FloraCraft Floral Wire Cutter 6.5 Inch Purple

Decorating a house is hard work, especially when it is your first home and you have a blank slate. After decorating the bedroom, I had this crazy idea to get some hanging baskets and arrange some silk flowers. The only experience that I have with "fake" flowers is watching my former mother-in-law create arrangements for my wedding with her son. Other than being deceptively inexpensive to create, I quickly found out that while the stems may look like plastic, they certainly do not cut with a simple pair of scissors. Thus my search for an economical set of wire cutters that would (hopefully) not hurt my hands too much (I have lupus which makes my hands ache and also means a certain weakness in my grip).Now that I have probably bored you with an overly-elaborate explanation of WHY I purchased the FloraCraft Wire Cutter (to cut floral wire... but I think you knew that), on to my impressions.Quality of the CraftsmanshipI will make this quick: these cutters are much better quality than their $4 price tag would have you believe. As a matter of fact, they are better quality than a wire beading pair included in a $15 set that I purchased from Michael's Craft Stores. Granted, the wire gauges that are generally used for jewelry-making are a bit thinner than floral wire, but the overall quality of the beading set is much poorer in comparison with the FloraCraft Wire Cutter. These cutters have a nice weight and feel well-made. The handle is textured so as to provide a nice grip; with a 6 ½" long handle the lever (and subsequently the fulcrum point distance) is large enough to comfortably cut 22-gauge floral wire without hurting my hands. As a matter of fact, I was able to complete an entire hanging basket arrangement without once having to struggle with these cutters. Thus, while the FloraCraft Wire Cutter is an inexpensive accessory, it is definitely NOT cheap.ConclusionIn one sentence: if you need a good pair of wire cutters to use for your silk/"fake" flower arrangements, invest in these.I was pleasantly surprised by the exceptional quality of the cutter for the price of $4. When I clicked the "Buy" button, I simply wanted a cheap tool to cut the flowers I bought so that I could finish decorating a room. What I received is a great tool that will definitely get a lot of use. I was able to cut the stems of silk carnations and plastic berries to press into a block of foam with such ease that I was inspired to craft even more things than intended! In fact, I would even go so far as to say that these cutters used less force to cut the flowers than it took to push them into the foam block!With a nice weight, sharp blades, and a comfortable handle, these cutters will easily become your favorite pair to use for all of your floral arrangement needs. I guarantee that you will be able to cut through stem after stem with little to no pain in your hands. The only complaint that I can even muster is that the price is too low; because of the fact the shipping cost is more than the cutter's price Amazon has to price these as an add-on item and thus force you to spend $25 on something else to offset the shipping disparity! Rejoice, however; you can use that $25 to get more floral accessories!

Work great!

Bought thinking it would be good for trimming down floral pins that are too long (they stick out of wreaths). However, are a little challenging to cut with this wire cutter.The floral pins are slightly too thick. Or maybe I should build more palm/hand strength. Also, the cutter arrived and had some residue on the handle and on the metal parts, making it a little sticky where the blades are. I'm sure this'll be handy for other household purposes though.

Great wire cutters! I do a lot of beading and floral work and these are perfect. They arrived in great condition. Cut through even the thickest wires on silk flowers, even the plastic coated ones! We used these in the flower shop I worked in and I'd wondered if, because of the price, these would be a cheap substitute. They aren't by any means! Do add a very very thin coat of machine oil to them when you first get them though. They'll never rust and it helps to keep a sharp edge. Handles have plenty of padding and a good size to hold.

Mine looked used. InAll honestly it arrives dirty like it was used, but it got the work done and can’t complain about that

Just got this in the mail today. Package was all dinged up and cracked (picture shown), I wouldn't have minded normally but the wire cutters were filthy and used! The cutters don't even align up properly when closed. I don't plan to find out whether or not it can cut through my 28 gauge floral wire, so very disappointed.

This tool is great to have in your tool box for gum paste flower designs. Cutting wire stems, especially with a low gauge can destroy your scissors and not to mention your hand and wrist. It's inexpensive and worth the money.

These worked for trimming a few bouquets, but it was tough going and we seem to have pitted the blades pretty badly, so I don't think I'll be able to use it for very much longer. Probably would be better for just wire, rather than artificial flowers with a great deal of other material around it.