Tools of the Trade
Day One: Safety Cutting Ruler
A few years ago, I spent each day in January writing about a different tool I use in my maskmaking. As I am currently redesigning my entire website in the new year, I thought it might be nice to revisit this project. Each day in January 2021, I’ll share a different item that I use in my studio. I hope some of these can help other people who are interested in making wrestling masks.
I do a fair amount of prototyping patterns in paper and cardstock. I’ll sketch up an idea for a new mask element, cut them out, and see how they look. This helps me figure out relative sizing. Sometimes I’ll try and create new 3D constructions, in which case I get out the tape and assemble them to see how the shapes turn out. A metal ruler helps a lot in this process, when I want to cut out a nice straight line using a utility knife. I have several such rulers, but none seemed to be ideal, as they would slip while I was cutting and I was afraid of cutting myself.
Enter the Safety Cutting Ruler by Imperial Global. I looked at a lot of different metal rulers, some of which were even designed for using as an edge to cut against, but this one really grabbed me. The gimmick is that it has a hinged flap that lays flat when you’re using it as a ruler, but then you can lift it up to act as a shield to protect your fingers when you’re cutting. I have a few other “cutting rulers,” but this one is definitely the best, as the cutting shield is quite close to the actual edge of the ruler, meaning you can have your fingers well over the centreline of the ruler, keeping the ruler in place with downward pressure. Additionally, the bottom of the ruler has an excellent nonskid strip to keep it from moving around, and the cutting edge lies nice and flush with the surface you’re cutting on.
This is the 30 centimetre/12 inch version of the ruler. I liked it so much, I bought the 60 centimetre/24 inch version as well. I wish they also made a shorter version, as much of the cutting I do is of smaller pieces of paper, but I’m very happy with these rulers as is.
You can get the 30cm/12″ ruler here, and the 60cm/24″ version here.
