Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Headline: The Stamping Scientist Involved in Industrial Accident...

Eh, it sounds worse than it is... I managed to burn the begeezus out of my finger while using my hot knife (guess I won't be reviewing THAT product any time soon, lol!)



Anyway, here's a product review that I had 'in the can' as they say...



Product Review: Cutterbee Curvy Cutter (Circle) by E.K. Success


I have a drawer full of circle cutters. I’ve tried them all, and I always wind up moving to a new one because they’re either too hard to use, too hard to read, or just plain don’t cut well. Until I bought the Cutterbee Curvy Cutter, by E.K. Success. This cutter is a snap to use, glides along its track easily, and cuts a perfect circle (nearly) every time.



This cutter consists of two different size guides with three tracks each. The cutter handle itself contains a beefy-looking blade (extras store right on-board), and a set of ball-bearing rollers which fit into each of the tracks on the guides. The ball-bearings are key, because they make cutting smooth sailing, not like the push, grab and slip you may have encountered with other cutters (raises hand).

Another feature of the cutter handle is the part you hold onto actually rotates as you’re cutting – no more bent up wrists and carpal tunnel flare-ups! I could push this thing along with one finger if I wanted to.


There are two circle templates that allow you to line up where you want your circle to be cut, and tell you which track and which blade setting to use. They’re marked in ¼” increments from 2 ¼” up through 7”. I have found, though, if you need a bigger circle than that, you can put the cutter handle onto the tracks facing outward, and you can cut circles from 12 ½” to 15” (again in ¼” increments), which would be very handy for large signs or poster board.

Cutterbee suggests using (their) glass cutting mat. I use the backside of a 16” x 20” glass cutting board that I got at a large discount chain store for less than half the price. Works like a charm.


I bought the Curvy Cutter at A.C. Moore using a 40% off coupon, so I paid about $12 (it retails for around $20). Depending on the packaging, you may need to buy the cutter handle separately; mine came with the oval set (which I also love). According to the A.C. Moore website, there’s an add-on set that cuts waves, more circles, and more ovals. I’ll be heading over there tomorrow!

Pros: Accurate, easy to use, glides, cuts well. Extra blades store in the handle.

Cons: Storage – the guides are large. I actually keep mine in its original packaging so that the guides and templates stay together. Also, I tend to stand up to use it, so I can hold down the guides pretty heavily, to make sure it won’t slide. It’s still way better than anything else I’ve used.

2 comments:

Jackie said...

Thanks for that review - I keep looking at that thing every time I go to AC Moore. I also wanted you to know that you have been awarded the Excellent Blog award! I love your reviews and your sense of humor :-)
See my blog for more details.

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