Randi's Review	Kathleen' Review	Penny's Review	Renee's Review	Rita's Review

Review by Randi

Inspired Crafts manufactures some good additions for your tool box arsenal. This review covers their "E-Z Tool Cleaner" and "Cutter Glide." I am a long time advocate of putting a date for cleaning tools on a scrapper's monthly schedule. It is so much easier to be creative when our tools function at their best. These products will help them to do just that.

The E-Z Tool Cleaner is the first step in getting those tools in prime working order. Simply apply to your cutting blades, leave on for about a minute (to loosen up the goop) then wipe off. This is also a great cleaner for stamps! My wood-mounted stamps get a lot of abuse from my four-year-old daughter, and I was able to clean some OLD stains from them with the E-Z Tool Cleaner! Cool!

The E-Z Tool Cleaner comes in a one ounce plastic bottle with a screw-on lid. My only suggestion for improvement would be to put a squeeze top on this bottle so that one can easily get a small amount from the bottle. I'm sure I used way too much attempting to dab it onto a cloth and dump it onto my stamp.

The next step to getting your tools back into shape is to apply the Cutter Glide. This is a surface treatment that is good for trimmers, scissors, punches, etc. It leaves a coating that helps to reduce friction and wear on your blades. It comes in a 0.5 ounce glass bottle with a nail polish type brush in the lid. A little goes a LONG way. I expect this bottle to last a very long time.

I de-gooped my tools and applied the Cutter Glide about two weeks ago. I have noticed a marked difference in them during this time. My trimmer blade and scissors don't seem to be accumulating the "goop" that they normally do. In fact, I mistakenly set my scissors down in a puddle of Glossy Accents and didn't notice until the next day. I was impressed that I was able to pick it off quickly, with very little bother. My punches are operating more smoothly now too.

The E-Z Tool Cleaner and Cutter Glide come together in one package at a cost of about $10.00. If you're looking to make your tools function at their best, this is a good investment.

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Review by Kathleen

I received a small, unassuming package in the mail a few weeks ago that ended up surprising me in a BIG way. The package was a 0.5-ounce bottle of Cutter Glide Tool Treatment and a 1-ounce sample of E-Z Tool Cleaner from Inspired Crafts. The bottles came packaged in a re-closable plastic shell. Included with the bottles was a small pamphlet with basic instructions and safety information.

For the Cutter Glide Tool Treatment, the bottle and applicator look just like a bottle of nail polish. The amount I used was so small; I think this bottle will last a very long time. The E-Z Tool Cleaner is in an open topped bottle. I can foresee going through this a bit more quickly.

So how did these products surprise me? I first used the Cutter Glide Tool Treatment on my paper trimmer. As one would expect with a guillotine style blade, there is a lot of friction between the blade and the metal base. I applied the product per the instructions and let it dry. When I went to use my trimmer, I could not only hear less friction, but could feel the difference too.

With the E-Z Tool Cleaner, I was amazed to find how easily it cleaned my very dirty stamps and work surface. This was very cool since I had long ago given up cleaning them because I could never find anything that really did the job. I also used it to clean the scissors I use for cutting the mounting foam for my stamps.

In summary, I was very impressed with both the Cutter Glide Tool Treatment and E-Z Tool Cleaner. The Cutter Glide Tool Treatment worked beautifully on my trimmer and did wonders for my stubborn punches. The E-Z Tool Cleaner cleaned up my messy stamps and work area so that it almost looks as though they are brand new! The only thing I would change with the E-Z Tool Cleaner would be to add a sponge dabber to the top to allow more controlled use of the product.

The pair retail for around $9.99, which is a steal in my book for all the use I will get from it. I would recommend this product to avid stampers and scrappers who want to prolong the life of their tools.

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Review by Penny

Have you ever had a cutting tool that you'd rather trash before attempting to clean it? When I am feeling creative I certainly don't stop to clean off the adhesive or ink from my tools, so sometimes they get a little ugly.

Inspired Crafts has developed a very easy to use product called E-Z Tool Cleaner. It is a clear solvent-free and environmentally safe cleaner that will remove adhesive or solvent inks from your tools, or even ink build-up from your rubber stamps.

Supplies

I have many dirty stamps so that is the first place I tested the E-Z Tool Cleaner. After applying the cleaner with a soft toothbrush, I gently scrubbed the rubber stamp and within a few seconds the ink was off of my stamps! My first reaction was if I ever wanted to sell some of my stamps cleaning them first would be well worth my time. The rubber looked brand new!

Applying E-Z Tool Cleaner with Toothbrush

Before and After Cleaning Example

I also tested the E-Z Tool Cleaner on an old pair of scissors. All adhesive and other materials on the blades were quickly removed.

