Tim Holtz 12.5" Rotary Media Trimmer Paper Cutter - 3960e

This trimmer looked like a dream when I watched the Tim Holtz video demo of it on youtube, so I had to ponder it for quite a while as the price was out of my budget. Then, it went on sale and I decided to go for it. I was SO EXCITED when it arrived and the first few cuts were fabulous. I do not do mixed media projects too often, but was invited to a mixed media class and was thrilled to have my new trimmer in tow since Tim said it can handle heavier cardstock and even cut multiple pieces at a time. It seemed to work for the first few cuts but then I noticed the frayed edge showing up. I followed the directions to push the blade to the left against the metal, but didn't have much success with that. What's worse, is that I mostly use 80-100lb cardstock for my card-making projects and now I can barely get a straight cut at all. Seems that if I go REALLY SLOWLY, concentrating on pushing the blade left, I will maybe get 1 piece out of 10 that is a perfect cut. For the money it costs, it shouldn't be this difficult to operate and it should do what Tim said it does in his video. I read the other reviews and was also frustrated about the missing ruler ticks around the 6" mark and right in the beginning for those tiny strips that are sometimes used. I noticed that it is hard to determine exactly where the cut will occur, which stinks, because I am very particular with precise measurements for my projects. I did just send an email to customer service regarding all this. I was sort of hoping it was the blade itself and if they replaced it, maybe it would be fine? However, after reading reviews, I am afraid that might not be the case. Tonic should go back to the engineers and share all these comments so they can tweak it and fix what is making it a problem for their customers since they have a reputation of having great tools, you would think they would be the FIRST to get working on the issues. Sadly disappointed in Wisconsin....

Not impressed ... I went in with knowing Kathy King from Paper Phenomenon's review knowing it has pros and cons but everything does right?
Well let's start with the blade mechanism. I had this about 3 months now and have had to call Tonic Studios to get a full replacement. It started jamming and making a God awful noise. It took them about 4 business days to decide what they will do then they shipped me a new one. This is extremely hard to see exactly where you're cutting when you pull the blade towards you. When pushing the blade you have to eyeball where you want your cut with the edge. You also have a gutter area where the small papers fall into under the blade. I'm always having to stop and clean out the small pieces. You also have to hold down the clear plastic piece to make sure you get a straight cut.
As for the ruler From 6" to 6.5" you have to kind of guess. You can't cut anything from 1" or smaller I guess I expected alot more thought would've been behind this coming from Tim Holtz and Tonic Studios. With the price and the names behind It it's just a huge let down. Now to find a trimmer to cut small pieces

Tonic’s customer service is great—helping me “learn” how to use the 12.5 inch rotary cutter. There is a learning curve for me and I am still working to make a clear cut every time when using this cutter.

Studied this trimmer for some time, especially all the purchase comments and Tonic's sale finally convinced me it was the one for those long days of cutting card bases. Not disappointed. Also discovered most negatives were not using Tim's comment to slant the blade cartridge to the left so starting out with it that way I am getting nothing but perfect cuts. Also LOVE the markings for all major card cutting tasks!

Not impressed, I was thinking of returning as it leaves the cut edge frayed if I try and cut more than 2 pieces at a time. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?