# What kind of cutter is this?



## Martha (Feb 12, 2019)

Can anyone tell me what kind of cutter this is and where to find it in the US? Is it even made for cutting soap? Looks like it could work well. Has anyone ever used one and could give it a review? I saw it on a YT video.


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## SaltedFig (Feb 12, 2019)

It looks like a powder coated cast aluminium coping saw that's been adapted to use a wire (instead of a blade).

Can you provide a link to the video - it looks like there's a brand on the tool - being able to read that would help find you either the tool, or one similar.

Edited to add: In this context, it works the same way as a hand-held wire cheese cutter.


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## lsg (Feb 12, 2019)

You can use a miter box and and a cutting tool like this:


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## Misschief (Feb 12, 2019)

lsg said:


> You can use a miter box and and a cutting tool like this:


I have both of those and never get straight cuts with either, even with a miter box. I much prefer my little wire cheese cutter.


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## geniash (Feb 12, 2019)

Martha - looks like this is a standard coping saw that can be purchased at any hardware store for less then $10.


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## Martha (Feb 12, 2019)

geniash said:


> Martha - looks like this is a standard coping saw that can be purchased at any hardware store for less then $10.



Thanks @geniash I’ll look up coping saws.

Thanks @lsg ! I have a straight sided knife that works fairly well for me now, although a mitre box could help with getting straighter lines.

@Misschief Is a cheese wire cutter strong enough? I’m not ready to pay for those wire soap cutters just yet and that could be a good option.

@SaltedFig The photo is a screenshot from one of Etsuko Watanabe’s YouTube videos. She uses this saw in pretty much every one I’ve seen and it seems to work well. Here’s one of her videos. Worth watching. She makes gorgeous soap.


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## aksamitka (Feb 12, 2019)

Hi! I was lurking around for a long time and only reading forum because my english is far from perfect, so I was afraid of writing something. 
But now I need to!
I have this cutter. It is made in Japan and I ordered it from _Rakuten Global Market_.
Base was made from wood and cutting tool was made from steel. It looks like a coping saw but it has a simple wire not a blade. 
I can only reccommend it. That is my best cutter co far, very precise. 
On the other hand I think that this cutter is so simple that you can made it by yourself if you have enough will.


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## Martha (Feb 12, 2019)

aksamitka said:


> Hi! I was lurking around for a long time and only reading forum because my english is far from perfect, so I was afraid of writing something.
> But now I need to!
> I have this cutter. It is made in Japan and I ordered it from _Rakuten Global Market_.
> Base was made from wood and cutting tool was made from steel. It looks like a coping saw but it has a simple wire not a blade.
> ...



Thanks. Do you know the brand name or what it's called? I'm on their website and there are pages and pages of saws...


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## aksamitka (Feb 12, 2019)

Try to put _soap cutter _in their search bar.


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## dibbles (Feb 12, 2019)

Tatsiana Serko makes that kind of cutter. http://bysteso.blogspot.com/2016/04/soap-cutter-and-mold-by-steso.html?m=1
You might be able to find something like that on Etsy too.


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## Misschief (Feb 12, 2019)

Martha said:


> @Misschief Is a cheese wire cutter strong enough? I’m not ready to pay for those wire soap cutters just yet and that could be a good option.


I've been using it for about 3 years now and I'm still using the original wire. It came with two replacements.


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## Martha (Feb 12, 2019)

aksamitka said:


> Try to put _soap cutter _in their search bar.



Ha ha! That was too easy. I found it and the wooden mitre box. I stopped there, but was tempted by the acrylic soap molds and all the other items. The checkout was difficult and they won't tell me the shipping charges until after the order is placed. I'll give some feedback on the shipping charges, but the cutter was only $7 and the mitre box was $20.

Others have said it before, but this forum is fabulous! Thanks for all the great and quick help.


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## Jasmyne (Feb 12, 2019)

How taut should the wires on a soap cutter be? Mine are kinda loose but I’m afraid of getting popped in the eye with a broken guitar string!!!


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## Obsidian (Feb 12, 2019)

I use a coping saw that I rigged up with wire, works great along with my homemade wooden guide.


