Advantage paper cutter
I have been in the market for a small(ish) paper cutter. Today I was in the Habitat for Humanity Restore (of all places) and saw an old paper cutter that says “Advantage.” It is large enough that it looks like it will cut about 18-20” wide or so, but is small enough to be bolted onto a table. It is currently bolted to a furniture dolly. It looks like the handle broke in half and was welded back together, but otherwise seems to be in decent shape and doesn’t seem to be missing any parts. They are asking $100 for it.
Does anyone know much about these paper cutters and whether it is worth the $100? I’m also wondering about the possibility of getting a replacement blade for it down the road. A quick search online didn’t turn up much, so I thought I’d turn to the experts here.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
On the face of it $100 should be a great deal. These size and type of cutters can sell for upwards of $500 and sometimes more. But a lot depends on condition. The repaired handle doesn’t trouble me much but are there any other breaks or repairs, missing parts, etc? New knives can be purchased from a number of suppliers though they can be a bit pricey, maybe a couple hundred dollars. But if you only pay $100 for the cutter, that balances everything out. If you could post a couple photos it would be easier to make a recommendation. If it’s all there, in good shape and functions properly I’d snap it up.
Rich
Front Room Press
Milford, NJ
http://frontroompress.com
http://frontroompress.blogspot.com
Did the cutter really have “Advantage” on it, or was it “Advance”? Advance cutters were fairly common. I don’t ever recall seeing an Advantage cutter.
No wonder I couldn’t find much information on it! You’re correct, it does say “Advance.” That’s what I get for going from memory.
Where I live, things like this don’t come by very often, so I went back yesterday and bought it. The guy gave me 15% off. I think he was happy to get rid of it.
Here are some pictures. It appears that in addition to the weld on the handle that one of the feet in back was welded back on, and it also looks like the back of the cutter—the part that supports the paper—was welded, but it doesn’t look like any of the parts involved in cutting have been damaged. I’m going to see today if a local shop can sharpen the blade for me.
I’d still be interested in hearing any background info on these cutters, if anyone would like to share.
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He should have given you a 25% discount for the ugly paint job! OK, just kidding, sort of…
Personally I think you got a fantastic deal. It was obviously dropped at some point but the breaks were in non-critical areas with regard to accurcy and the repairs seem to have been well done.
I got my 1926 Chandler & Price 26” cutter for $200. At some point in its early life someone tightened the clamp too much and the top cap of the cutter cracked in two in the middle. This was welded back together along the actual break and in addition iron bars similar to the one on your cutter’s handle were welded on the front, back and top spanning the crack. This was all done at least 40-50 years ago and the cutter used daily after that in two different shops. It is probably stronger now than when it was made.
So I’m glad to see they did this on your lever as it should give it even more strength against breakage than when new. I know of a couple places not too far away from me who sharpen and even sell these knives. Where are you located?
You’re going to love having your own cutter.
Rich
Front Room Press
Milford, NJ
http://frontroompress.com
http://frontroompress.blogspot.com