When it comes down to craft tools, I have to try them all. Yes, all of them may be a little exaggeration, but I try to get my hands on them just so I know if they are what I have been looking for all my life, and that is the perfect tool. To be honest, I know that the perfect tool does not exist, so I look for the next best thing.
So, when it comes down to the basic craft tool I think a paper trimmer will right up there in the first positions. A few weeks back I got my hands on the new
Fiskars Premium Trimmer.
You can see that the length of the paper that you can put through is about 32 cm and considering that 12" are 30.5cm that gives plenty of extra room for the annoying strips containing the name, manufacturer and bar code of patterned papers. Also it has rubberized feet, convenient but not essential.
One of the main new features of this trimmer is its wire guide that runs where the blade is going to cut which allows you to cut with some more precision than before. Thankfully, it is mobile enough so that if you want to score card with the trimmer using a bone folder you still can do it. That may not be essential for many of you, but for me it is absolutely essential as it is the main reason why I love this type of paper cutter.
Another of the innovations in this trimmer is the rail lock prevents rail from popping open while transporting your trimmer. To be honest, it is not an essential addition, but as a demonstrator or crafter on the go it is handy.
I already liked the introduction of the new blades on the previous model which are much more durable than the triple track originals. I personally find that they last me twice as long as the original, but they still are far from the durability that gives you the guillotine.
One of the features that I liked from this trimmer over the previous is that new one has larger base - now 6 1/4 " which makes a huge difference when you want to cut or score cards at 6", as the previous versions versions had a smaller base which means that most times I need to open the arms, which is not the case with the Premium trimmer.
I ought to mention that the trimmer I got is actually from France which has measurements in inches and centimeters. I am not sure if there is going to be a UK version, but there is another one from USA in which all measurements are in inches.
Also it has the standard European measurements, perfect for cutting or scoring in half - in which case you would have to use a guide of one size smaller.
You can see the size of the new version of the trimmer, the older version is on top, and the premium underneath.
And compared to the much older version, and one of my all time favorite trimmers, the personal 12" trimmer, also from Fiskars.
The swing-out paper guide gives you 15 " or 38 cm of level measuring surface for larger projects, something that is definitely not essential, and rarely helpful, but some may find it useful, although not me. The downside of having an extra long arm is that you will need the 15"
Overall though, I would say that this trimmer is a great improvement over the last trimmer of this kind. For me the great features at are the wire guide, the 32 cm cutting capacity and the larger base. I still use my Making Memories rotary trimmer, Xcut Guillotine as much as before but this one is certainly up there with them in usage.
You can get it at
Dawn Bibby's Design Studio is one of the few shops that carries this trimmer in this country. I don't think they have it yet on the website but give them a call to see if they have it in stock.
