Jakar Jak 7321 Mount Cutter Cutting Angles 45 degree and 90 degree

I hesitated for quite some time because of slightly negative reviews about how the blade 'wandered' whilst in use. Well I wish I had bought sooner because it cuts beautifully. Anyone who is into crafting and has cut mounting board before will know you need firm decisive pressure on both blade and ruler when doing so. It is that simple. I don't even have or use the guide ruler. I just use a 60cm Jakar plastic cutting ruler that has a metal insert edge, point the cutter blade edge AGAINST the ruler aqs you are supposed to, marked with the size required drawn out on the REVERSE side of the mount and hey presto the job is a good one. Very pleased and well worth the investment.

First of all, I didn't think I was an idiot. I thought ignore the bad reviews and give it a go. Huge error of judgement!OK, I then had to buy the special ruler as the cutter is useless without it. I found both very difficult to use and the cutter would not slide with the ruler. A tiny squirt of silicone spray did the trick. However, the practice goes I had on spare mounts were awful. Nothing was straight as either the mount slipped or the ruler did. I needed a lot of pressure to try and cut even a vertical line, and then the cut was not completely through the mount, I had to finish it off with a scalpel. The 45 degree cuts were simply impossible.I'm returning both ruler and cutter.

Cutting card any time can be difficult, even more so at an angle. I believe I’m quite handy with most tools around an engineering/woodwork workshop. You need to practice a little. What is key is to ensure is that the card to be cut and the steel straight edge are firmly clamped down onto a bench with a sacrificial cutting surface when cutting. You won’t have the ability to hold the card, Ruler and use the cutter without messing up the work or even hurting yourself or even with assistance. I used the corrugated card packing the backing board was delivered in, cutting along the corrugations. When cutting be firm and steady. Position the cutter at the start of the cut and push the blade in. (If the point dulls or breaks, replace the blade). Make ONE single cut through the backing board to the sacrificial card. Alternate directions of cut the most from the blades. There could be a few more than 3 pare blades in the pack.Mark the board clearly with a H pencil, measure 3 or 4 times then cut. Use a good quality eraser to remove the pencil lines once finished.It’s not the easiest of tools to use but the process isn’t easy either requires a level of strength and control, preparation and practice are key. If you have a well equiped studio or woodwork workshop you should manage just fine.I guess this is why picture framing can be expensive.I hope this helps.

The supplier service was excellent with the mount cutter well packaged and delivered promptly. Am disappointed with the performance of the cutter though. My first attempts did not achieve a good result with the cut line not straight. I think a lot more practice will be needed to achieve a good quality and neat result. So - not that easy to use and at present I get better results using a sharp craft knife.

I am not a professional picture framer, and this suited me perfectly. You can spend much more on state of the art but if you are careful this cutter works very well. You should be aware that you will need a cutting guide and a long steel ruler. Spare blades means I will be using this for a good while.

I found it impossible to cut a straight line as it's difficult to hold the ruler steady with one hand and cut with the other. You need a lot of force to move the cutter. Also found it impossible to push down on the blade at the same time. It is difficult to see the blade through the plastic of the cutter. The blades wear out very quickly. Having ruined several pieces of mount board I've given up - cheaper and much less effort to buy ready made mounts. Only bought this as I had a few non standard sizes to make. Don't waste your money unless you have extremely strong fingers.Don't know why this item is listed as a toy!!

I bought this aware it was an entry level tool but also presuming it would do the job for hobby jobs. Unfortunately when I started using it, it became apparent that it would not.The 45º blade moves and flexes about 2mm off centre within its holding meaning that even with the Jakar ruler, that I bought separately, and the mountboard clamped very firmly down and the cutter firmly attached to ruler, the blade drifts as you cut making it impossible (for me anyhow) to cut a 100% true cut.After a day of persisting with it and no usable frame mounts at the end this will probably just have to go in the bin and I'll chalk it up to experience.Wish I could give a better review.

This takes practice, the blade makes a great cut but the whole thing needs the guidance of a ruler, a way to hold the guide still with out putting fingers in the way of the slide that holds the blade.