I bought this cutter because I use a more powerful electric rotary-razor cutter, and the price on the Zip Cut was close to what I pay for new blades on my plug-in machine. Thought it would be worth a test.
What I noticed was that, even after a full charge, the Zip Cut blade rotates so slowly I can watch the screw turn. This means slower cutting. It may be a good thing if what you’re cutting is plastic; high rotation speeds generate heat which melts plastic than then fuses to the blade. I don’t cut plastic; I cut fabric.
“Real” fabric cutters have additional guides and safety features at the blade end. (It its defense, the Zip Cut packaging says nothing at all about fabric, so we were prepared for it not to be a good application of the cutter.)
I tested the cutter on a single layer of wool; it cut adequately. had a tendency to veer and didn’t spend enough fabric testing whether this was a result of the (lack of) feed guidance or the (see below) difficult grip. Did not test leather or pleather.
>propose that those people are just not using it correctly.
The real problem is that “using the cutter correctly” is ergonomically VERY DIFFICULT. I see that it is designed for an amateur market. The cutter has a double safety switch–both the green bar below, and the green button on top, must be held at the same time in order for the wheel to turn. While this might be good if you have children around, it puts your thumb in a very difficult position, one that’s going to cause pain very quickly.
If what you’re cutting is enough plastic to get your cutter out of its wrapper, you’ll be fine. If you’re thinking you could use this for an hour at a time, Shop On. Spring for the professional models with finger guards and single triggers.
