| Micro
Sprue Cutting Plier
Item #: 88288 Micro-Mark
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| SPRUE CUTTER | ||||
| I've been a fan of sprue cutters ever since I grew tired
of using an X-Acto blade to accidently slice-through kit components while
removing them from sprues, or using nail clippers that did more crushing
than cutting. I've used Xuron's orange-handled cutters for years, and while
they work wonderfully for cutting through most styrene and resin casting
gates, for small scale kits they can be a bit bulky and difficult to maneuver
into tight locations.
I've read a lot about various cutters available in Japan that need to
be ordered via eBay, or only through stores like Hobby Link Japan. I've
never used them, but as they're referred to as "god cutters" on the Internet,
I assume they must be good. This new cutter was designed and produced specifically
for Micro-Mark, to give us on this side of the Pacific a high-end cutting
tool.
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| While ostensibly the same size as the Xuron cutter, the
Micro-Mark offering feels much finer. It doesn't feel cheap at all, but
with thinner handles and a narrower head, overall it feels less bulky in
your hand. The spring-loaded mechanism works well and feels solid. One
side of the jaw assembly has an allen head screw that I assume is for limiting
the movement of the cutting head, but I honestly can't think of why anyone
would want to do that and keep their sprue cutter from, you know, cutting.
Maybe there's another purpose for it that I'll identify some day.
Are these any good and worth the extra money? In a word: Yes. Below
are two photos of cuts made by this tool, one through a regular runner,
and one of a small piece of delicate injection molded detail. The cuts
are as clean and easy as if done with razor blades. There's no pinching
at all. The small styrene part was removed with no stress on the rest of
the piece, (the part is a drop tank anti-sway brace from an aircraft model
kit, one of two, the twin of the brace shown snapped in half when I tried
to cut it from the sprue with a scalpel blade).
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| CONCLUSIONS | ||||
| I'm very impressed with these cutters. Super-sharp, smooth
cuts, and a cutting head that's small enough to get into tight spaces,
but large enough to cut through standard sized sprues. Longevity will be
told with time, of course, but as of now, after several weeks of use, they're
still as sharp and solid as when I got them. They do cost between $5 and
$10 more than a Xuron cutter, but to me the cost is worth it. And honestly,
I'll use both cutters on projects, using the Xuron for larger cuts, and
the Micro-Mark where extra finesse is required.
This tool was purchased by me for my own personal use.. |
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