Are all cheap strap cutters created equal?

[BriarandThorne]

Tandy, Weaver, Buckleguy, etc. all have the basic wooden strap cutter for sale. They all seem to be the exact same tool. But I recently subscribed to Nigel's secrets of the workshop series and he mentioned that the one labeled "strap cutter" was the only one worth a damn and that the others were crap. Can someone point me in the right direction for a basic, quality strap cutter?

[tsunkasapa]

I've had 2 0f the Tandy ones. One burned in the wildfire that wiped us out and the other is hanging on my pegboard right now. The first one was almost 25 years old. They work just fine. You can spend much more, but you won't GET much more.

[Matt S]

1 hour ago, BriarandThorne said:

Tandy, Weaver, Buckleguy, etc. all have the basic wooden strap cutter for sale. They all seem to be the exact same tool. But I recently subscribed to Nigel's secrets of the workshop series and he mentioned that the one labeled "strap cutter" was the only one worth a damn and that the others were crap. Can someone point me in the right direction for a basic, quality strap cutter?

Nigel may be referring to the ones produced in Stockton, California. 5 years ago they were double the price of the generic Far Eastern-made ones, and many times better. Unfortunately they seem to have been out of production for some time.

[Cumberland Highpower]

Didn't we just have this conversation a week ago?

[Spyros]

It's a couple of sticks with a blade... it really takes some effort to get it wrong.   

We said in the other thread a couple of things to look for, other than that they're all pretty much the same.

[Matt S]

13 minutes ago, Spyros said:

It's a couple of sticks with a blade... it really takes some effort to get it wrong.   

We said in the other thread a couple of things to look for, other than that they're all pretty much the same.

My experience with the cheaper ones is that the blade slot may be cut off-square, the hardware strips or doesn't turn smoothly, the scales can be "off", the parallel bars slip and the short grain next to the blade slot is prone to snapping.

[Spyros]

1 minute ago, Matt S said:

My experience with the cheaper ones is that the blade slot may be cut off-square, the hardware strips or doesn't turn smoothly, the scales can be "off", the parallel bars slip and the short grain next to the blade slot is prone to snapping.

yeah looks like someone made a serious effort to screw yours up LOL

[Matt S]

Just now, Spyros said:

yeah looks like someone made a serious effort to screw yours up LOL

Several of mine ;-)

[Spyros]

12 minutes ago, Matt S said:

Several of mine ;-)

Wtf man, where did you buy them from, some school woodworking project?  These are C&C cut, it really does take some doing to cut the slot off-square, or to not even look at the photos to use the same kind of screwy thingies that everyone else uses so things don't slide.  I mean these guys copy phones and things like that...

Maybe get the next one from someone who has a "No working while drunk" rule :D

Edited December 5, 2021 by Spyros

[Matt S]

3 minutes ago, Spyros said:

Wtf man, where did you buy them from, some school woodworking project?  These are C&C cut, it really does take some doing to cut the slot off-square, or to not even look at the photos to use the same kind of screwy thingies that everyone else uses so things don't slide.  I mean these guys copy phones and things like that...

Ebay mostly, though some were from UK leather dealers. They're pretty generic and probably all come off the same 1 or 2 production lines. I doubt that they're CNC machined, it's a pretty simple series of wood machining operations that's ideally suited to a few dedicated manual machines. Wouldn't take a lot for whatever tiny sawblade they use to cut the blade slot to be off for a batch -- bad setup, damaged/blunt blade, inattentive operator, whatever.

As to screws there's a world of difference between "works good" and "absolute cheapest we can get that looks pretty much the same in a low res photo".

[Hardrada]

Looks like if the usual suspects can find a way to make things shittier, they will. Figures: if your tool were to last you a lifetime it'd ruin their whole business model.

[dikman]

I bought one of those generic models off ebay (they all seem to be much of a muchness) and it's working fine. Pretty simple but it wasn't worth the trouble of making one at what they sell for.

[BriarandThorne]

13 hours ago, Spyros said:

It's a couple of sticks with a blade... it really takes some effort to get it wrong.   

We said in the other thread a couple of things to look for, other than that they're all pretty much the same.

I appreciate everyone's input. Apologies for not searching for the previous recent thread about this. I'll seek it out. 