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## cmzaha (Feb 12, 2019)

I have that little mold she used and love it for test batches


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## SaltedFig (Feb 12, 2019)

SaltedFig said:


> It looks like a powder coated cast aluminium coping saw that's been adapted to use a wire (instead of a blade).
> 
> Can you provide a link to the video - it looks like there's a brand on the tool - being able to read that would help find you either the tool, or one similar.





Martha said:


> Thanks [USER=22026]@SaltedFig The photo is a screenshot from one of Etsuko Watanabe’s YouTube videos. She uses this saw in pretty much every one I’ve seen and it seems to work well. Here’s one of her videos. ...[/USER]



Thanks - I can see in the video that the brand is "Cafe de Savon" 

On the website @aksamitka mentioned, it is item number "f3090601"

Now that I can look at the advertisement, yes, it states that it is die-cast aluminum.
I like the wheel adjuster for wire tightness - that's a nice touch.
Cheap price - I wouldn't mind hearing how much it costs you for shipping 

The pin-end wires are a consumable (so buy a couple of spares if it doesn't ship with them new).
(Or you could make your wires by creating the end pieces - drill a small hole in a two pieces of size matched small round bar, and insert your own stainless steel wire into the hole and wind it on a little, over itself, to hold when taunt.)

(Alternatively, coping saws are fairly straightforward to modify to hold a wire; some even come pre-set for wires - look for diamond wire scroll/coping saws )


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## aksamitka (Feb 13, 2019)

Martha said:


> Ha ha! That was too easy. I found it and the wooden mitre box. I stopped there, but was tempted by the acrylic soap molds and all the other items. The checkout was difficult and they won't tell me the shipping charges until after the order is placed. I'll give some feedback on the shipping charges, but the cutter was only $7 and the mitre box was $20.
> 
> Others have said it before, but this forum is fabulous! Thanks for all the great and quick help.



They need to calculate shipping charges individually when shipping will be outside Japan. In my case total cost (cutter, mitre box with shipping to Poland) was 6 826 JPY or 56 euro or 63,3 $. 
I was also temptet by this acrylic molds, so I understand you perfectly 

@dibbles Tatsiana's cutters are so flawless and beautyfull but she makes them in small quantities and waiting period for her craft is very long. 
I tryied to find something like this on Etsy but I failed.

@Jasmyne If wires give you a clean cut without unequal edges it means that they are taut enough. 
@SaltedFig If don't remember precisely but shipping was something around 3 500 JPY and that was more than cutter... but still all costs was quite low. 
@Misschief I also was used to use chees cutter and that was fine. My frend uses clay wire cutter. I dont know it's name in english, something like this


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## Martha (Feb 13, 2019)

@dibbles Those miter boxes are gorgeous!! Glad to know that there's a waiting period because I already ordered the other one.

@aksamitka I was brainstorming with my husband about cutters the other day. We were thinking about those clay wires, but I didn't know they made them like a coping saw.

@SaltedFig Thanks for the advice on fitting replacement wires.

I haven't heard back from the company about the shipping yet. I will post here. If it's not too much, I might be tempted by the small-batch acrylic soap mold that Etsuko Watanabe uses. 4 gorgeous bars seems like a nice test amount. Thanks again everyone!


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## SoaperForLife (Feb 14, 2019)

Jasmyne said:


> How taut should the wires on a soap cutter be? Mine are kinda loose but I’m afraid of getting popped in the eye with a broken guitar string!!!


The wire should have a high pitch when plucked (I hope that makes sense).

Looks like the space between the top of the green cutter and the wire is about 2 1/2 inches?  So it looks like you would have to hold the cutter on an angle so you might have to hold both sides?  The Serko cutter is very similar to one that I bought from Kelly years and years ago.


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## Martha (Feb 14, 2019)

Okay, just got the shipping news from Rakuten. When I ordered they said that they would have to calculate shipping later and I could confirm the order once I knew what it was. I ordered the soap cutter and miter box, which totaled $28.68. I just saw that my credit card was charged for $58.47, which puts the shipping around $30 or double what I ordered. Not thrilled with that. I wonder if I had ordered more if the shipping would have gone up as much. It might be worth having a slightly larger order to warrant those shipping charges. In any event, this was more than I wanted to spend, but I'm sure I will happily use these items for years to come.


