Best sprue nippers/cutters?

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, I'm up to about my 3rd set of sprue nippers, having spent 8 to 17 bucks each for various brands, and none have been quite good enough, IMHO. (latest pair is the sharpest ever, but most mis-aligned) They're always mis-aligned by *this* much, thus making a truly flush cut impossible. I have read that the $30 ones from Tamiya are quite good, and am wondering if anyone has them. Or any other recommendations for ones that are very precisely aligned. And narrow would be good too, "bent" ones don't help much, they're still simply too big to fit between the main sprue "stalk" and the part many times.

Also would like recommendations on the newer bent-tweezer-style nippers, and if they are sharp and precise enough to make them superior to a "careful X-acto".

::edit:: Title got cutoff somehow, should read "Willing to spend $$$$$ if they're good"

Edited April 20, 2004 by David Hingtgen

[wm cheng]

Would you believe I used sissors up until 2 years ago!! I've got myself a pair of cheapies, which are fine. But I never cut that close to the actual object to care about how straight or sharp the blades are. I always cut as far away from the piece as I can, then with the piece separated, I carefully use a very sharp X-acto knife from the exterior side (good side) of the piece cut parallel to the surface leaving a bit of plastic behind. Then I sand down the sprue nub - I find that this way, by sanding excess down its easier than filling any nicks or chunks missing.

[Grayson72]

Got me a cheapy pair in the modelling section at longs drugs they work great. I just make sure not to cut too close to the actual piece like Mr. Cheng.

[David Hingtgen]

You know, *once* I did get a truly perfect cut. Happened on my PG Wing Zero.

But anyways---I too (after learning my lesson early on) cut away from the part--but many sprues have only like a 2mmlong "thin connecting section" between the piece, and the heavy main sprue and so you can't get too far away from the piece---and nippers that don't meet well tend to tear the plastic, rather than slice, and it's enough that it sometimes tears into the part itself. (Hard to describe).

And if you go like 5mm away from the part itself, you're always into the main part of the sprue, which is very thick and hard to cut.

Basically--I was just wondering if high priced ones offered any significant improvements. Apparently not.

[Grayson72]

I haven't seen any that prevents what you describe although I know exactly what you mean. If there's a big chunk left it's time with whip out the exacto knife and the files.

[Jinnai]

I've found through my years of snipping/cutting various different kits (and materials), the clippers Games Workshop sells have by far been the best I've ever used.

I've tried different brands, cheapies, sissors, nail cutters, you name it.. and yet for some reason I've still found these clippers to be the best.

They also usually last me over a year or longer before the spring in the middle wears out, they're still fine after that, but then you need to manually pull them apart.

Blade has never gone dull on me either, and I constantly use them to clip resin/plastic/paper clips (for resin pinning).

Not sure as to how much they cost overseas, but I pay $24 AUD each time I buy a new pair (and I'm anal.. as soon as that spring goes, I give them away to one of the kids that frequent my local GW store and buy a new pair).

[Ghadrack]

I hate supporting their evil, monopolistic business but I have to agree that the Games Workshop sprue clippers are the highest quality ones I have used.

[GRAND CANNON]

To be completely honest..........all I use are good ol' nail clippers.

Of course, I am not even in the same league as most, if not all, of the modellers here, but with my Gundam MG kits I have used the method described by Master Cheng -- clip the piece off of the tree, clip at angles to get closer to the piece and minimize stress, and then a flush X-Acto for the rest. And believe it or not, I then then actually go over it with my finger and fingernail which actually blends it in just a little.

Granted most of the modellers reading this are exclaiming "WHAT?" or making faces ( ), but it works for "me and my MGs."

Excuse my now, as I must now get back to the Model threads and gawk in awe!!

[dyowelb]

this might help you ..

http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist.cgi?Mak...&Scale=0&Dis=-2

[kanata67]

radio shack sells a pair of "nippy cutters" that work quite well. I believe they are designed for snipping wire wrap wire but the work real good for spruces as they are designed to cut through copper wire. Mine still work great after a number of years using them for plastic and metal. I think they cost a whopping $5 and radio shack has a 30 day satisfaction "garuntee" as long as the item is in re-sellable shape [so save the package and don't set the nips on fire] so you can always return them if you don't like them.

Also... as radio shack has been selling the same nips for over 7 years now if you actually do manage to mess up a pair you can go buy a new set and the return the old set using the new reciept/packaging... if you don't mind taking advantage of coperate america that is

I can find out the catalog number for you if you want.

[macplus]

I agree with the Radio shack nippers, they're inexpensive and good enough, if you're into nippers and want the best of the best look for a brand called "Zuron" it's available on most good online model shops, however after years of modeling and trying to get the best sprue cutter nothing has work best for me than Lexan scissors, you can find 'em on the RC car section of hobby shops, they're simple looking scissors but extremely rugged and you get very sharp cuts with them, the're made to cut the bodies of RC cars (since they're made of lexan... dooh!)expect to pay from 5 to 8 bucks. Happy hunting!

Edited April 26, 2004 by macplus

[Commander McBride]

If you want the best of the best, as the previous poster said, Xuron makes what you need. Their sprue cutters are just a tiny side business. They specialize in making precision tools for the aircraft industry. So they know what they're doing. Their tools cut flawlessly, never lose their edge, stay perfectly springy, and so on. They're engineered to stand up to professional use, so there's no way a casual or even seriousl modeller could wear them out. Xuron is the Snap-On of modelling tools.

For the style mentioned by WM Cheng and several others, what you want is the Xuron Track Cutter. It's intended for cutting metal model railroad track. However, it's perfect for snapping right through those thick sprues.

Edited April 26, 2004 by Commander McBride