A Glut of Tools

Have you seen this thing? It's called the EK Cutterfly and it's a real insult to my intelligence. You see, this tells me exactly what EK thinks of me as a customer.

Now, as a retailer (a bit of my anonymity just went flying out the window), I've watched a glut of tools come onto the market in the last few years, some are pretty good, but many more are not worth the investment. This would be one of them.

Here's what the package says: "This craft & scrapbooking utility tool is ideal for the crafter on the go. Featuring 11 tools in one! - Spring action scissors - Cut rotary blades - Distress tool - Paper piercer - Spring action needle nose pliers - Retracting ruler - Tweezers - Emboss stylus - Keychain - Rub-on tool - Screwdriver."

Uh, not really. First of all, the thing should be classified as a legal weapon. It's the most dangerous tool I've ever sold. Locking it in place is about the diciest thing you'll ever do, and keeping it in place is even harder. The spring-action scissors are tiny and unless you're only interested in cutting small items even smaller, they're not worth the time. I could go on and on about it, breaking it down bit by bit, but frankly, the tool is not worth my time. BUT, and this is a big but, this tool is representative, and may even be the Grand Poobah, of tools that suck. Manufacturers crank them out with such high hopes, thinking they can sucker enough customers into making it profitable for them; thankfully, in the scrapbooking industry, news spreads fast, and bad news spreads even faster.

In fact, EK, while an amazing company in and of itself, has introduced a LOT of crappy tools over the years -- circle scissors, the empunchlar, the empressor, and oh, the very worst of them all, the inscriblio. While I don't have a bone to pick with just EK, I am amazed at the quality of the tools they've introduced to the public. Their Paper Shapers punches are an incredible product, easy to use, great to work with, so why can't more of their tools be of such high calibre?

Lest you think it's just EK I'm picking on, there have been a ton of tools introduced to market that have never lived up to the hype -- Basic Grey, Provo Craft, Making Memories, the list really does go on and on.

So, to save our fellow scrapbookers a bit of dough, tell us about the tools you pinned your hopes on and never got your dimes worth. And most of all, if you found a way to get around the kinks and get the darn things working better, share. Cause I've got a cabinet full of tools I'd love to get more use out of!