This is Part 2 of our ongoing series on building a crafting toolkit from scratch. If you missed it, Part 1 covered adhesives. This one is all about cutting tools: what you actually need to start, and what to add as your projects grow.
Start here: the three beginner essentials
These three tools cover the vast majority of cutting tasks when you are starting out. If you are building your first kit, get these before anything else.
1) Cutting mat: Protects your work surface and extends the life of your blades. A self-healing mat is worth the slightly higher price since it closes up after each cut and stays smooth much longer. Size matters: go bigger than you think you need.
2) Hobby knives: The most precise cutting tool in the toolkit. The standard handle takes interchangeable blades, so you can swap to a fresh edge whenever the cut starts to drag or tear instead of slice. We go through a lot of blades and it is worth keeping spares on hand.
3) Scissors: A reliable pair of general-purpose scissors does more work than any other cutting tool in a basic kit. Keep a dedicated pair for crafting so you are not hunting down the kitchen scissors every time.
Next additions as your projects grow
Once the basics are covered, these tools solve specific problems that come up as you work on more complex builds.
Circle cutter: Cutting clean circles with a hobby knife is frustrating and inconsistent. A dedicated circle cutter solves this immediately and is worth adding early if circles appear in any of your projects (they appear in almost all of ours).
Bevel cutter: Cuts at a precise angle rather than straight down, which creates clean mitre edges for joining foam or cardboard at corners. Difficult to replicate with a standard blade. They are not all equal in quality, some work better than others.
Decorative edge scissors: Scissors with a patterned blade that cut a decorative edge in a single pass. We use these for terrain textures, shingles, and edge details on paper and thin cardboard.
Thread snips: Small spring-loaded scissors designed for fine detail cutting and trimming. Great for cutting thin string, thread, twine, thin strips of material, stay paintbrush hair and anything that full-size scissors are too clumsy for.
Paper trimmer: Cuts straight lines quickly and consistently across a full sheet. Much faster than a ruler and knife for paper and thin cardboard, and the cut is cleaner. Useful for making cards, scrapbooking, and tags.
Paper punches: Cut specific shapes out of flat material in a single press. We use them for making uniform circles, leaves, and decorative elements in terrain and diorama work.
Pruning shears: A tool borrowed from the garden. These cut real branches, coffee sticks, skewers, and dried plants cleanly, which makes them useful for terrain work where you want natural organic shapes that foam or wire cannot replicate.
Foam-specific cutting tools
If foam is a significant part of your projects, these two tools make a meaningful difference in quality and efficiency.
Hot wire foam cutter: Cuts through XPS foam with heat rather than a blade, which produces a smoother edge and much less crumbling. A handheld version is a good starting point. We used one throughout the Blizzard's End build.
Foam cutting table: A flat surface version of the hot wire cutter, often with a jig or guide for spinning pieces. This is what we use to cut clean circles out of foam, which is otherwise extremely difficult to do consistently.
The full toolkit list with product links is on our toolkit page.