what is best to cut cardstock

[SPARTAN 117 58]

i think sisors is the best way but not sure so please inform me

 

[Ral Partha]

Box cutters or X-Acto blades.

 

[Spartan 051]

scissors work great if you dont have a hard surface

but im with Ral Partha use a X-Acto blade and a straight edge

 

[Vrogy]

Ral, I'm gonna disagree. I have some heavy scissors- I think they're called "Ultimate Shears", made by Farberware- they work great for cutting cardstock. I've tried exactos and razors, too, but with them you can't go from slice to slice easily.

And to the ruler-lovers.. if you can't cut a straight line with a printed guide, wtf?
Also, most people resin and bondo anyways, so those nice, straight lines- they're going to be pointless when you smear them with mud and sand it down.

I'll also say that scoring is the fastest way to fold. Forget aligning your ruler, tracing the lines with a colored pen, etc- cut to the chase and score the cardstock directly. From there, folding is very, very easy.

 

[Adam294]

I use scissors for large pieces and an X-Acto knife for small pieces. I personally don't like eusing an X-Acto knife, makes me a bit nervous.

 

[Liamthedevastator]

I use a craft knife and "self-regenerating cutting board". I'm not sure how it's "self-regenerating" but that's what the lady at the store said! I like it 'cus is makes the folds SO much cleaner, and you can make nicer, more controlled scores for folding. Here's a photo of the board and the two knives (one X-acto, on Helix):

It was only $30 (at one of those overprices stores...) and it has served me well so far.

 

[supertaco]

as for cutting, i'd personally go with a plotter or desktop laser

but i'm a cheater

 

[Sigma LS]

Lasers are best....I use scissors.

 

[Ral Partha]

To Vrogy: I simply find that box cutters, or the heavy-duty type that I use, give me better precision especially for those smaller tabs found in weapon models. And I cut freehand. I use rulers too but it's not something that I have to have. I've used Wusthof kitchen shears but I still prefer box cutters.

 

[daecu]

I use a craft knife and "self-regenerating cutting board". I'm not sure how it's "self-regenerating" but that's what the lady at the store said! I like it 'cus is makes the folds SO much cleaner, and you can make nicer, more controlled scores for folding. Here's a photo of the board and the two knives (one X-acto, on Helix):

It was only $30 (at one of those overprices stores...) and it has served me well so far.

this is like the exact setup I use, x-acto knives are are great to use because its so easy to keep an accurate cut. Hold a rule next to your lines while cutting and you'll get a nice clean cut 100% of the time (too bad I always forget to use the ruler >_< )

Also, in my opinion its much easier to score with an x-acto, scissors are just not meant to do that (from experience <--- >_< ) I love my x-acto and healing mat, can use it anywhere and glue comes off it easily (in case you spill, which sadly i do quite often lol)

 

[rvb18]

god dang u could shank a guy with that x-acto lol.

 

[FinnishSpartan]

LOL i bought that X-ACTO knife set... cost me 8 CHF, (5USD)
U got ripped off (it looks like some things are cheaper in europe!)
-Finish

EDIT: the prices may vary because most of this equipment is made in germany, and i live right across the boarder xD

 

[ShadyMailman]

Should just keep both scissors and a blade on hand and switch to your liking. I used a hobby knife for my first model and scissors for my second. I like how scissors require nothing but hands, but a hobby knife allows for cleaner cuts, while taking more time (but more time usually means a higher quality build anyway). As for scoring, i use this little flathead screw driver, in which the shaft comes out, so it's basically a 4 inch long slim piece of metal handy for my purpose. Does anyone score differently for valley and mountain folds? I didn't at first, but it's so much better when I take the time to make the difference, so much cleaner folding in the end!

 

[Vexona]

As a personal preference, I don't like to use xactos or mat cutters when I'm doing something very repetitive or for long periods of time (like pepakura). If your mind tends to wonder, you should probably use scissors.

I remember the old college art department horror story. Some guy was working late doing some drafting and was cutting designs with an xacto knife. He was tired, and holding the xacto like a pencil in his hand, and went to rub the sleep from his eyes...

 

[AoBfrost]

Ral, I'm gonna disagree. I have some heavy scissors- I think they're called "Ultimate Shears", made by Farberware- they work great for cutting cardstock. I've tried exactos and razors, too, but with them you can't go from slice to slice easily.

And to the ruler-lovers.. if you can't cut a straight line with a printed guide, wtf?
Also, most people resin and bondo anyways, so those nice, straight lines- they're going to be pointless when you smear them with mud and sand it down.

I'll also say that scoring is the fastest way to fold. Forget aligning your ruler, tracing the lines with a colored pen, etc- cut to the chase and score the cardstock directly. From there, folding is very, very easy.

100% agreed. With siccors, you can do more fine detailing, you have more stability, plus it is faster.

But using an xacto knife is smart for scoring the fold lines, using big heavy sharp shears work the best.

 

[daecu]

It just involves a bit more concentration to cut straight when doing it freehand, which you can do with either an x-acto or scissors, you cannot use a rules when using scissors however, and if you want to cut a long straight line real fast a ruler and x-acto will be fastest. Personally I believe that x-acto is much more capable of detailed cuts than scissors do to the fine point, its just like writing but wherever you write it cuts through :] Everyone has valid arguments thats just my opinion/why i use what i do

 

[Deadandbroken]

I use a combo of scissors and a utility knife

 

[AoBfrost]

Actually when scoring the folds, I dont even use a ruler, i just do is slowly and steadily, I can get a perfectly straight line without a ruler, although once my hand gets tired from all the concentration and steadiness, I just dig out my ruler.

 

[gamerguy55]

Lasers are best....I use scissors.

I also use scissors...because i don't have a laser strong engough. You can cut faster and more accurately with scissors, I used to use an x-acto knife to cut all my pieces with but it takes a lot more time and after a few hours of cutting your finger feels like it's going to fall off. Thats just my personal experience but you may think differently. For folding i just use a ruler and tacky glue to hold it all together I found that using a glue gun can get messy if your not careful but I know that a lot of people here love to use hot glue. If you want to find out whats best just try a few different things until you find your favorite.

 

[docbytes]

I use just a really good pair to adult size and kid size scissors myself.