THE GOOD:
This really is your best bang for you buck when shopping high quantity paper cutters. We purchased the 17" cutter for the office about 4 months ago so we could chop large quantities of flyers as well as to trim book bindings, etc. We also use it to crop the white print border on both flyers and 11" x 17" posters. Some reviews mentioned there weren't good directions but I didn't find this hard to figure out at all. In fact it was quite easy. We've paid for this cutter several times over in labor and ease of use. I've cut as many sheets as will fit under the gate clamp and it cuts through with perfect accuracy like butter (over a ream of paper). The cutting block is easy to rotate as needed and seems like it creates a good surface to cut against. This product is built very solid and seems like it's great quality. It's also quite large and takes up a significant amount of counter space.
When using this machine you should first measure or know the desired output size, then set the slider to that length. You then lower the gate to hold the paper in place before you cut. If you are just trying to line up paper visually you'd have a tough time with this product. Just measure first and it'll work perfectly. The lever is quite large providing a large amount of torque and comes off for easy storage and safety.
THE NOT SO GOOD:
I really can't say much negative about this product other than how easy it is to damage the safety pin and the blade if you are not careful. Because this was for an office, some coworkers didn't realize that you must press and hold the safety button when pulling the lever down. This ended up bending and damaging the safety pin welded to the lever arm. I was able to bend back the pin, and after a couple more failed attempts to press the button down, the pin finally sheered all the way off. Although it's nice not to have to worry about the button, it is significantly more dangerous not to have the safety pin anymore.
The other problem we've had is with the blade itself. Another coworker was using the device while trying to cut the metal spiral binding off a book and wasn't careful in lining up for the cut. He realized afterwords that the metal binding was in the way, causing nicks all the way down half the blade thus making it almost impossible to use for future jobs. I wasn't able to find anyone local sho could evenly sharpen a blade that large so I took it to our shop to try. They did a good job at getting it back to 90% but the middle of the blade no longer cuts the last 2-3 sheets (which is a pain for smaller jobs). A new blade from Hardware Factory store costs about 30 bucks so it's not the end of the world.
OVERVIEW:
This is worth every penny! Just make sure those using it are familiar with how it should be used and I expect it'll last a long time.
*****UPDATE 12/4/2017*****
It's been about 7 or 8 months now since we bought this product and sadly it's loosing a star (4 to 3 stars). Our usage of this product is fairly light but the other day I had a problem with the lift gate handle seizing. After following a tutorial video on their website on how to loosen seized bolts on the handle I realized it was actually a problem with the nut welded to the gate, cross threaded on the crank bolt. This wouldn't seem possible since the nut can't be removed from the bolt but somehow it happened to me. I cleaned all the grease and metal shavings using WD-40. I then worked crank handle back and forth up and down the bolt using a hammer to tap the nut. Just when I was about to cut my loses the nut worked it's way back into the threads correctly. The damaged bolt threads don't seem to be a problem and the crank moves freely again. Since this seems like it would be a warranty issue I'm going to contact HFS customer service. Because this seems more like a product flaw than anything else I've edited my review.
My caution to those who purchase this would be to periodically clean any gunk/metal shavings that get built up in the grease on the crank bolt as well to be cautious of over tightening the lift gate.
| Manufacturer | HFS |
|---|---|
| Brand | HFS |
| Item Weight | 44 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 30 x 21 x 12 inches |
| Item model number | 16167 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Size | A3-17'' paper cutter |
| Sheet Size | A3 |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 16167 |
