYB18/ref=pd_sbs_229_2/132-5103649-4317965?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000OMYB18&pd_rd_r=ea2eea45-752a-11e9-a70e-fdfd69152f1b&pd_rd_w=XauCU&pd_rd_wg=I3OCF&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=HSFEGFBQ1A4B4N10CQ5B&psc=1&refRID=HSFEGFBQ1A4B4N10CQ5B

One of these, and it was really easy to cut in straight lines with.

I mean like an office paper cutter

https://www.amazon.com/Dahle-Automatic-Adjustable-Gridlines-Guillotine/dp/B07CL9C6CR

Like this, but with a lot more protection around the blade top keep it from cutting anything more than a fingertip.

Does it have to be electronic? Because that seems like overkill. I'd just pickup something like https://www.amazon.com/Westcott-ACM15106-Guillotine-Anti-Microbial-Protection/dp/B0058TW286 and be done. Or just order paper that's already cut in half.

Here's all the files you'll need.

For the paper, I just use standard 8.5x14" Legal paper. My printer has a duplexer, but it won't duplex legal, so I had to do a manual duplex (flipping the paper over by hand and printing everything again). The cover is 65lb Bristol Board and was manually duplexed as well.

My books have 10 pages in them, which is made by two sides of 5 sheets of paper. The pages print 2-up per page and they are cut down the middle long-ways, that way when you fold them in half, the score sheet appears on the front page and the notes page ends up on the back of the score sheet. 5 sheets of paper make two books. I have a paper cutter that can cut the full length of the legal sheet, but if you don't, you can simply use a straight edge and a razor blade, or if you have a regular paper cutter, you can just fold the pages in half on the short edge, then cut them in half on the long edge.

Once everything is stapled, I round the corners using a corner cutter. Here's a cheaper corner cutter, but it can't handle the whole book at once. I have both of those corner cutters, and the cheaper one comes in very handy for other projects I do.

In that link is both Trap and Skeet books. I have a doubles sheet, but I need to finish the cover. Once I get done with it, it'll be in that link as well.

Yes. You can even borrow office supplies if you have a waist high table.

I usually laminate and then cut - especially for things like tickets. I use a paper cutter like this https://www.amazon.com/JIELISI-Paper-Trimmer-Portable-Scrapbooking/dp/B00LX3QKN4/ref=sr_1_5?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1502450207&sr=1-5&keywords=sliding+paper+cutter . It makes cutting faster and more precise.

It would be if it would accept a 24" wide sheet. Until then, this is the old standby.

I'm not willing to spend three times the game price for an add-on like this. But if I was this is what I'd get.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001QYE6W2

Would maybe one of those large paper cutters work? Like this but wooden one

https://www.amazon.com/Westcott-ACM15106-Guillotine-Anti-Microbial-Protection/dp/B0058TW286/ref=mp_s_a_1_3/146-1323878-0991514?ie=UTF8&qid=1541203931&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=art+paper+cutter&dpPl=1&dpID=41acuiLT%2BYL&ref=plSrch

EasyCut Replacement Blades, Standard, 81pc, 09703 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NXVV4DH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rCNWCbPHQ37NF

Link to blades on amazon!

Does anyone know if #11 blades will fit in the Tamiya Design Knife (74020)?

I lost my replacement blades for the Tamiya, so was wondering if these will work

Ten bucks:
https://www.amazon.com/ELMERS-X-Acto-Retract--Blade-Blue-X3204/dp/B007XZTC90

Tipo questa? ^^mobbasta ^^però

Here is the mobile version of your link

THEY ONLY HAVE TINY ONES

Guillotine model kit

Another guillotine model kit

Yet another guillotine model, not a kit

Time to get a paper slicer.

http://www.amazon.ca/X-Acto-X611-Blades-Knives-Bulk/dp/B00006ICJV
these are what i use (blue) i ordered them from S&T office products, havnt seen them anywhere else really i ordered a 100 pack probably a year ago and still have 60 or so id say they last 5x longer then the normal colored ones

the black blades i havnt seen in xacto form, only in the flat razors ...opp did a search http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/20549/cutting-tools/art-knives-and-blades/x-acto-no-11-carbon-steel-blade-blister-carded-pack-of-5/ CARBON STEEL :OOOOO

Here ya go fam.

I use this paper cutter. I can generally get about 5 index cards at a time, so that's reducing your number of cuts by 80%. Plus, it has a guide so you get the same measure each time.

As far as cutting down to size, the software should appropriately position and size the photo (head to chin distance, etc.) with your assistance. It'll be a tool like this on the kiosk. The issue is that it will print on a 4x6 and then you have to cut the frame of the photo out to the 50 mm wide X 70 mm high.

If they can print the photo you could always cut them out yourself using a tool like this to get a consistent straight edge.

Of course, if you use the online tool, you can print 10 copies with four photos each for $6 (10 prints at 60 cents per 4 x 6"). The way the tool works is that it prints the four photos all right next to each other with a lip at the bottom. Only three cuts would be required (between top and bottom photos, between left and right photos, white lip at the bottom).

Why print ten copies? To save you time/gas going back to CVS if you make a mistake cutting some of them.

Once cut, you'd just need to label the back with the passport info and Citizenship photo requirements.

However, the requirements technically state that the photos must be taken by a commercial photographer and not just printed. So I would try to get the photo taken by the CVS worker and then printed at the kiosk. It's their responsibility to cut it correctly and guarantee the photos (that's why 2 photos cost $15, they refund or re-take the photos if they're rejected), and the software that CVS licenses provides an option to size/validate the photos according to the requirements.

And then self-size/print on 4x6 at CVS/label yourself as a last resort.

Yes it does dull over time. It is rather significant. However, even with a slightly dulled blade, it cuts the flash off just fine. The parts you want to remove are almost always weaker/thinner than the actual detail on the miniature, so you can casually remove the excess with ease.

Plus, much of the 'cutting' power of the knife doesn't rely on it being super-sharp, it requires a simple blade and pressure. I find I cut myself much less often when using slaightly dulled blades.

Sharpening isn't necessary. Replacement blades are really cheap, and you don't have to get X-Acto brand blades.

http://www.amazon.com/X-Acto-X611-Blades-Knives-Bulk/dp/B00006ICJV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1367812873&sr=8-3&keywords=xacto+blades

http://www.amazon.com/Techni-Edge-11-Hobby-Blades/dp/B0006GBSXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367812873&sr=8-1&keywords=xacto+blades

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-96017197-Craft-Knife-Blades/dp/B0033PORF8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367813009&sr=8-1&keywords=craft+knife+blades

I'm also into Gundam models and I went through the same thing a while back.. I probably tried a dozen types of side cutters until I found ones that work. The problem is many of the jewelers cutters don't have a straight edge, since they are designed to cut metal. So even if the edge of the blade is flush with the piece you cut, you still get end up with some plastic attached.

These are by FAR the best ones I've found: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002SZVE8M/

The blades are very sharp, and they're small enough to get into tight spaces. I would suggest you order a couple pairs. These even blow away the Tamiya cutters you posted (I bought those too and they sit in a drawer unused).

Note that regardless of how close you get the cut, you will still need to cut / file away the extra plastic bit on the piece. I use an x-acto knife with the following blades: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00006ICJV

Then use a series of finer files to get the piece smooth.