Making Memories - Slice Cordless Design Cutter Machine - Starter Kit

I got my slice in March and was so excited about it and impressed with it that I wanted to write a review right away. However, I held off, deciding it was only fair to review it after I had used it enough to have more of an opinion than just “This little thing rocks!”

Firstly, I want to say that I haven’t had any problems with mine at all. I’ve never had to adjust the pressure on the blade (although I’ve looked into it and it looks easy enough), never had it go wonky on me other than a few times when I tried to use it when the battery was almost dead. I’ve been really pleased with the variety of items on each card (I have 3), and with the overall quality of the cuts. I like how I can pull it out and be cutting within moments and I like how easy it is to bring to crops. I have replaced my blade once in the 3 months of using it and it was very simple to do.

Some of the limitations to the Slice are that it is a little noisy (although no noisier than my friend’s Cricut), it obviously has the 4-inch cutting size limitation, and you do have to hold it while it cuts. I personally also find the letters don’t have as sharp corners as I would want, and sometimes the Slice leaves a little corner still attached to the paper (although this is easily snipped off with scissors). Probably the biggest limitation of the Slice is that it cuts each letter one at a time, which can take a long time if you're cutting long titles.

I hear that the replacement glue is pricey, but I’ve never used the glue that comes with it. I use Kyron repositionable spray adhesive, which requires little to no drying time and seems easier and cheaper than the glue the Slice comes with. I also cover my mat with waxed paper when not in use, which preserves the adhesive for several uses. I never clean my mate before storing it because I like being able to grab it and use it without having to spray it first (although I obviously do clean it before reapplying the adhesive spray).

The strengths of this machine include its ease of use and convenience. Having used a Cricut a few times now, I have to say the Slice is beautifully simple to use. There are only a few buttons, and the menus are self-explanatory and easy to navigate. I like the cordless feature, although I often just leave it plugged in. I’ve already mentioned that it only takes a few seconds to take it out and start cutting. The only slightly difficult thing about using it, is figuring out how to get the most out of your paper. It is a little tricky to predict where the machine is going to cut. Although you can see where the blade is relative to the planned cut (a little x on the screen marks the blade’s position so you can foresee where on the paper the blade will go), it does take some experience with the machine and the different sizes of cuts to become able to predict whether you have enough space on your paper for a particular cut.

Due to space limitations I only have the small mat included with the slice, but I think the larger mat would make it even easier to get the most of your paper.

I bought the Slice because I didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Cricut and then hundreds more collecting a decent library of fonts. There has been a lot of debate about whether the Slice is actually less expensive than the smaller Cricut machine, and it seems like yes, you can get a Cricut on sale for almost as little as a Slice. However, from what I’ve seen of the cartridges, the slice cards have more bang for your buck. Having said that, I still think that if you’re someone who wants a Cricut, you probably shouldn’t get this instead. I know lots of people who have both and use both, so it doesn’t have to be a one or the other kind of decision. I got my Slice because I knew if I got a Cricut, I would want the big fancy one, and I just couldn’t afford that this year.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who wants a quick and easy way to get die cut letters and shapes in a variety of sizes up to 4 inches. I think the machine itself is good value for the price, and the design cards include a large variety of shapes and fonts to make them a great value for their price. However, this little guy does not do what the Cricut does, so if that’s what you’re looking for, then you should probably hold out for a Cricut.



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