cutting strings

[Guest FarnsBarns]

Guitar strings are spring steel and/or stainless and the standard side cutter or flush cutters are not made to cut hardened steel at all. Flush cutters are made to give you a flat clean cut (one side at least) on soft wire. The main cause of damage to wire cutters is cutting any item that is harder than the fine edge on the tool. The average guitar player doesn't usually know the difference so they typically use small side cutters and as you said they are easy to ruin and the cost adds up after a while. The other issue is the cut itself squeeze cutting stainless is how they make pins so you end up with razor sharp ends when you cut strings with a side cutter if you use the right cutter the end will be square and flat and not half as sharp as a pair of side cutters leaves.

 

 

what you need are hard wire cutters or sometimes called stainless cutters or even floral wire cutters. there cheap, last forever and give you a better cut without any of the effort needed for cutting hardened wire with side cutters. If you look at any of the tools made for cutting guitar strings they are made like this also.

 

Excellent, that's the answer, I knew I should ask here.

 

It makes perfect sense.

 

I've found a pair http://www.toysperiod.com/xuron-2193-hard-wire-and-cable-cutter-shear-for-music-wire-p-678.html?currency=GBP

 

I think these are identical to the ones you pictured, anyway, I'll order a pair now.

[Guest FarnsBarns]

I just got a string winder with built-in cutter. Ain't used it yet, but yup, it's shaped as above.

 

I've looked at those, the pictures were really small but the cutter just looked cheap. are these the ones...

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Waves-String-Winder-Cutter/dp/B0002E1G5C

 

How are they? I know you've not used them yet but do they look substantial? If you tell me they're good I'll kick myself, could have bought some with a built in tuner a while ago but passed because I just thought they looked cheap (in the tiny photos) . They've discontinued the ones with a tuner in them now.

[retrosurfer1959]

Yep thats just what you need I have several pair just like that that I have been using now for several years without any problems. I usually cut wire several times a day since not only do I own way to many guitars, but I also make jewelry and repair watches so I end up making springs out of guitar strings several times a week on a regular basis and that cheap cutter works better than anything else I have ever found.

 

Ive also used the Planet Waves winder and keep one in my gig bag and the cutter works ok, it's just a little loose so it does a less than stellar job on light gauge strings after a few uses when the cutter got sloppy and the lighter gauge strings often get pinched and stuck rather than a clean cut. The other pliers won't have that issue.

 

Good luck hope it works for you also.

[milod]

Yup. That's what I got, but much less expensive. Your Amazon UK price of 7.95 sterling is a lot more than the $7.95 US from Musicians Friend.

 

As I said, I haven't used mine yet. It's in my Dot case. My guess is that it will quite work well at first. The whole thing is rather heavy, but I'll wager one will need to keep it tightened since it's nuts and bolts instead of rivets or whatever. I don't know about the steel used for the string cutter and how it may, or may not, but of appropriate hardness to cut steel strings without damage.

 

m

[Guest FarnsBarns]

Yup. That's what I got, but much less expensive. Your Amazon UK price of 7.95 sterling is a lot more than the $7.95 US from Musicians Friend.

 

As I said, I haven't used mine yet. It's in my Dot case. My guess is that it will quite work well at first. The whole thing is rather heavy, but I'll wager one will need to keep it tightened since it's nuts and bolts instead of rivets or whatever. I don't know about the steel used for the string cutter and how it may, or may not, but of appropriate hardness to cut steel strings without damage.

 

m

 

That is much cheaper. My Mother is in Sarasota for a while, I might get her to grab be a pair and bring them back, then again £7.95 is not a lot to drop for the convenience. Thanks Milo!

[milod]

My guess is that a Guitar Center store would have the same price if they have that in stock. Or if your mum is at a longer-term address, she could order from Musicians Friend. Or you could do so, and have it sent to the Florida address. But they do ask what your billing address is for the credit card. The international "thing" may be a minor hassle... Dunno...

 

Best of luck.

 

I wonder if strings might not also be much less expensive here. They're not heavy to take back to the UK, either, especially if you could save 50 or so quid on 10-15 sets.

 

m

[Guest FarnsBarns]

My guess is that a Guitar Center store would have the same price if they have that in stock. Or if your mum is at a longer-term address, she could order from Musicians Friend. Or you could do so, and have it sent to the Florida address. But they do ask what your billing address is for the credit card. The international "thing" may be a minor hassle... Dunno...

 

Best of luck.