Not to argue, or belabor the point, but for the sake of clarification, here's Nigel's quote (while holding the ubiquitous "same old" strap cutter):

"There are a few of them on the market...... You need to buy one that actually says "Strap Cutter" on it. ALL the other copies are inferior. I'm not gonna say who makes them but they're not worth the money." 

 

Thanks again for all of the info.

[BriarandThorne]

14 hours ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

Didn't we just have this conversation a week ago?

I'm new here so I missed this conversation. I'm also having a hard time finding it via a search. Could anyone kindly link me to this thread? Not sure what else to search besides "strap cutter".

[jcuk]

1 hour ago, BriarandThorne said:

I'm new here so I missed this conversation. I'm also having a hard time finding it via a search. Could anyone kindly link me to this thread? Not sure what else to search besides "strap cutter".

Here you go.

https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/98039-the-original-strap-cutter/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-665330

Hope this helps

JCUK

[BriarandThorne]

34 minutes ago, jcuk said:

Here you go.

https://leatherworker.net/forum/topic/98039-the-original-strap-cutter/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-665330

Hope this helps

JCUK

Thanks. I appreciate it.

[tsunkasapa]

4 hours ago, BriarandThorne said:

"There are a few of them on the market...... You need to buy one that actually says "Strap Cutter" on it. ALL the other copies are inferior. I'm not gonna say who makes them but they're not worth the money." 

Okay, so HE says. And you NEED to buy a Chevy, all the others are inferior. You see how that works? His opinion only.

[fredk]

One cheap cutter I think should be avoided; it has the two bars which you pass the leather through as a single bar with just a saw cut for the opening. I think this would limit the thickness of leather you can pass through, whereas on mine there is a captive threaded bolt to adjust that gap

Edited September 14, 2024 by Northmount
Replaced 3rd party photo at OP's request

[toxo]

The first time I used mine the threaded bit pulled out of the wood. Don't use it often but a "G" clamp holds it when I do. I still prefer it over the metal one that I bought later and just sits on the shelf.

[mike02130]

[Spyros]

10 hours ago, BriarandThorne said:

I appreciate everyone's input. Apologies for not searching for the previous recent thread about this. I'll seek it out. 

Not to argue, or belabor the point, but for the sake of clarification, here's Nigel's quote (while holding the ubiquitous "same old" strap cutter):

"There are a few of them on the market...... You need to buy one that actually says "Strap Cutter" on it. ALL the other copies are inferior. I'm not gonna say who makes them but they're not worth the money." 

 

Thanks again for all of the info.

Look, at the end of the day all I can tell you is that I've bought a couple of mid-price strap cutters, and you put the leather in one end, you pull, and a perfectly strait strap comes out of the other end.  I am unsure what else the original strap cutters does on top of that, you'll have to ask Nigel.

[BriarandThorne]

25 minutes ago, Spyros said:

Look, at the end of the day all I can tell you is that I've bought a couple of mid-price strap cutters, and you put the leather in one end, you pull, and a perfectly strait strap comes out of the other end.  I am unsure what else the original strap cutters does on top of that, you'll have to ask Nigel.

Yep. Thanks again. Ordering the Weaver model based on suggestions here and in the other thread.

[tater1337]

looks like a  woodworking marking gauge

and it looks like it could be improves a LOT more

3d printed or even machined steel equivalents might work better, but would definitely look better

yes, I do both hand tool woodworking and 3d printing, and even some machining

[Spyros]

1 hour ago, tater1337 said:

looks like a  woodworking marking gauge

and it looks like it could be improves a LOT more

3d printed or even machined steel equivalents might work better, but would definitely look better

yes, I do both hand tool woodworking and 3d printing, and even some machining

There you go, $50

https://www.ivan.tw/collections/tools-machines/products/pro-strap-cutter

Probably works for self defence as well LOL

[jcuk]

I have both wood and metal versions much prefer the wooden one i find the metal one tends to slip more meaning it is set at inch and a half you find its starts out ok then by the end it may have slipped slightly to a inch and five eights funny thing even before i have finish cutting i can already see its has started to cut the strap wider. I know this happens to some with the wooden version too but i just tighten the thumb with my hand and then one half turn with pliers it never slips.

Hope this helps

JCUK