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Precision Sharp Cutters. And Cheap too.
Precision Sharp Cutters are an indispensable tool on every modeler’s bench. A craftsman is as good as his tools they say. Well, having to cut 3 to 5 attachment points on most of the plastic parts on a modern scale model might be an issue. Especially, when you have a kit that can be 3-400 parts, with sometimes intricate and interior fitted armor models going up to 900+ parts per set. If you don’t have the right tool to cut close, clean and sharp, you are doomed.
It is fixable of course. Cleaning after a mediocre cutter using an X-acto knife can be done, but not without some significant time spent and potentially – some minor wounds involving blood and bearable, but unpleasant pain. Coming to the rescue are the best precision sharp cutters. Which are…expensive. Ultimately, in life everything comes at a cost. The more you pay, the more you get they say. Well, not in this case. At least not from the first look and quick testing that we did.
Not so long ago a fellow YouTube modeler posted a video on his channel, featuring Carbon Steel Precision Sharp Cutters for $8. That is right, you are not wrong. Eight dollars, US. This guy, an experienced and prolific modeler, shared a video of a tool we decided to get and test. Not that we don’ trust him, just the contrary. But we decided that it is worth the effort to give it a go and give our own perspective. Also, adding a new piece of hardware for such a low price is always a good thing to do.
After a 4 week wait /pretty normal/, we got our pair. Straight from China mainland. And we tried to put it through the worst possible scenario – working with hardest, softest and most fragile plastic sprues that we had at hand. We even cut some resin, which is usually done by different set of tools. After showing flawless results, we decided to test a second pair, which did the same superb job too. And then, just to be sure, we ordered an alternative cutter, apparently from a different seller, but seemingly – from the same manufacturing facility. Once again – great outcome. If you wonder why we did that, well, with Chinese goods you never know. You might have bad luck and get worst one from the batch, or be fooled, getting the only one that works. So we had to explore that option as well.
For the longevity of the items we could not speak without speculating, but for the quality of the cuts, we can. And we must! Because for $8 per piece /depending on where you live actually/, the cutters we got are a bargain. If you remember, we posted an article describing different options a while ago. Those were all good cutters. They still are. No doubt they are made from the finest quality materials and are a helping and important tool for work.
Not for eight dollars though. This is ridiculously low price per precision cutters pair. Especially such a sharp and pleasant one to work with. We know a good deal when we see one. And being such a great bargain, we think that a modeler’s bench should have at least on on it.
However, a modeler cannot go with only one cutter. One can start with a pair, but with time, necessity brings surprises, quite often unexpected. Anyway, every experienced modeler is desperately trying to explain to his wife the importance of having so many repetitive tools, because, they all have different cutting angles, different roughness, sharpness, etc. One simply does not use God Hand to cut the thick sprue in half because its big, right? And the latter one, as well as, for example MENG cutters cost $70 or more. Quite pricey for a butcher’s job.
Well, take a look at the video that our fellow modeler made and judge for yourself. We did the testing and it appears that he discovered something very neat. You can find it on Amazon US, for slightly higher price. Or you can go to Aliexpress and give it a go there. It is also available on various other sources and in different handle colors. But the core of the tool is the same. And it is very, very nicely crafted one. The important thing is that this cutter is available in US, UK, EU and as far as we know in many parts of Asia. Even more important – the prices all over are quite decent.
Nowadays it is a rare find to get something cheap, but in the same time reliable and without any hidden disappointments. This Carbon Steel Precision Cutter seems like such a find. Sincere thanx to MM Scale Models channel for sharing it with us. We tried it and in person seems even better than on the screen. Now, we have three and we are more than happy. We use them mostly to dissect the models for mask measurements, but they would do any other job too.
We highly recommend it! For the best price, we would advise to check Aliexpress and for the most secure way – Amazon.
