Customer Reviews

Fiskars 12-99087097J, Portable Rotary Paper Trimmer, 28mm, 12-Inch

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When it comes to being crafty, there's absolutely nothing I won't try. I'm constantly making my own labels for store-bought goods, recycling cards into new cards, cutting out photos, magazine ads -- you name it! I cut lots of paper, thin plastic, Vellum, photo paper, card stock, etc. and I try to do much more with it than many crafting tools are intended.

I have half a dozen paper cutters and trimmers. All of them are Fiskars because they're well-made, stylish and last a long time. Before I got this trimmer I used my X-Acto knife more than anything else -- I just found that it yielded the crispest, most reliable results for thin, precise cuts. But now, this portable rotary trimmer has replaced my X-Acto knife for virtually all of my previous tasks. It's far better than any of my other "sliding" trimmers. Here's why:

- It really is portable! It's lightweight because it's virtually all plastic. The 12" horizontal arm folds underneath the unit so it's only about 5" x 12" yet it still cuts a 12" x 12" sheet of paper with perfect 90 degree corners.

- It has a wide, clear plastic "press" that keeps your paper from moving around, even on narrow sheets or the smallest trim. The wide plastic also gives you a place to press firmly onto the paper without oils or dirt from your fingertips getting onto your paper. The rotary cutting blade is on a separate arm that comes down over the top of the paper press. So, not only will your paper stay where you want it, you can see exactly where you're cutting without having to stand on your head. Both arms are ratcheted so they stay upright while you're positioning your paper. None of my other trimmers have that feature, and boy is it nice!

- The rotary blade slides on an aluminum rail. It doesn't skip or "stick" like some cutters do. It's one smooth motion. It also cuts cleanly in a single swipe, which I'm sure adds to the life of the blade and the cutting mat below it.

- Last night I wanted to put a finished edge on something so I decided 1/2" double-faced tape covered 1/2" strips of paper would do the trick. For this to work, I needed a precise cut. If it was preceise, either the tape would be exposed or my paper edging would not lay flat. I started with a 1" x 12" strip of paper (I recycle everything!) I successfully cut that into 2, 1/2" x 12" strips that fit exactly on my tape! None of my other trimmers can do that and give me two 100% equal-sized pieces. And believe me, I'd never try that with an X-Acto knife! I value my fingertips... I performed the real test of a straight cut: I folded my 1/2" strips end-to-end to see if one end was wider. All 4 ends were exactly the same size!

- I don't very often cut paper any heavier than cardstock or photo paper, and I rarely cut multiple sheets. So I did a test for the purposes of this review. I stacked 4 strips of 1"x12" paper and cut them into 1/2" strips -- same great results. I stacked those 8 strips and cut them in half, too! I can't report I was able to divide the 1/2" width into perfect 1/4" and 1/4" strips but I can report I got 8 100% parallel strips of paper! All of them cut clean and parallel with a single pass of the blade.

- The rotary cutting blade gives a clean cut with no burrs or folded edges. They last a lot longer because there's so much more surface area than a razor-blade based trimmer. I have other sliding trimmers with just the tip of a razor blade exposed and they can shred or leave ugly cuts, especially as the blade starts to wear out. Even my X-Acto knife had that shortcoming. The only thing worse than constantly buying replacement blades is ruining expensive photographic or specialty paper!

- I have only one wish for this trimmer: that the rubber feet on the bottom would keep it in place. It's just too light for rubber feet to work -- suction cups would be better! Luckily, the wide plastic press allows me to put enough pressure to keep the unit from moving around.

- And I have just one concern. I haven't been able to locate replacement rotary blades for this. The back of the trimmer says "Blade Style F" which I cannot find anywhere. The blade is about the size of a half-dollar.

So buy this with confidence but be sure to buy your replacement blades at the same time or you'll be tempted to just buy a whole new trimmer when it comes time for a new blade!

It does take some practice to figure this cutter out but once you know where to line up where you want it to cut it works fantastic. I practiced on some scraps until I figured out that the plastic flip down "paper holder" actually makes the perfect place to line up. If I line up where I want to cut with the edge of the cutout closest to the blade, I get a perfect cut everytime. I have tried a few of the specialty blades and like those also. I really like how the blade locks into the unit so that it cannot move around. I had a couple of the other basic Fiskars cutters and they bent over time thus making the cuts no longer straight. I received this cutter as a gift and you can get it at your local craft store cheaper if you use their coupons.