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## Clarice (Feb 14, 2019)

I went there yesterday and looked at some stuff - but I could not get a shipping calculation before pressing order, so I backed off.  I get that it is expensive to ship from Japan - but what you were charged seems like a lot!  Glad I waited!


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## Martha (Feb 14, 2019)

Clarice said:


> I went there yesterday and looked at some stuff - but I could not get a shipping calculation before pressing order, so I backed off.  I get that it is expensive to ship from Japan - but what you were charged seems like a lot!  Glad I waited!


I know! I'm pretty annoyed because they said that once the shipping was calculated I would get to approve the order. Ha ha. That didn't materialize. Most of the emails I received were in Japanese.
Again, I wonder if the shipping charge has a minimum rate and that if I had made a bigger order it wouldn't have gone up much more. I'll never know because I have now ordered more soap supplies than I can justify. Think I've spent more on soap in the last year than I have over my whole life.


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## Clarice (Feb 14, 2019)

Martha said:


> Think I've spent more on soap in the last year than I have over my whole life.



I KNOW!  

I am reminded of a shirt my brother has:

Give a man a fish, he eats for a day
Teach a man to fish, and watch $10,000 fly out the door for lures, rods, reels.......

I'm in the same boat!


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## aksamitka (Feb 14, 2019)

Martha said:


> Okay, just got the shipping news from Rakuten. When I ordered they said that they would have to calculate shipping later and I could confirm the order once I knew what it was. I ordered the soap cutter and miter box, which totaled $28.68. I just saw that my credit card was charged for $58.47, which puts the shipping around $30 or double what I ordered. Not thrilled with that. I wonder if I had ordered more if the shipping would have gone up as much. It might be worth having a slightly larger order to warrant those shipping charges. In any event, this was more than I wanted to spend, but I'm sure I will happily use these items for years to come.



That was not fair! Taking money from your card without order confirmation... it's a big no-no. 
I didn't have this problem, maybe because I pay with paypal and they need to send me new payment notification with a URL if they want to see any money. 
That is dissapointing. I will not recommend them to anyone. 

@Martha @Clarice I have this problem too. One can think that making your own soap is frugal, but if I will calculate all soap expenses (molds, stamps, silicon for DIY molds, fragrances etc.) it will turn that some of bars are made from pure gold.


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## Martha (Feb 14, 2019)

Clarice said:


> I KNOW!
> 
> I am reminded of a shirt my brother has:
> 
> ...


That is hilarious!!



aksamitka said:


> That was not fair! Taking money from your card without order confirmation... it's a big no-no.
> I didn't have this problem, maybe because I pay with paypal and they need to send me new payment notification with a URL if they want to see any money.
> That is dissapointing. I will not recommend them to anyone.
> 
> @Martha @Clarice I have this problem too. One can think that making your own soap is frugal, but if I will calculate all soap expenses (molds, stamps, silicon for DIY molds, fragrances etc.) it will turn that some of bars are made from pure gold.



Please don't feel bad about suggesting that supplier. I was curious about that cutter and you helped me find the exact one. If I was really horrified, I would contact my credit card company and dispute the charge. I guess I'll just make more pure gold soap bars!


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## Clarice (Feb 14, 2019)

Rushing off to create my pure gold bar

Don't feel at ALL bad @aksamitka!  they have some cool stuff - I may try to email them and ask about "slow boat" shipping!


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## Jeboz (Feb 14, 2019)

dibbles said:


> Tatsiana Serko makes that kind of cutter. http://bysteso.blogspot.com/2016/04/soap-cutter-and-mold-by-steso.html?m=1
> You might be able to find something like that on Etsy too.



Hi dibbles - do you have any idea of cost for the Serko cutter mold? I can't find any hints on the blog. He's booked until May this year so he's obviously doing a good job.


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## Martha (Feb 14, 2019)

Clarice said:


> Rushing off to create my pure gold bar
> 
> Don't feel at ALL bad @aksamitka!  they have some cool stuff - I may try to email them and ask about "slow boat" shipping!



