Might have been the one that wrote this review at Amazon :A friend of mine that doesn't play ASL but a whole host of monster wargames with usually 1500+ counters per game, sits in front of the television and clips counters all night for nights on end, drives his missus crazy. It got real bad when he asked his wife to take over while he went for a shower/coffee break!
I tell you what:I have clipped thousands of counters with the deluxe 2 mm and have had no problems at all. It beats any other clipping tool and I have tried them all. I will tell you the secret of it not breaking. I too was freaked out by earlier stories of them breaking so I bought a spare. Never had to take it out of the box.
Two words: Laser Cutter
http://makezine.com/2015/12/02/a-guide-to-buying-your-first-laser-cutter/
JR
There was a bad batch last year which is the result of those Amazon reviews. The manufacturer pulled all product from Amazon and replaced them. You can also order from Oregon Laminations directly and be assured that you won't get a defective one if some are still out there. I bought mine from Amazon originally and it had an alignment/machining issue. Oregon Laminations had me send it back to them and they replaced it. Deal direct. But I think as long as you don't get one from the bad batch you'll be fine.Looking at Amazon's reviews (47 overall as per my above link), 19 are critical and of these 13 report of breakage. Of the 'criticals' one is from 2015, two from 2017 (both reporting breakage) and the rest of 2016.
Given that most people tend to give their reviews pretty soon after purchase at Amazon (i.e. when things are still ok), then 28% of all reviews reporting breakage (i.e. complete failure) seems quite remarkable.
Now here the feedback so far is rather positive.
Somewhat of a quandary...
von Marwitz
I bought mine directly from Oregon Laminations as well.There was a bad batch last year which is the result of those Amazon reviews. The manufacturer pulled all product from Amazon and replaced them. You can also order from Oregon Laminations directly and be assured that you won't get a defective one if some are still out there. I bought mine from Amazon originally and it had an alignment/machining issue. Oregon Laminations had me send it back to them and they replaced it. Deal direct. But I think as long as you don't get one from the bad batch you'll be fine.
"Do you smell that? Do you smell that? That's napalm, son. Nothing in the world smells like that. The whole hill smells like victory."But the edges of the laser-cut counters tend to become a bit brown and the counters could have somewhat of a burned smell to them.
Same here. No problems whatsoever. Bought mine from France, hexasim.comI have used the Oregon for a couple years now, likely several thousand counters and it still going strong. Uniformly rounds the corners very efficiently.
Hi von MI tell you what:
Seems that you are located in the UK. How about if I buy your spare 2mm one from you?
If there were issues and you have not encountered them, maybe you have one from a good batch. Name the price, I'll pay you in advance including shipping, so you free up some funds. I on the other hand do not have to bother with customs which requires a 1 hour drive to pick it up at the next customs office.
Could be a win-win. If you are interested, please feel free to drop me a PM.
von Marwitz
No worries. Thanks for getting back, though.Hi von M
Thanks for the offer but I still have a ton of counters to clip for games I have not yet played and the new WiF due out soon so I'm going to hang onto them both. Besides, I just know if I sold one, the other will break! Someone above said they are available from Hexasim but I just searched on their site and got nothing. Despite the customs and the drive, I would strongly recommend you get one from Oregon direct. They are a great long term investment - well, if you get two, it will be long term........
It looks like they are out of stock at the moment:Someone above said they are available from Hexasim but I just searched on their site and got nothing.
Ok, that does it. I reckon I will give it a try.I have the 3mm and 3mm cutters and have cut well over 250,000 counters so far with them. Still cutting ok now.
try on some of your retired counters first. As if you start on the good ones , once you start you have to finish........ that was my first mistake!Ok, that does it. I reckon I will give it a try.
von Marwitz
Certainly good advice. Luckily, I don't have as many counters as you have. And I can ignore nationalities seldom used in FtF play if I cannot bear it...try on some of your retired counters first. As if you start on the good ones , once you start you have to finish........ that was my first mistake!