The only cutting tool that you should not use the E-Z Tool Cleaner is craft punches. For those, we move directly to the Cutter Glide solution. Cutter Glide - as its name implies - is designed to smooth cutting surfaces, reduce friction and decrease wear on your tools. It can be applied to any cutting surface giving it a durable coating. It comes in a small half ounce bottle similar to nail polish with an applicator brush and retails for around $9.75 along with a free one ounce bottle of E-Z Tool Cleaner.

I put the Cutter Glide to my most challenging test. I've been hanging on to a square punch that often gets stuck. I have wanted to toss it in the trash many times, but it still sits in my drawer. I applied the Cutter Glide to the cutting surfaces of the punch using the applicator brush. I cycled my punch a few times and then punched through cardstock a few times to soak up excess liquid and voila, my punch works much better! No more sticking!

I picked up that old pair of scissors again which I had used the E-Z Tool Cleaner on previously. After applying the Cutter Glide and allowing to dry, my scissors had a nice smooth cutting action.

Applying Cutter Glide to Scissors

Although the E-Z Tool Cleaner and Cutter Glide come in small bottles, very little is needed to achieve the desired effect and should last quite awhile. If you have struggled with removing adhesive, stamping ink or a sticking punch, Inspired Crafts has the tools to help!

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Review by Renee

Nothing is more aggravating that to pull out a favorite sheet of pattered paper, make your cut and end up with a fuzzy cut due to a worn out blade on your cutter. Inspired Crafts has developed a product that will help to extend the life of your cutting surfaces. It is called Cutter Glide and it works to reduce friction and decrease wear. The product is environmentally safe and will bond to almost any surface according to the package materials. Also contained with the packaging is a bottle of E-Z tool cleaner which is an all purpose cleaner to be used in conjunction with the Cutter glide.

The product came packaged in a plastic container containing a bottle of Cutter Glide as well as a sample size bottle of the E-Z Tool cleaner. The Cutter Glide bottle resembles a nail polish bottle and contains a brush inside very much like the brush in a bottle of nail polish. The packaging indicates that the product is a special lubricant for craft punches, scissors, cutting blades and other craft tools. The product bonds to both plastic and metals. The instructions also indicate that the E-Z tool cleaner should be used on all surfaces except craft punches prior to application of the Cutter Glide.

To test the product, I applied both the cleaner and cutter glide to several blades of my trimmer (including a trimmer blade that was worn and producing those dreaded fuzzy cuts) I also applied it to a pair of decorative scissors which a scalloped edge to see if it would improve the decorative cut. In addition, since the E-Z tool cleaner also spoke of cleaning ink from rubber stamps, I used the cleaner on a rubber stamps to see how well it removed the ink.

Title: Application of Product

Once the tools were adequately dry, I tried each of them to see if I noticed a difference in the quality of the cut. On both the new and gently used blades, I was able to obtain smooth, clean cuts, just as I would have expected. Both blades moved easily on the cutting tracks with no sticking. What was surprising was the cut I was able to obtain from the worn out blade. The cut was not a smooth as my new blade, but was smooth enough to be useable. However, more surprisingly, the cut was clean, with no extraneous paper remaining on the edge. The blade cut so well, that I anticipate several more months of use from this blade. My old scalloped edge scissors cut equally as well. There is no longer a need to purchase another pair, as I previously planned. Likewise, the cleaner removed years of ink from a favorite set of rubber stamps.

Title: Use of Product

In conclusion, I was very surprised and pleased with the results I received using the Cutter Glide. I highly recommend this product to anyone who wants to extend the life of the cutting tools.

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Review by Rita

Cutter Glide Tool Treatment is a safe, acid-free lubricant manufactured to enhance the performance of cutting tools, and prolong their life. E-Z Tool Cleaner is an environmentally safe, solvent free cleaner that removes adhesive residue from your cutting blades, as well as ink build up from both acrylic and wooden/rubber stamps. To learn more about these products visit Inspired Crafts at their web-site: www.inspiredcrafts.com .

Products from Inspired Crafts arrived in a dual pack. The package included a 1 oz. bottle of E-Z Tool Cleaner and .5 oz. bottle of Cutter Glide, wrapped with a small instruction guide.

After gathering the items I would want to test with this product, I carefully cleaned the knife blades and scissors with the E-Z Tool Cleaner and a paper towel, as instructed. I applied Cutter Glide to a variety of tools, including an exacto knife blade, Coluzzle swivel knife blade, several micro tip scissors, needle in a sewing machine, and a flower punch that continually sticks. I was eager to see the difference the products would make.

