Cutters

[trapper]

Hello, I'm just wondering what you think is the best sprue cutter is. There's so many out there it's hard to decide which one is the best.  Any help would be appreciated. 

[NOBLNG]

I just use these cheapies. It’s my second pair since I wrecked the first ones by cutting wire.? I have often thought of buying a better pair but can’t bring myself to spend the coin. I just cut as close to the part as possible and trim any remainder with a hobby knife.

[Pete J.]

Personally, over the years, I have developed a hate for cheap tools.  I have been let down by them far too many times.  First time was the cheap cast aluminum screwdriver and wrench that came with my Yamaha in the 60's.  Stranded on the side of the road(pre cell phone days ?) with bent tools and unable to fix a simple problem.  In my thirties I decided that enough is enough.  Spend the money and get the good ones.   Which is cheaper? A good tool that lasts you a lifetime or a cheap one you keep buying over and over each time it lets you down!  Not to mention the frustration of dealing with the results of a poor quality tool.  Yea, I buy the good stuff. At 71 I am to frugal to buy the cheap stuff.   Also, with the internet, you can almost alway find the good tools at discounted prices. 

One story of buying the good ones and I will step off the soapbox.  Some time ago, when I was venturing into miniature machining for this hobby, an old guy told me to buy Starrett measuring tools.  My response was, "They are too darned expensive"  He then told me about a way to save money.  Starrett has a tool refurbishment program, to repair and restore old tools to new certification standards.  I found I could buy broken Starrett tools on eBay really cheaply and send them off to Massachusetts, and they would send me back a like new tool for about a third of the cost of a new one.  You can still have the best tools, but the internet means that you don't have to pay full price for them anymore!

Oh and to answer your question, Tamiya.  https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/tools/side-cutter-for-plastic/mk801/

Edited April 15, 2021 by Pete J.

[Tom Geiger]

I bought a $10 pair and soon enough did the same thing.. cut wire or something else hard and destroyed their effectiveness for photo etch.  So I surrendered that pair to general workbench use and bought a new dedicated pair for photo etch.. I keep that pair in my photo etch parts box!

[NOBLNG]

35 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

I bought a $10 pair and soon enough did the same thing.. cut wire or something else hard and destroyed their effectiveness for photo etch.  So I surrendered that pair to general workbench use and bought a new dedicated pair for photo etch.. I keep that pair in my photo etch parts box!

I don’t think any sprue cutter is going to stand up to any sort of steel wire. Soft aluminum, copper and brass maybe.

That’s probably the best idea is to buy a chap set for hacking and a better set for precision work.?

Edited April 15, 2021 by NOBLNG

[TonyK]

Several years ago I bought a Tamiya brand sprue cutter and only use them for that purpose. Best thing I've bought in a long time.

[peteski]

I'm surprised that nobody yet mentioned the tweezers-style sprue cutter.  I have couple pairs and they give you much cleaner flush cut (and closer to the part) than any of the other plier-style cutters.

 

I own both kinds and for most small parts attached to the runner with small gates the tweezers-type cutter works really well. For the larger parts where the gates are thicker, I use the plier-style cutter.

[64Comet404]

21 hours ago, peteski said:

I'm surprised that nobody yet mentioned the tweezers-style sprue cutter.  I have couple pairs and they give you much cleaner flush cut (and closer to the part) than any of the other plier-style cutters.

 

I own both kinds and for most small parts attached to the runner with small gates the tweezers-type cutter works really well. For the larger parts where the gates are thicker, I use the plier-style cutter.

Between the tweezers-style and the Tamiya side cutters, all my needs are covered. I have a pair of Tamiya cutters I bought 25 years ago (for $40!) and they still work great. I recently bought another pair, and they still cost $40! One of the few things which hasn't been affected by inflation.

 

[martinfan5]

Godhand cutters, best cutters in the universe.

IMO Of course.

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by martinfan5

[935k3]

Here is a great video of testing 20 cutters    Nipper Test

[slusher]

On 4/15/2021 at 4:49 PM, Tom Geiger said:

I bought a $10 pair and soon enough did the same thing.. cut wire or something else hard and destroyed their effectiveness for photo etch.  So I surrendered that pair to general workbench use and bought a new dedicated pair for photo etch.. I keep that pair in my photo etch parts box!

Tom, I use finger nail clippers on photo etch parts but I don’t use a lot of photo etch..

[PappyD340]

I got a $25 pair of Valtcan sprue cutters for Christmas they're very sharp cut extremely close, also got a pair of Xuron photo etch shears and they are awesome, I love them both. I just use a cheap pair of wire cutters from Harbor Freight for wire cutting.

[trapper]

Thank's for all the advice. I really appreciate it. 

[John1955]

A few years ago, I saw a cheap wire cutter at Dollar Tree, only a dollar so I bought one. To my surprise, it cuts sprue as good as or better than high priced sprue cutters do. I'm still using it years later, the best dollar I ever spent. Made in Taiwan it says, it slices the part cleanly from the parts tree leaving almost nothing left to trim from the plastic part. 

[youpey]

i have these. they are good

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JYPFRQ8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[BubbaBrown]

I have a few but the one I use all the time now is Tamiya, in fact any pro tool from Tamiya is well worth it.

[Sandboarder]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:09 AM, martinfan5 said:

Godhand cutters, best cutters in the universe.

IMO Of course.

 

Agreed!! 
 

I have 2 sets of God Hand nipper and their absolutely amazing. My blue 120s are the sharpest best cutting nippers I’ve used. I have some red 120s for rough cutting and other cutting duty’s. 

 

These are worth the money!! 

[Zippi]

I bought this pair of cutters at Hobby Lobby and they were just labeled as "Sprue Cutter".  About $6 when they are on sale.  They work great.    

[martinfan5]

10 hours ago, Sandboarder said:

Agreed!! 
 

I have 2 sets of God Hand nipper and their absolutely amazing. My blue 120s are the sharpest best cutting nippers I’ve used. I have some red 120s for rough cutting and other cutting duty’s. 

 

These are worth the money!! 

Yes!, I want to get the red handle ones for the rougher stuff .