 

I wonder if strings might not also be much less expensive here. They're not heavy to take back to the UK, either.

 

m

 

They spend 6 months a year in Sarasota and have US cards and bank accounts and all that so no worries there.

 

I've had a wee look and like the winder cutter, strings are about 35% cheaper (Same $ price as we pay in £). while it is cheaper, for such a cheap item anyway, I can't be bothered with waiting, asking and inconveniencing, risking a 20% VAT charge at customs anyway and all that.

 

I've also had a rethink, I have a winder and that will last for ever so I might just buy the decent cutters retrosurfer1959 mentioned as a stand alone. Those look like they'll last for ever!

[Silenced Fred]

Just sayin

 

Had em for about a year and a half. Works great.

 

Just sayin

[milod]

Farns...

 

Sounds good. Also I was guessing that it appeared as if a lotta US gear may run you about the same numbers in sterling as we pay in US $. I'd forgotten about VAT.

 

Back when I did some international travel I tended to take darned little with me so purchases overseas definitely were "personal" items rather than other, so I'd had no problems with our US customs, anyway.

 

Now... I think such travel unlikely. I've let my passport lapse anyway. Darn it.

 

m

[pete c]

i got a pair of side cutters back in the late 80s, from snap-on sill have them and they work great. you get what you pay for, your better off buying a good tool once than a crappy tool 10 times. (isnt that why we buy gibson)

[flyingarmadillo]

I use a set of bicycle cable cutters left over from my days as a bicycle shop owner.

[icantbuyafender]

Well, I'm sorry if I offended, you're quite right on the Epi front, I just hunted out the post. I had jumped to the conclusion that the buzz had developed over time when I read it/in my memory.

 

I don't keep up with you :) I just have an annoyingly good memory (Annoying to me) for these things.

 

On the bending of strings back and forth over the opening of the hole in the tuner to break them, I really do think this is a bad idea. You can't possibly do that without putting some load on the tuner, and IMO a half inch or so of string sticking out is just better.

 

As I say, sorry if you took this to be rude, it's impossible to type tongue in cheek tone and I should probably have not typed it knowing that. Sorry!

 

Was it because you were offended by this that you rudely called me a kid in "the other thread". If so, it's forgiven, if not, your a rude ****** too! (That's tongue in cheek as well).

 

 

I resent the fact i havent checked this thread in a day or so.

 

Yeah sorry, I didnt know you were joking. Man I can get grumpy.

 

Had alot on my mind, and this basically unscrewed the cap on a shaken soda. My bad.

 

All matters aside, you're cool in my book. Sorry for the "outburst". :-"

 

 

;)

[Guest FarnsBarns]

I resent the fact i havent checked this thread in a day or so.

 

Yeah sorry, I didnt know you were joking. Man I can get grumpy.

 

Had alot on my mind, and this basically unscrewed the cap on a shaken soda. My bad.

 

All matters aside, you're cool in my book. Sorry for the "outburst". :-"

 

 

;)

 

No worries.

 

In my mind I was deliberately flippant with someone who doesn't know me, and in text. Basically I was rude but didn't mean to offend. There's no way to project a rye grin or an elbow in the ribs in text. Don't apologise!

[DiamondJig]

I have a pair of cutters from my days working for Bell system, they are carbide and last forever, I've cut everything with them. But the best cutters are these.

 

Planet waves auto/self trimming tuning machines.

 

I have several pairs fit gibsons, work great. feed the string in, lock it down and start to tune, the string is cut off after a few turns, very neat.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Waves-Auto-Trim-Tuning-Machines/dp/B0002E2NBI

 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar%2C_solid_peghead_tuners/Planet_Waves_Auto-Trim_Locking_Guitar_Machines.html

[TommyK]

I suspect you'd want to begin a couple wraps before threading the tag end through the capstan hole.

[Andre S]

They spend 6 months a year in Sarasota and have US cards and bank accounts and all that so no worries there.

 

I've had a wee look and like the winder cutter, strings are about 35% cheaper (Same $ price as we pay in £). while it is cheaper, for such a cheap item anyway, I can't be bothered with waiting, asking and inconveniencing, risking a 20% VAT charge at customs anyway and all that.

 

I've also had a rethink, I have a winder and that will last for ever so I might just buy the decent cutters retrosurfer1959 mentioned as a stand alone. Those look like they'll last for ever!

 

Just so you do know, having an international credit card, and foreign billing address is a problem with musiciansfriend, but not with music123.