I utilize two exacto knives at my scrap table, primarily so I can almost always find one when needed. Allowing the tools to dry overnight, I compared using both exacto knives - one treated with Cutter Glide, and the other without. Both blades made clean cuts, but the knife treated with the Cutter Glide seemed to require less effort.

Cutter Glide cannot perform miracles, and although I knew my Coluzzle blade is past the need of replacing, I opted to see the difference, if any, the Cutter Glide would make. Although I did get less friction , and the edges of the cardstock were not as rough as before, Cutter Glide was not able to prolong the life of a blade past its prime.

Cutter Glide did, however, give renewed life to a paper punch that has been giving me jam problems since I purchased it. As directed, I did not use the E-Z Tool Cleaner on the paper punch before applying the tool treatment. To apply Cutter Glide, I placed a paper towel under my punch, and turning it upside down on a sturdy work surface, pressed down to project the cutting blades upward through the bottom of the punch. I liberally applied Cutter Glide with the easy-to-use brush applicator. Allowing the blades to recess into the cutting cavity, I brushed more of the treatment along the inside walls of the paper punch (as shown below). I depressed the punch twice to allow the product to filter its way into the working mechanisms of the paper punch.

Before applying Cutter Glide to three pair of micro-tip scissors, I tested all of them first on a rather thick style of ribbon. My hardly-used pair made a clean cut with no problem. Pair number two, a teflon-coated pair, made a clean cut, fraying only the outer edge of the ribbon, and pair number 3 struggled to cut through the ribbon at all. After applying the treatment and allowing to dry overnight, I tested all the scissors on the same piece of ribbon. With the first pair I did not notice a difference. With pair number 2 I managed a clean cut the entire way through, and pair number three, although requiring less effort to make the cut than it had before, still frayed an outside edge of the ribbon when making the cut.

The punch was allowed to dry overnight. I tested the punch on scrap cardstock first, to ensure no residue would seep out. There was no problem with the punch jamming. I then took the same heavy weight piece of cardstock, that had continually jammed in the punch the night before, and punched a flower without lock up. The cardstock was released easily, as a paper punch should. I am very pleased to be able to use this particular punch again, since it is part of a nesting series of punches.

As I like to sew on my projects using a Singer sewing machine, I wanted to see how the Cutter Glide would perform there as well. First, I swabbed the needle with the E-Z cleaner, to ensure adhesives used to tack down my papers before sewing did not remain on the needle. In my first attempt to add Cutter Glide to the needle, I inadvertently covered the eye of the needle as well. This posed a problem the following morning when I tried to thread the needle, and it did not work. Realizing what had happened, I inserted a different needle.

I was more careful, the second time around, to brush Cutter Glide only on the tip of the sewing machine needle. I decided to test the newly protected needle on a thickness of material I had not previously been brave enough to try on the old Singer I use. I sandwiched a piece of chipboard between two pieces of Prism cardstock, one side of which had scraps of sticker stock. The sewing machine went through all thickness with great ease.

I also utilized the E-Z Tool Cleaner on several stamps that needed a face lift. One older rubber stamp, purchased used, had a coating of shimmery ink on almost its entire rubber surface. Using a paper towel, I applied the tool cleaner product and was able to remove much of the old ink. With a little more time and effort, and a soft toothbrush, I am certain I can give this old stamp a face lift.

I tested the E-Z Tool Cleaner on acrylic stamps as well, which had not been cleaned immediately after use with black Staz-On ink. Black residue did come off onto the paper toweling, although it did not remove the ink completely.

For the very fact that the Cutter Glide Tool Treatment gave renewed life to a problematic flower punch, I would recommend this product to anyone that uses paper punches. I plan to apply it to a number of punches that have periodic stickiness. I also plan to continue using it on the tip of the sewing machine needle, and now feel brave enough to sew on chipboard.

The E-Z Tool Cleaner is also a great stand-by for times when adhesive gunks up on cutting blades. Because I often sew through layers of cardstock, and patterned papers, that are held in place with small amounts of adhesive, I feel a regular cleaning of the sewing machine needle with this product is beneficial.

As one who is constantly utilizing a craft knife, I feel Cutter Glide Tool Treatment belongs in my scrapbook tool caddy . The E-Z Tool Cleaner is also a great tool accessory for ensuring your tools are "gunk free" and glide easily on your projects. The small size of the bottles allows one to store them in a nearby tote, drawer, or caddy for easy retrieval as needed.

NOTE: We have just received word that Inspired Crafts just released their E-Z Tool Cleaner in a 4 ounce spray bottle at CHA in Anaheim!

For more information visit Inspired Crafts