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Xuron NEW Sprue Cutter & Photoetch Scissors

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

When these new tools showed up, I thought that the review would be a fast one to write up, as they're just sprue cutters and scissors, right? But after realizing that these are significantly different from the earlier versions, I thought I would give them a long-term tryout period, to see just how they worked out over time. I was pretty comfortable with the old style sprue cutter and PE scissors, so I was somewhat skeptical as to how much of an improvement these new tools could be. Here's the results.

First off, the immediate noticeable difference is the size. These new tools are much bigger than the old ones. Right off I noticed that they fit in the hand a bit better. The earlier ones would bit into my palm with heavier cuts, but these new ones, with their longer handles and a greater curve, has the handle crossing my palm, rather than ending in the middle. For both the cutter and the scissors, there is more spring to the jaws, so there is a bit more strength required to initially close the jaws, but this tension improves the cutting by establishing a smoother cutting motion.

Examining just the Sprue Cutter, the jaws are significantly different from the earlier version. The exterior angle when closed is identical, but the jaws of the old one would fit inside the new. The new cutter has longer jaws that are more pointed, have a shallower cutting angle, and are narrower in profile. All of these combine to greatly improve the cutting capabilities of this new cutter. The thinner jaw and sharper point allows these to cut finer sprue gates in narrower corners. The shallower cutting angle, though, is where this tool is truly an improvement over the older type. While the older Xuron Sprue Cutter gave the best trimming of parts off of sprues, the new cutter does an even better job. It is hard to describe, but the cut feels smoother and more even in the hand. The finished cut also looks smoother, closer to the surface, and with less tearing. There will still need to be some cleanup, but little more than a swipe of a sanding stick, really.

Switching to the Photoetch Scissors, I had relegated the original set to the back of the bench in the last year or so. Not because they weren't good, mind you. The original scissors still are excellent cutters. The problem was with the photoetch companies, which have been really packing the parts in, making for very narrow spots between the parts. The original scissors just couldn't get into the smaller gaps. The new scissors tackle that challenge head on, with much narrower jaws that are also thinner in profile. The jaws are also just as sharp at the tip as they are at the base, so you don't need to get but a hair into the jaws to get a good cut. Like the original scissors, these have a very clean cut, with no folding of the photoetch. With some practice, one can quickly cut photoetch precisely and cleanly, to where no cleanup will be needed.

Quite simply, these are significant improvements over the originals and should quickly be purchased to replace those older tools (they were getting worn anyway, right?). While there are many optional tools out there for the scale modeler, the Xuron Sprue Cutter has to be one of the few mandatory tools on any modeler's bench, and the Photoetch Scissors following close behind for those that do any photoetch work. My thanks to Xuron for the review samples.