Author Topic: Circle dies or circle cutters  (Read 3116 times)

Offline lovepug2

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Circle dies or circle cutters
« on: January 25, 2015, 10:39:45 AM »
I've had a marvy  2 inch circle punch for close to 10 years now and last night it broke:(
This is probably one of my most used handheld punches. I would like to replace it but not sure if I want to get a set of circle dies, a circle cutter or just the same punch again?

Any thoughts or suggestions?
LeighAnn

Offline howdyheidi

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2015, 10:51:51 AM »
I think punches are great because you can punch a bunch quickly!

However, if you want a variety of sizes, it makes more sense to have dies. 

I have a small circle punch and am happy I have it.  But for larger ones I think dies make more sense for storage. 

There are a lot of manufacturers of circle dies nowadays, so it is probably easier to find a deal. 
~~Heidi~~

Offline Looser

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2015, 12:11:59 PM »
I've had a marvy  2 inch circle punch for close to 10 years now and last night it broke:( This is probably one of my most used handheld punches.

My condolences on the loss of a valued tool, Pug. I can definitely commiserate after consigning a few broken (MS) punches to the trashbag yesterday.

That said, this is a chance for you to make a step forward in your circle-cutting ability. Hooray for you!

No secret that I like punches, but given your desire to seek increase in making circles, I would recommend looking for dies or a variable-size cutter.

Much depends on how much you want to use circles of different sizes and how much time & effort you want to put into making them.

I have a Fiskars circle-cutter. It cuts circles up to 8" in diameter. Until I began I began cleaning out my stuff, I can't tell you when I used it last.  That said, I recommend checking out the cutter option.

But if I were in your sitch, I'd go for circle dies--especially sets. They sooo work!
Daniel

Offline lovepug2

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2015, 02:29:32 PM »
Thanks for your responses. And for your condolences Daniel! I'm pretty sure that was one of the first hand punches I bought. I've been using it a lot with watercolor paper and I'm wondering if it was just too thick for it?

I really like the circle tool you were talking about, Daniel. I had used one many years ago at a crop and thought it was pretty nifty. I think its probably around the same cost as a die set. Im just wondering if one handles watercolor paper better than the other? Gonna have to do a little research on it!
LeighAnn

Offline howdyheidi

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2015, 08:11:05 PM »
FWIW, I haven't has any trouble with my dies and watercolor paper.  I know that I replace my trimmer blade more often when I am cutting it though.

I have never tried a circle cutter so I don't know about them at all!
~~Heidi~~

Offline Looser

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2015, 09:18:25 AM »
Both my circle & shape-cutters use trimmer-type blades. As Heidi says, they do need replacing more often when used to cut heavier materials like watercolor papers & cardboard.

If I were looking to find circle makers at this stage of my crafting--as opposed to when I began--I would definitely invest in circle dies rather than punches or hand cutters. Why? Glad you asked... :laugh:

1. My thin dies work well in my CuttleBug.
2. I don't need to have lots of circle sizes. I'm comfortable with from 1" > 5".
3. My dies will cut heavy paper, cardboard, plastic & metal--many punches & cutters don't (or only with difficulty).
4. Dies will (often) allow me to combine 2 (or more) in 1 step.

Much as I remain a fan & user of blade tools & punches, this is one time when I'm all about the dies! O0
Daniel

Offline Looser

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2015, 12:01:57 PM »
Hey, Pug!

I decided to check out the Spellbinders WebSite (really difficult to navigate IMO) & found 3 sets of 'Nesties' circle dies you might want to check out--Standard (Lg), Standard (Sm) & Grand Circles. HTH.  :smitten:
Daniel

Offline lovepug2

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2015, 08:32:59 AM »
Thanks, Daniel! Im new to the die world and had no idea they had different size sets?

Amazon has a pretty decent price on them so I guess I just need to pick a size set!
LeighAnn

Offline Conniecrafter

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2015, 09:08:00 AM »
I do love my spellbinders circle dies, I guess because I like the fact that you can emboss them too that you can not do with punches and then if you ink around them when the die is still in the paper, it gives the illusion that you have more layers on your card ;)  I don't know if you have heard of Cut@home but they will send you a code every month to get 40% off spellbinder dies, if you want to go that way

Offline Iring

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2015, 11:46:12 AM »
I have a circle cutter and circle dies.  My vote would be to go for the dies, when I need to cut a circle those are what I reach for first.  Connie gave some really good reasons ... embossing and stenciling.
Oooh, and a coupon code?  Thanks for sharing Connie!
Cindi

Offline lovepug2

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2015, 09:14:52 AM »
Thank you, Connie!
I'm going to sign up there.
And I didn't even think about the stenciling and embossing, that's definitely a bonus!
LeighAnn

Offline yellowcherrios

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Re: Circle dies or circle cutters
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2015, 10:11:20 AM »
I have this circle cutter from EkSuccess--I often forget I have it:

circle cutter

The main thing with this cutter is making sure that the knife that you insert into the hole of the circle size you want, doesn't move while you make the circle.  The knife can wabble just a little bit in the hole and thus does not make "perfect" circles...I haven't tried it enough to tell if this occurs more with the larger sizes than the smaller ones. 
~~Melissa :)