[Oa] craft cutter

[Andrew Crawford]

danielle varnham wrote:
> Dear all,
>  
> I was wondering how useful craft cutters are for oa. Do they only cut or
> can they also score? I have looked at various web sites for craft
> cutters. I can't decide. What do you think? Would I regret getting one?
> If I get one, could you make any recommendations?
>  
> Thanks for your help.
>  
> Regards,
> Danielle

Hi Danielle,

There was a short discussion about the cutting machines here recently.
You might review the archives for that (
http://www.origamicarchitecture.com/pipermail/oa/ ).

I think the jury is still out on using the cutting machines for OA.
Some people are reporting good results but, there is typically a
learning curve associated with getting them to perform as expected.

I bought a Klic-N-Kut (KNK) machine (
http://scrapbookdiecutter.com/machines.htm ) a few months ago.  I spent
a few hours working with it but, have not had any more time for it
since.  On my last attempt, I was able to get a passable result on a
fairly challenging pattern.  I have also seen some very detailed cutting
work that others have done.  So, I am optimistic.

The KNK and some of the other machines I looked at are not advertised as
being able to score, only cut.  However, it is possible to have the KNK
(and probably other machines) make multiple cutting passes in
registration.  I used reduced pressure to half-cut my fold lines and it
worked out well.  The KNK (and probably other machines) will also take a
ballpoint pen in place of the blade.  So, I would expect to be able to
use an empty (ink-less) ballpoint to score fold lines, too.

I hope that helps some.  As I get more experience with my KNK and have
something worth showing off, I will post here.

Andrew Crawford