Swingline ClassicCut Pro 15" Guillotine Trimmer - 9115

The 15" blade of this model of ClassicCut Pro makes it a great fit for projects that entail working with letter and legal sized sheets as well as documents that are a little bit longer, and of course, smaller. This kind of versatility makes this machine a great choice for scrapbooking and other applications wherein some measure of flexibility is appropriate.

The overall construction of the ClassicCut Pro 15" is better than you might find in a lot of cutters in its price range. The cutting arm is made of metal (where you will often find plastic), and while the cutting surface is a wood composite, even that is better than some of the cheaper ones we have seen. While it's not going to be as durable as trimmers that feature a solid chunk of maple, it is not as expensive as those trimmers either, so you will have to decide what is best for you and your needs.

Safety features are always important when you are talking about guillotine trimmers, and the ClassicCut Pro 15" has a few that are worth mentioning. First, there is a latch that locks the blade down when the trimmer is not being used. There is also a system of springs and rubber washers that holds the blade in any position I which it is left, meaning that you won't have to worry about it falling unexpectedly. Finally, there is a guard rail that keeps your fingers away from the blade when they are holding your pages during the cutting process.

The board features a grid to assist in proper paper alignment and a ruler that includes lines for measuring in both the metric and US systems. These are nice touches that help to ensure that your project's cuts will be accurate and precise.

The cutting blade of the ClassicCut Pro 15" is stainless steel, and appears to be of solid construction. While it is self sharpening to some degree, it can also be taken off and sharpened and/or replaced in need be. This is a nice feature, as it is inevitable that there will be dings and divots in the blade over time, and a good sharpening (or a new blade) is a lot cheaper than purchasing a whole new trimmer.

It would seem that Swingline has some faith in the longevity of this trimmer, as they have given it a 10 year warranty. That has to be considered a good sign, as warranties of this length are hard to find these days.

There are a couple things of note that keep this machine squarely in the light-to-medium duty category. The first is the lack of a clamp to hols you pages in place when you do your cutting. Also the sheet capacity is decent, but you will want to operate below it in order to ensure that your sheets are cleanly and accurately cut.

The safety features are also acceptable, but as with any paper trimmer, if young folks will be using it, they should be very well supervised.