About postprocessing film... How do you cut negatives, scissors, guillotine or something else?

[AgX]

Thank you. Then the Fiskars design is very different from the usual steel-plate based paper cutter where the film would be difficult to place.

 

[thomascn6113]

I have used both scissors and the Martin cutter since I started shooting film about 8 years ago. Tried different methods like the James Bond laser table but my film kept escaping, only to foil my plans for world domination. I suppose the tried and true methods are the best.

 

[AgX]

There also is the DIY approach I presented here some years ago:

Mount a guide of an angled profile perpendicular to one branch of a pair of scissors. For most straight results bend this branch straight before.
Such pair of scissors would even allow to cut the film when still hanging.

 

[Vaughn]

Sissors for roll film, and for sheet film, a straight edge and an exacto knife.

 

[MrFus]

Thank you to everyone who has come with opinions and ideas, I ordered the Martin Cutter to give it a try and I need to get a new set of small scissors exclusively for cutting film...

 

[MattKing]

If, after you have cut the negatives into strips, you like to round the leading corners of film strips before inserting them into the storage pages, fingernail trimmers are the best solution I have found.
Something like this random Amazon item:

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I use scissors, usually Japanese spring scissors. Saw those on a documentary about scissors and it showed a movie editor using them and it looked cool so I got some.

The technique though to use regardless of what scissors you have is to sleeve the neg then cut. One, it keeps the filmstrips in order, and two, keeps them from moving when you cut. I also cut quickly. I've found that the best method. I just line up the scissors and whack!

 

[MrFus]

I use scissors, usually Japanese spring scissors. Saw those on a documentary about scissors and it showed a movie editor using them and it looked cool so I got some.

The technique though to use regardless of what scissors you have is to sleeve the neg then cut. One, it keeps the filmstrips in order, and two, keeps them from moving when you cut. I also cut quickly. I've found that the best method. I just line up the scissors and whack!

I have a roll hanging that was processed a couple of days ago, I'm going to cut it on the way that you suggested tonight when I get home from work!!

 

[Snowfire]

Scissors for 120. For 35mm, there is a cutting tool that Polaroid put out in the 1980s for their (now long-defunct) instant 35mm films. I find it works quite well for all 35mm films if placed atop a light box during use. It was cheaply made, but surprisingly finctional, and originally contained a feature to help mount slides.

 

[Chunga]

The scissors on a Swiss Army knife work well for me. My Leica If with a Voigtlander 25/4 has VERY slim spacing between the frames so the tiny scissors are very handy for that.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Hey all, just a note to add when cutting negs, be sure the blades are clean! Using the same pair of scissors for cutting other materials (especially TAPE) can and does leave residue on the blades and this can be transferred to the edge of the negative, which can affect the archival keeping, and especially important not to say, cut open a few bags of developer or fixer with the same pair.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hey all, just a note to add when cutting negs, be sure the blades are clean! Using the same pair of scissors for cutting other materials (especially TAPE) can and does leave residue on the blades and this can be transferred to the edge of the negative, which can affect the archival keeping, and especially important not to say, cut open a few bags of developer or fixer with the same pair.

Great point. Thank you.

 

[Vaughn]

Hey all, just a note to add when cutting negs, be sure the blades are clean! Using the same pair of scissors for cutting other materials (especially TAPE) can and does leave residue on the blades and this can be transferred to the edge of the negative, which can affect the archival keeping, and especially important not to say, cut open a few bags of developer or fixer with the same pair.

That is an important reminder, especially for those in certain parts of Hawaii and in the Emerald Triangle! Keep the sinsemilla scissors separate!

 

[GDI]

The forum is trying to insert my amazon link as a media item.

Search for "Matin Multiple Slide Film Cutter". Let's try this link

Put it on top of a light source, and go to town.

I use one - I modded it to install and battery powered led inside and it works great as a stand-alone cutter.

 

[Down Under]

First world problem. Up to 40 responses. Wow!!

Scissors. Half a diazepam. A small glass of gin. Will work wonders.

 

[Jay Schrotenboer]

First world problem. Up to 40 responses. Wow!!

Scissors. Half a diazepam. A small glass of gin. Will work wonders.

First word problem indeed. I used to think I worried a lot about cutting my negatives without damaging them, but I don’t even use a light source to help me. Maybe I have not shot enough film, or my negatives are too dense!

 

[snusmumriken]

I use scissors because I try to avoid putting the film down on anything that might add dust or scratch the emulsion. However, I am using 35mm, which is easy because the space between frames is always midway between sprocket holes (at least with my camera), and the holes on the other side give me something to aim for. Based on this thought, my suggestion FWIW would be to make a very small mark with a Sharpie on the edges of your film where you want to cut, use scissors a little longer than the film width, and line up the lower blade with the two marks.

 

[grat]

Is there some cultural stigma I'm unaware of in the photography community against getting the right tool? I mean, there is a tool, which is literally designed for the OP's problem, it's commonly available, and reasonably inexpensive (and at least two people have said it works like a champ)-- And we've got two pages of responses trying to justify not using it, usually with far more complicated, fiddly "solutions" being offered.

Ya'll are funny.

 

[snusmumriken]

Is there some cultural stigma I'm unaware of in the photography community against getting the right tool? I mean, there is a tool, which is literally designed for the OP's problem, it's commonly available, and reasonably inexpensive (and at least two people have said it works like a champ)-- And we've got two pages of responses trying to justify not using it, usually with far more complicated, fiddly "solutions" being offered.

Ya'll are funny.

On the other hand, at least two reviewers on Amazon said it was a very disappointing gadget and they were going back to scissors ...

 

[gone]

I just use kitchen scissors, but always be sure to have a good light source behind the neg, not in front. If you do that, you can see very clearly as you make your cut. It doesn't work so hot the other way around.

 

[grat]

On the other hand, at least two reviewers on Amazon said it was a very disappointing gadget and they were going back to scissors ...

Understood.

Several years ago, I was in the market for a new washing machine, and one particular model caught my eye. Most reviews were positive, but there were a number of reviewers who complained that their units would shake and vibrate so much, that they would "walk" across the floor, and even posted videos of this behavior. Reading the manual, it turns out that the unit has some "shipping" bolts that need to be removed before use, or, as the manual warns, "Failure to remove shipping bolts may cause severe vibration and noise which may damage the unit".

I read negative reviews, and in this case, negative cutter reviews. My personal experience has been positive, and it greatly simplifies the problem.

 

[markjwyatt]

Small scissors work for me for 35mm and 120. Large scissors are dangerous. I like the idea of a film cutter also.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Small scissors work for me for 35mm and 120. Large scissors are dangerous. I like the idea of a film cutter also.

I have used small scissors, large scissors and left handed scissors and all of them, as long as they are straight not curved work well. Just do not run with scissors.

 

[foc]

If you really want the top notch.............
one of these or similar.

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Bah! I used to use those in a few mini-labs I worked at as a late teen; While those neg sleeving unit *could* be fast, in general the cut line was too inconsistent for my own negs, plus they only cut 4-5 negs in a row and I vastly prefer a 6 strip. Great for keeping the time to under 59 minutes which was the whole point of those Mall-style labs.

Another tip to go with my above tip to *clean the blades* is to cut negs on a smooth wooden surface, where the natural anti-static properties would allow a regular wipe with Kim-wipes without creating a static magnet for dust. I used to cut 25-50 rolls a week of black and white negs off of reels when I ran my studio for weddings, so I was always looking for any future time savings/dust reduction.