The best sprue cutters AREN'T made for Warhammer

I have been using a cheap pair of nailclippers from dollarstore equivalent. Have worked perfect and dirt cheap.

God hand, try them. Expensive but well you know.... THE BEST!

I'm still kind of envious of anyone who buys those STA 3.0's these days, because that case is included. My pair came in their usual thick cardboard packaging, which while looking absolutely lovely, took up way too much room on the desk, and weren't readily designed to be used as in-between storage. Eh, world doesn't end, it isn't like all four pairs of clippers ever leave my desk (two for resin, two for plastic) - they're always on the desk, ready for use. Only real reason I have so many is since I also do "straight build" gunpla kits, the two clipper method leaves the fewest amount of nub marks (Tamiya 74123's for first cut, DSPIAE 3.0's for second cut, and then "several" more steps after *laughs nervously*)

I'm glad you mentioned the con about those thin sharp blades. Far too many will gloss over such (see the fanaticism behind the Godhand clippers for an example), but it is something to keep in mind if you're somewhat rough with your tools, travel a fair bit with your tools, or have medical conditions that make it harder to hold tools. Dropping those sharp tips into your thigh definitely stings.

I've always been curious about those Redgrass Games ones because they're orange, but it's rather sad to hear the spring is fairly weak. It took a bit of time to get used to my DSPIAE 3.0's as I couldn't initially figure out how to hold such small nippers, but once I did, I love how it's just a small amount of pressure to clip, and then go back to an almost rest state with your hand afterwards. Took a while because I was used to the mid-2000's Citadel nippers, as well as various Tamiya and Xuron ones that have a noticeably firmer spring to them (and larger handles). I never really believed the whole answers of "oh, you'll know the first cut whether you like them or not" when I was initially looking at single bladed nippers, but... Yup, first cut and barely feeling any resistance from the plastic, and less to clean up I knew why so many like them.

I've been eyeing up the DSPIAE ones as I've got their USB-C rotary tool and it's awesome. Although I also have some of the Tamiya 4035s and would like to see how they fare against those as I found them to be excellent. Also considering the Tamiya 4123 as they seem to have a finer point to them.

I've been model maker for over 40 yrs and my current got to cutters are: Xuron Track cutters for sprue frames, resin and wire; Plato cutter for ONLY part removal, they are very sharp and close correctly, available on Amazon, ebay and Aliexpress. For best result I prefer the initial cut to be flat side away from the part leaving a few mm of sprue attached to the part, then final removal once the part is free from the frame. This results in less stress on the part from still attached sprue and leaves a better finish with minimal clean up with your preferred tool. The Plato cutters are cheap enough that you can have 4-5 pairs on hand, I've found that I can usually get at least 2 years from one pair, before they are relegated to less precise work, 3D prints for example

I recently got the snippers from Monument Hobbies and think they're great. They're also only $17.50, so a heck of a lot cheaper than the Citadel option.

Tamiya “Sharp Pointed Side Cutter - for Plastic (Slim Jaw)” are the best sprue cutters I’ve come across.

I believe the modern GW cutters are actually slightly offset on purpose - like the Xuron shears patent style. This helps keep the blades from dulling and more importantly, as a first tool you buy, allows for cutting while placing the piece flush to the clippers. Little timmy is not going to ruin the surface of his model by putting cheap compression cutters flush and hemorrhaging a piece of the bit away alongside the gate. This is also probably the reason you can't go back in and clean the cut with the same tool effectively. This design has it's uses mind you. I actually prefer the versatility of a quality pair of "shears" compared to the very narrow application of specialised ultra-thin japanese clippers for example.

I did an apprenticeship as an energy electronics technician and there I worked with a lot of side cutters. And the best by far in this area were those from Knipex.
I still use my electronics side cutter (Knipex Super-Knips 78) for this, so I have no comparison. I would be really interested to know how it compares to the ones you tested.
With about 15 € this is also very cheap.

Godhand spn120 are worth it if you take care of them

Forget about the clippers…are those micro space marines you are clipping at the beginning?

Very nice video, I have a few generic brand that do what they need to but my favorite is my Citadel Clipers that came in the starter paint set I got, definitely from a time before the bigger GW style of clippers.

As long as they are sharp, get in the gaps, and cost around 3 bucks or less, I'm game 😀

That was super good!! One thing for me that makes the RGG spring better suited for some work is where you have to take care of the blades not touching / bending / braking other parts on the sprue. I think of really thin and sharp bits and the like. Otherwise, everything was on point. Kudos and keep it up!🙌🏼🌞

Awesome comparison, I need to pickup the dspiae one, great info as always thanks 🔥

I've been looking for new nippers :)

GW and citadel stuff is just way, WAY too over priced to be a reasonable buy on any scale now…

Hobby Tools Sprue Cutter from Hobby Lobby. $6, and works pretty good

í simply use a nail clipper, which i bougth from flying tiger. looks like those three and cost only 2 pounds. works perfectly because of the angle and small size. i am cheap.

How do the single-blade nippers hold up on the harder plastic of gw? I've been afraid to invest due to horror stories about the durability.