I bought this at a local art supply store. It produces very nice results but is physically taxing to use. My thumb is still numb as I'm writing this review. The blade of this cutter swings down when you push the indent in the black plastic with your thumb. There is no way to lock the blade down and there is a hidden spring inside always trying to push it back up. At first I used a reasonable amount of pressure and, even though I didn't feel the blade swinging up, apparently the blade kept swinging up just enough to not cut through sections of the mat board. So I have to really jam down hard with my thumb to make sure it doesn't miss any sections, and thus I ended up with a numb thumb after only a couple of mats. I'm cutting 1.25mm thick matboard that's like thick cardstock.
The other option is to adjust the blade depth so you're cutting deeper into the sacrificial mat below the one you actually want to cut. That way if the blade pushes up a bit it might not matter. But then you're cutting through more material and the tool becomes harder to push. Either way, you're exerting a lot of pressure and it's taxing on fingers and wrists.
So I went to the hardware store and found some #3 machine screws that fit the two pre-drilled holes to either side of the cutting blade. I added small washers and wrapped some thick fishing line I had laying around once under the washer, tightened it down, then ran the line around the black plastic such that pulling it tight pulled the blade down. Screwing the line down on the other side keeps the blade pulled down and the cutter is much easier to use. I still wouldn't say it's like butter as another reviewer said, but it doesn't hurt my thumb.
With the blade locked down it's harder to get the blade in to the matboard at the start of the cut since you can't have your tool pushed against the guide and then swing the blade down. Instead, with the line to be cut horizontal in front of me, I place the tip of the blade on the line to be cut and about 2mm to the right of the end of the line to be cut, then push it into the paper keeping the bottom of the cutter as level with the paper as possible until the bottom of the cutter rests on the paper. After the cutter is in the paper I place a straight edge guide against the lower edge of the cutter, then slide the cutter along the straight edge as normal. Sometimes the corners end up not quite as perfect as when you swing the blade into them, but it's hard to tell the difference.
The other thing I do to make things easier is clamp the straight edge guide to the table using a big padded Irwin clamp like Irwin Industrial Tools 512QCN Next Generation 12-Inch Clamp and Spreader. That way I don't have to push down hard on the guide to keep it from moving. I'm using a piece of wood as a guide it's actually a big paint stirring stick about 1/4" thick. If I had the official Logan guide with rubber bottom maybe I wouldn't need to use the clamp trick, but the wood slides fairly easily. The instructions also suggest gluing sandpaper to the bottom of your guide to keep it from sliding, but I didn't want to do that since I don't cut mats often.
This tool uses special blades that won't fit anything else. They are similar in size and shape to "safety razor" blades except they don't have the lip of metal along one side. However, Logan charges about 3 times as much for their blades ($19.95 for Logan vs $6.95 for 100 safety razor blades).
Overall I would recommend trying to find a similar tool with a blade that swings down and then locks in place without needing to be held down. I also feel like a tool that you pulled instead of pushed might be easier to use. When I used to cut mats by hand and later with a home-made tool, I always pulled the blade and I felt like there was more control that way and maybe less arm strain. Although the instructions that come with this push cutter show you can use it left handed by pulling it, it seems like it would be much harder to keep the blade held down. So if you prefer to cut left-handed, I don't think this cutter would be easy to use unless you lock the blade down.
This product is a must-have for anyone considering making their own mats. I'd advice getting the Logan cutting board too, as the tool is a but difficult to use on its own. However, if you have a good ruler and a steady hand it works great without! Very pleased!
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blade is very sharp and it cuts very clean. have only used this a couple of times but found that it cuts to the corner very well.
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I had to practice a bit first, but once I got the hang of it, no problem to use. The cuts are clean, straight, precise, professional. Worth the investment, since I have saved hundreds by cutting my own mats for photos and artwork. I would suggest the Logan 2000 Push Style cutter to anyone with enough strength to cut something like an onion.
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I just bought this at Aaron Bros. not from Amazon because I needed it today. I was skeptical that it would really work, but it does! Ok I admit that this was my first time ever trying to cut matting, so I had a few hiccups, mostly due to my T-square wasn't as long as my mat cut was. And my stuff kept slipping around. But it still turned out pretty amazing, with a neat bevel. I will definitely be doing more of my own matting. Saves tons of money!! I am going to order the cutting guide and cutting pad for the next round.
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I really Love this set, but wish that the tubes were in 4 oz's, instead of the ml's that this set contains . other than that small thing, the set is first rate. i love how dark and bright the colors are and they are the right smoothness and thickness to make your own creations. so go wild and have fun,make whatever comes to mind literally. kudos to liquitex for making a fine product. like i've said though, just wish the tubes were bigger that's all,because you can run out paint fast after a few paintings.