Let me know if that's an option. Ack. See? I can't freakin' help myself. Gah. Must actually make soap instead of fill my tiny apartment with equipment.


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## dibbles (Feb 14, 2019)

Jeboz said:


> Hi dibbles - do you have any idea of cost for the Serko cutter mold? I can't find any hints on the blog. He's booked until May this year so he's obviously doing a good job.


I'm sorry, I don't know what the cost of that cutter is. She does say to contact her by email [email protected] on her blog. Also, the waiting list is into May 2019, so it will be awhile before she can build and deliver. They are beautiful though.


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## hungryhawaiian (Feb 15, 2019)

I refuse to pay for just about any soap cutter I’ve seen on the market, professional or otherwise. I’m an avid DIYer and I have construction experience and a good variety of hand and powered tools, so I will be building my own for a mere fraction of the cost. Already purchased the guitar strings (even the thinnest strings available will be strong enough to cut soap), the HDPE sheets, and the guitar tuner pegs. I’m also planning to build my own molds for doing them fancy swirly designs. Any leftover material will probably be used to make another mold.


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## SaltedFig (Feb 15, 2019)

@hungryhawaiian There's some nice parts!


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## Susie (Feb 15, 2019)

Good old Amazon carries them also.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C6CYS9N/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Clarice (Feb 15, 2019)

@hungryhawaiian 

i am mad that you live all the way over in Hawaii!  If you lived in GA I would offer to trade my Killer Lemon Bars for a cutter!  HAH


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## Rhoda Ann Banta (Feb 15, 2019)

Martha said:


> Thanks @geniash I’ll look up coping saws.
> 
> Thanks @lsg ! I have a straight sided knife that works fairly well for me now, although a mitre box could help with getting straighter lines.
> 
> ...



Wow awe struck.


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## Susie (Feb 20, 2019)

Just used my brand new coping saw type wire cutter to cut 5 batches of soap.  I will NEVER go back to using any kind of bladed cutter.  Period.  This is awesome.  Can't thank y'all enough for this thread that made me go order it.  And it cost a whopping $7.99 from Amazon with free shipping on Prime.


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## hungryhawaiian (Feb 21, 2019)

Clarice said:


> @hungryhawaiian
> 
> i am mad that you live all the way over in Hawaii!  If you lived in GA I would offer to trade my Killer Lemon Bars for a cutter!  HAH



If it makes you feel better, I actually live in California now. lol


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## Clarice (Feb 21, 2019)

Well then, I'll be right over with a batch!


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## Martha (Feb 25, 2019)

Susie said:


> Good old Amazon carries them also.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C6CYS9N/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Oh I wish I had seen that link sooner! That looks great. It’s really nice that it has replacement wires too.



Now here’s another amazing soap cutter. Out of my league for now, but anyone know what this one is? Looks like you can adjust where the soap hits the wire, so you can really adjust the size of the final bars. Very cool!


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## hungryhawaiian (Feb 28, 2019)

Martha said:


> Now here’s another amazing soap cutter. Out of my league for now, but anyone know what this one is? Looks like you can adjust where the soap hits the wire, so you can really adjust the size of the final bars. Very cool!




OMG! I think I just found my new project! That soap cutter is freakin genius!


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## Dawni (Feb 28, 2019)

SaltedFig said:


> @hungryhawaiian There's some nice parts!


Bahahaha


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## SoaperForLife (Feb 28, 2019)

Martha said:


> Now here’s another amazing soap cutter. Out of my league for now, but anyone know what this one is?


Nope, sorry but that is very cool!


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## aksamitka (Feb 28, 2019)

Martha said:


> Now here’s another amazing soap cutter. Out of my league for now, but anyone know what this one is? Looks like you can adjust where the soap hits the wire, so you can really adjust the size of the final bars. Very cool!



Someone asked about cutter in the commnets below video and soapmaker anwsered that this cutter is no longer available. 
You can find something similar on alliexpres here but I don't even want to think about shipping costs and duty. 
Also I am a little bit concerned about quality of this kind of products (from this source). 
On the other hand it looks great!
@hungryhawaiian Great inspiration to your project. I'm looking forward to see it!


