I'll start with my husband's comments. He is a retired general contractor whose speciality was finish carpentry. The man can spot variances of 1/16th of an inch and has very high standards for finish work. When I unboxed the Hercules, he said, "Wow, that is some nice work there." That's rare praise from him and gives you an idea of the quality of materials and finish. No doubt, copycat models will be sold soon, and perhaps at a lower price. However, I doubt anyone will match the quality of this build for less money.
And he's right. This cutting station is
very well made. All the little details were considered. For instance, it comes with a little stainless steel ruler that slides into a slot for measuring single-cut bars. The ruler sits lower than the bottom of the channel for the wire, thus allowing the wire to cut clear through the bottom of the soap without being stopped by the ruler. They also included a plastic mat to make it easier to slide the soap through the station while cutting. All materials used are HDP or stainless steel, making for super easy clean-up.
As a slab cutter, the Hercules is 1000x easier to use than a standard loaf splitter. Adjusting the height is quick and effortless! No more laborious unwinding and rewinding a single wire attached to a post. No more bent or kinked wire that eventually won't pull taut for even cutting. Simply move the Hercules' cutting handle to different slots as needed - takes 2-3 seconds max.
When used as a single bar cutter, the Hercules far outshines my cheese slicer and my miter box for even bars and consistent cuts. That's coming from a person who cannot cut in a straight line to save her life!
Now, compared to the single-arm cutter I used to own, the Hercules is
almost equal. The slight benefit of the single-arm cutter is that the fixed cutting arm does all the work to keep the wire steady through the entire cut. AliOop-proof every time.
In contrast, because the cutting bar on the Hercules is free-hand and not fixed, the Hercules does require a smidge of concentration to keep the wire pressed firmly against the guide edge while cutting. But even I, the worst cutter alive, was able to get even cuts with this set-up. Believe me, if I can do it, you can, too.
As noted in other posts, and as of the date of this post, the Hercules is priced just below the free shipping threshold. This means that after shipping costs, it is very close in price to the larger version, which is the Caterpillar. As a small hobby soaper, I didn't need the larger Caterpillar, nor did I want it taking up the extra space in my crowded soap room. The Hercules is big enough as it is. So, I looked around for other items that they sell which would put me into the free shipping zone. Their least expensive item was the soap shapers with a round mold, or a small loaf mold. Those would have actually decreased my total purchase price since the shipping cost I would have paid if I hadn't added one of those items, exceeded the cost of either item. Sadly, I didn't need either of those, so I settled on the Cheshire Cat mold-tilting tool. The net difference after free shipping was $7 more than it would have been without the Cheshire Cat and without free shipping. Which explains why I now own a mold-tilting gizmo.
Of course, shipping costs and deals vary all the time, so do your own math to figure out what's best for your needs. For those who want to compare the Caterpillar and the Hercules,
here is CCT's IG post about that.
My overall rating for this tool on a five-star scale is absolutely five stars. If my opinion changes over time, I'll be back to update this post.
