Best cutting ruler? NOT ALUMINUM!

https://www.tigersupplies.com/Products/Speedpress-Ultimate-Steel-Safety-Ruler__ALVSSR7028-.aspx

I believe the big blue rulers have a stainless steel edge or rod on the edge.

 

The Sooper Edge Rulers are what we use here. Yes, they are aluminum, but the cutting edge is stainless steel and well worth the money.

https://www.uscutter.com/Sooper-Edge-Aluminum-Ruler

 

I prefer the ones without a stainless edge.

At least on our sooper... It's a little rounded steel edge... It tends to throw off the cuts a little bit since it's not flat. I find myself using the steel part for anything that doesn't need to be accurate, and flipping it around and using the hand side for anything I need to cut perfectly to the cut mark.

 

We bought all 3 sizes and love them.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...m=a2700.wholesale.pronpeci14.3.cf077a1cpyyr7C

 

Yes, for those that don't know any better, aluminum is too soft of a metal for cutting with an xacto. The blade tends to "catch" or "dig into" the aluminum. Severe safety hazard! We use an aluminum body with a steel strip embedded.

 

Got the blue sooper edge, hated it, edge was soft. The purple one has harder edge and gives good service. Pricey for a ruler but worth it.

 

Wow, what a bunch of maladroits. I've been using 2" aluminum drywall rules in various lengths for decades an have never, ever, managed to cut anything except what I intended to cut. Safety rules are for idiots. That being said, I admit to having a couple of them. Their only use is when I need a really heavy straight edge as when manually parting small decals.

 

We have a 126" Keen cutter, several straight edges and we even have the talent to make long cuts with knives using wood. How can one be so careless that you cut into the edge of your rulers ??

How long are these prints OP, that you need non-aluminum straight edges ??​

 

Why do guns have a "safety"? Who in their right mind would accidentally fire a weapon.
p.s. I've been known to run with scissors

 

Well, a gun is quite different from an xacto knife. Unless you are very very careless, maybe you shouldn't be around knives or guns. Maybe even lotsa other things, but we're talking about a knife following a straight edge and cutting into it, not slicing some digits off. Yes, it can happen, but an aluminum straight edge vs steel or wood is not gonna stop that kinda stupidness.

I would suggest to those kinda people to look into working an elevator or a tanning salon. Not too much to go wrong..................... This way, please. 4th floor linens and bath supplies....................

 

I like the purple sooper edges; I replaced all of our straight edges with them when I took this shop over last year and just added another 28" this week.
The old aluminum ones we had were getting aluminum shavings everywhere, some say aluminum causes alzheimer's; this may be why Gino doesn't get it.

 

Don't get what ?? Who shaves with aluminum ?? Who cooks with aluminum pots & pans ??

No, I get what they're all saying, I just don't understand why so many people cannot keep the blade going straight, instead of turning it towards the straight edge ?? It just amazes me how silly some of these requests are...... and more so, that there are remedies. These companies just rely on peoples' f*ck ups.

 

Ask your insurance rep. Same reason the boss ensures all knives are taken out of the sales area and moved to the production room.
All I know is since switching to "steel" edge we have had less injuries over the years. Also less "mis-cuts".
Most cuts are on a Keencut anyway.

 

I agree with Gino. If you're cutting the edge off your rulers, you're doing it wrong.

 

Maybe your insurance company, but in our shop, there must be 78 places you could get cut by a knife, sharp piece of plastic, tools of all sorts and still find more ways to injure oneself. Yep, we take as many precaution as we can or have seen through experience, but accidents are gonna happen. Ever notice it's the not-so-with-it people ??

Not at my shop, but a place I worked at a lo-o-o-ong time ago, we had a guy, who was alright, but you could tell he wasn't all there. He wore a Confederate hat, boots, bandanna around his neck and a knife on his hip..... in a sheath. He was just ending his day and talking to me and he hopped up on a ledge so he could sit and his knife somehow got turned upside down and he sat on it.... sticking straight up in the air. Guess who hadda help him ?? I helped him back inside and Shirley, the one owner said, Gene, tend to his wound, not knowing how bad it was. He was bleeding all over the frickin' place. Once he got his pants off, I could see he did some major damage to his @ss. I said, I ain't working on that !!! We put him in towels and the owner took him to the hospital where he stayed in for about 3 days. About a week later, Shirley said to me.... how am I ever gonna write this up for insurance ?? Man hops up on table, sits on knife and makes a second @sshole. That'll never fly, plus they'll never believe it.

 

I hate those sooper rulers. Too often then cast an unwanted shadow. And they're not flat to the material. And trimming off a small edge is a nightmare. I find them awkward, especially on smaller materials. But to each his own. Aluminium ruler are a mess too. Over time, they start to curve from where one part of the ruler is used too much. And the last ones that management got, had the numbers rubbing off in a matter of weeks. You get what you pay for. I prefer a steel ruler myself.

 

I have a 48" staedtler stainless steel straight edge I bought 30 years ago for about $100.00. I think I use it almost every day. Knife blade does not get stuck on it and the metal sort of contours to the substrate, unlike an aluminum edge which will not bow at all. I did add some of that dollar store rubbery shelf liner to the bottom and it never slips

I have a couple of the aluminum straight edges with ruller built into them and a safety bar, but have never liked using them.

 

100% agree with this. The only good thing about them is the purple ones with the foam board cutter. It can be pretty handy, but if you don't have bleeds, good luck trimming less than a 1/4in off.

 

I have a piece of 2x2x1/8" aluminum angle, something like 11' long, with a hole to hang from a nail. We even put some glass tape on the bottom side so we consistently use that side against the print, and keeps it from scuffing the prints. If you are shaving your ruler with every cut, then you have a problem with the way you're angling the blade, or you're on the wrong side of the ruler.
I also have a sooper piece of junk that I can't cut a straight line with to save my life. And I hate purple.