I have seen and tried many paper cutters out there, but this one is by far the best in my opinion. It is sturdy, yet light to carry, and it has little orange rubber knobs on the corners so it doesn't move when you cut, and it won't scratch your table. The blade itself is sharp, and it cuts the paper easily and perfectly straight. It has an extendable arm at the top that lets you fit a larger sized piece of paper also. I just love this paper trimmer!

Have you ever bought anything from Fiskars that isn't good? This trimmer is very handy for projects that can handle full sheets of paper. I have the smaller trimmer from Fiskars, but when I needed to cut a full sheet of paper, I could not cut it vertically, as the paper did not fit into the trimmer. Now that is not a problem. Very good product from Fiskars, as always.

This Craft Trimmer is just what the Doctor Ordered. Its construction, fit, and mechanical percision is as good as you would see in an office grade product at a much better price point. If you need a cutter/trimmer for crafting or general use i would not hesitate to recommend this one. I use it in my small business and it performs flawlessly.

I was hesitant about purchasing this item, since I really felt I should go for one of the heavier guillotine models that cost twice as much. I got it anyway, seeing that I could get it 40% off at our local craft store who's name happens to be common to many men/boys in our day.

I've probably made close to 500 cuts with this device now, and it's great. The big feature I like with it is the "smudge guard" that you can drop down and HOLD your paper before the blade cuts, It's large and wide, and does a great job holding your paper exactly where you set it. It's also fairly light, and doesn't take much to store.

Also in my cuts, I did not experience any frustration of bad cuts, or wrong cuts. Whether it's me, or the device, I was glad I didn't damage what I was cutting in the process. (I was trimming sides of laminated cards if you're wondering). I've had experience with the guillotine models, and I remember some issues with those, mostly with the paper moving as I was cutting. Again, that guard that holds the paper in place is great!.

I also tried cutting out some printed coupons of common paper. I don't see any reason why you couldn't get 10 sheets of paper in here at once. I don't think I'd go for much more though.

In all, I'm really glad I picked this up, it'll certainly come in handy for years to come, and all the parts are replaceable, though I've yet to do this yet.

What a great product! I have several "knife" cutting boards but this one is so much easier to use. It's accurate as can be and easy to use for professional cutting results. I notice that the cutter is making a grove in the bottom piece but it's removable so maybe my concern is premature. This is a lifesaver for any accurate cutting job you might have.

The measurements on this cutter do not match my staedtler ruler, which caused me to ruin several pieces of expensive specialty paper. It is also missing the measurements in between 3 and 4 inches before the arm that pulls out, making it impossible to measure (well, precisely measure) 3.5 inches. Paper also fans when cutting, even if you're firmly holding it in place.

I got this paper trimmer to replace an older, non-rotary style Fiskars blade trimmer. It finally stopped cutting properly after many years because the plastic track that the little blade ran through was damaged, thus damaging and fraying the paper during cutting. I chose the rotary style cutter to avoid repeating that problem. I would not consider this very portable, though, compared to the old "triple track" type trimmer that I had.

This trimmer is nice for scrapbooking because it accommodates larger paper sizes and the consumable parts (blade and cutting track piece) are replaceable. It seems pretty solid for what I paid for it ($20 with a 50% off coupon at a craft store), but I would not pay full price for it ($39.99). My criticisms of it are that:

1. The ruler along the top is difficult to use for measurements between 4.75 and 5.5 inches because of the way the extending arm is designed. That's lame, and pretty inexcusable for a product designed for card-making and scrapbooking. I work around the problem by measuring and marking with a separate ruler, which is an annoying waste of time.
2. It is a little difficult to see where your blade will cut if you want to eyeball a cut.
3. I am a little hesitant to replace the blade because it is a slightly risky operation.
4. I don't get why the blade track and the plastic guard (a feature that I really like!) are separate. To slide the paper underneath both, I have to remember to lift by the plastic guard, not the blade.

Ideally I would have had a bigger budget to get a more solidly constructed trimmer, but this does the job for a budget-minded person looking for something to cut down larger paper into smaller pieces. So far the cuts have been clean and straight, and this is a definite improvement over the "triple track" style of trimmer.

It does what I need it to do. The cuts aren't always PERFECTLY straight, but they are close enough. If I could go back in time I would get a guillotine style trimmer.