What do you all prefer to use for cutting tools, especially when working with small pieces? I have a pair of fairly heavy-duty snips, but they usually don't work very well for me because the blades are too thick and not sharp enough; I also have a set of small pliers etc. that includes a couple clippers, but those seem to be better for things like cutting wires or other very thin pieces rather than actual cutting (and again, the blades are often too thick for what I need). Most of the time I end up using the scissors on my Leatherman pocket knife because they're both thin and sharp...but those aren't designed for much cutting either, especially considering the handle gets painful fast and tends to pinch. So far, when I've hunted for utility scissors, everything I've found also seems to have the problem of thick blades.
Lately I've just been using a utility knife for everything, to keep things simple. Xacto for finer work. But of course cutting rods may require a different tool than cutting a sheet of styrene. Anything a blade can't handle, the dremel can.
Some of it's stuff like actually cutting through Funko Pop faces, which I've needed to do a few times and nothing's quite ideal for that. Or small stuff like cutting the back half off a tiny pouch that's just a little too thick for what I need. Generally I suppose I'm just looking for a pair of scissors that's as small, sharp, and sturdy as my Leatherman but a little more ergonomically friendly. In general I prefer scissors to a utility knife because I think I have more control that way, so I'm less likely to get hurt and more likely to cut the way I want; plus I don't have a great setup for my Dremel so I only break that out when I have to (well, and it's not good for really small, precise jobs because the bits are all too big and/or it's hard to keep everything steady enough...even aside from the problems caused by melting plastic).
Do the Funko faces get softer with heat? Are they hollow? You could maybe heat them and have a much easier time cutting them with a blade.
If your rotary tool is melting plastic, lower the speed if possible. More dust, but less melting. Sometime I go with melting on purpose to cut down on the dust, and sometimes it's a lot faster to just melt through a section with a sanding bit lol
For thinning pouches, I use a blade, or the dremel since it leaves a smooth surface. I understand it may feel unsafe cutting tiny bits with a blade, but I got over that a long time ago. It comes down to how you hold things. I regularly hold small stuff between my fingers and cut downward with the Xacto, using that hand like a hydraulic press to steadily drive the blade down.
I think the only time I've used scissors was when I used shears to neatly cut a thin sheet of styrene, and I also use small scissors for cutting out stickers to apply to LEGO figs.
Please wait...
what are you trying to cut
Do the Funko faces get softer with heat? Are they hollow? You could maybe heat them and have a much easier time cutting them with a blade.
If your rotary tool is melting plastic, lower the speed if possible. More dust, but less melting. Sometime I go with melting on purpose to cut down on the dust, and sometimes it's a lot faster to just melt through a section with a sanding bit lol
For thinning pouches, I use a blade, or the dremel since it leaves a smooth surface. I understand it may feel unsafe cutting tiny bits with a blade, but I got over that a long time ago. It comes down to how you hold things. I regularly hold small stuff between my fingers and cut downward with the Xacto, using that hand like a hydraulic press to steadily drive the blade down.
I think the only time I've used scissors was when I used shears to neatly cut a thin sheet of styrene, and I also use small scissors for cutting out stickers to apply to LEGO figs.