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## Cal43 (Feb 28, 2019)

hungryhawaiian said:


> View attachment 36343
> 
> 
> I refuse to pay for just about any soap cutter I’ve seen on the market, professional or otherwise. I’m an avid DIYer and I have construction experience and a good variety of hand and powered tools, so I will be building my own for a mere fraction of the cost. Already purchased the guitar strings (even the thinnest strings available will be strong enough to cut soap), the HDPE sheets, and the guitar tuner pegs. I’m also planning to build my own molds for doing them fancy swirly designs. Any leftover material will probably be used to make another mold.


You sound like me, I’m going to make myself a multi cutter soon. My husband don’t like when I use his tools but a girl gonna do, what a girls gonna do. He is afraid I cut myself. But my motto is, if I can have babies, I can use power tools


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## hungryhawaiian (Mar 1, 2019)

Cal43 said:


> You sound like me, I’m going to make myself a multi cutter soon. My husband don’t like when I use his tools but a girl gonna do, what a girls gonna do. He is afraid I cut myself. But my motto is, if I can have babies, I can use power tools



Buahahahaha! I applaud your determination! But I never condone the use of a mans tools... [emoji23] I’m particular about my tools, so I purposely own a set of loaner tools for when people ask to borrow. 

Make sure you take pictures and show us! I wanna see


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## Cal43 (Mar 1, 2019)

hungryhawaiian said:


> Buahahahaha! I applaud your determination! But I never condone the use of a mans tools... [emoji23] I’m particular about my tools, so I purposely own a set of loaner tools for when people ask to borrow.
> 
> Make sure you take pictures and show us! I wanna see


Once we got married all he has is mine and mine is mine. Hehehe, just kidding but those tools are fair game around here.

This is the single cutter I made. So the multi cutter is sure to come soon.


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## Martha (Mar 6, 2019)

Cal43 said:


> Once we got married all he has is mine and mine is mine. Hehehe, just kidding but those tools are fair game around here.
> 
> This is the single cutter I made. So the multi cutter is sure to come soon.



I’m so impressed!


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## Cal43 (Mar 7, 2019)

Martha said:


> I’m so impressed!



Thank you! I’ve got a way of watching a picture and figuring out how to make something. I didn’t use a plan.


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## Rune (Mar 25, 2019)

You can buy a cutter like that. Once, I was about to buy one, but didn't and bought another instead. I will see if I can find the cutter again and send you the link. It is made from wood, not very expensive, and I think it is from Spain.

One moment, and I will find it....

Here is one. I'm not sure if it is the same as the one I thought of buying. Anyway, it is much cheaper than the one from Aliexpress:

https://www.ladespensadeljabon.com/Cortador-de-Jabo

And here is another one, think it is second hand, perhaps. Even cheaper than the first link: 

https://www.milanuncios.com/otros-articulos-de-bricolaje/cortador-de-jabon-201585591.htm

Here is the one I though of buying, I'm 100% sure now when I saw the picture. It is almost for free, only 40 euro ($45). But the lady who owns the shop does not ship to Norway. She does ship to several EU countries, and maybe to US if you ask her:

https://jaboneriadesuval.com/mesa-cortador-de-jabon.html


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## Complexions (Mar 25, 2019)

The Bud cutters on Etsy are also a nice option.  I have the VolksRose bamboo soap cutter that I got from Amazon, it's not great but I don't hate it either.


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## Rune (Mar 25, 2019)

I have the single wire cutter from Lilyum Sabun in Turkey (the first picture in the link). It is a great cutter, works beautifully. It is a little rougher looking than the Bud cutters, especially at the edges (some sandpaper will easily fix it), but the price was also much lower. The functionality is though just perfect. I can not complain.

Lilyum Sabun does also have the cutter used in the chinese video, I see now (look further down at the page in the link). She have it for $70 dollar, and it is made in wood. She does send to most, if not all countries. And she is a very kind lady: 

https://www.lilyumsabun.com/sabun-kesme-aletleri


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