Tools

1. Xacto Knife. The most important part of cutting with an xacto knife is always having a sharp blade. Like in cooking, sharp blades ensure precision and prevent slipping.

2. Metal Ruler. Using a metal ruler helps the knife not slip and protects your fingers. It also lasts longer than plastic and wood because it doesn’t get cut by the xacto knife. If you’re cutting something large scale like a poster, try using a metal T-square.

3. Self-healing Cutting Mat. These help protect tables and other surfaces from xacto knife cuts. They’re also great for cutting fabric.

Cutting with Crop Marks

Crop marks are short lines at the corners of print pieces (typically used by designers and printers).

To cut, use your ruler^* to align one crop mark to the crop mark on the opposite side (a straight line). With your non-dominant hand, apply pressure to the ruler and hold it in place – keep your fingers from the edge! With your dominant hand, align the xacto knife to edge of the ruler. Apply pressure to the knife and glide it down the edge of the ruler. (If your paper doesn’t cut, try again or change your blade.)

Cutting a Lined Box

If you’re using lines as cutting guides, it’s important that the guides don’t show up on your final piece. To avoid that, make sure that there is a teeny, tiny space between the ruler and the guide line.

To cut, align your ruler^* to the guide line (leaving a tiny space in between). With your non-dominant hand, apply pressure to the ruler and hold it in place – keep your fingers from the edge! With your dominant hand, align the xacto knife to edge of the ruler. Apply pressure to the knife and glide it down the edge of the ruler. (If your paper doesn’t cut, try again or change your blade.)