What's Best Way To Cut Negatives?

Ronald M said:
For cheap, very short scissors with 1" blades. The shorter the better because long = wide and makes shadows and you can`t see. They are sold as moustach trimmers, but good sewing scissors for cutting thread will also work.

Long wide blades do not work well.

With a bit more effort to find, a Hamma slide cutter does a perfect job every time. built in back light so you cab see the frame with a guide line etched so I can see there the cutter will make the cut. The cutter is positioned on guide rails so it is always accurate.

Any slide cutter should do.
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I agree with you on the scissors issue - I started out using special scissors made for embroidering too.

Since I'm quite far-sighted, my cuts usually don't end up where they are supposed to be, so I prefer slide cutters. The only problem, then, is to determine the right place where to cut - not that easy for negatives in which one sometimes cannot discern inter-frame bars from film base colored shadow areas.

The Hama cutter is a very similar design to the Kaiser cutter, featuring a translucent white, back-illuminated base plate. They both share the problem that they feature retaining rails which cover the numbering and the sprocket holes, only offering visibility to the actual image frames. The reason they do is in the cutters' film transport mechanism which consists of a rubber friction wheel that is located below one of the rails. The rail acts as a counter surface for the wheel.

Fortunately, the end-of-frame marks for 24 x 36mm film are not located directly opposite to the place where the friction wheel is countered by the rail on the other side of the film.

I envision cutting away the rail directly on the location of the 36mm end-of-frame mark to expose the sprocket holes and the film numbers, and to cut a groove across the opaque white back-illuminated plate below the film. I guess I could fill that groove with a little black paint to make it more visible.

Has anyone done something like that before?
 
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Roger Hicks said:
Incidentally, some cameras allow you to cut between perforations while others force you to cut through perforations.

Cheers,

R.
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That really bugs me...:bang::bang: Thought I was the only one who noticed this...:eek::eek:

I used to use scissors but these days it's an 8" Ingento Paper trimmer...I covered the metal area with Teflon tape to prevent any scratching...works fine but I can still screw up a neg here and there...;)
 
I'll confess I haven't improved my technique since I started this thread. I use a pair of scissors long enough to do the job in one snip. I take off my glasses and peer and squint intently, make the incision, and let the severed negs drop into a big mixing bowl. I haven't botched many recently.

If there was still money in the film market, someone might conjure a little electro-mechanical device that works with a computer. Slide the negs in, the unit tensions them and you adjust them watching a screen display. When the unit senses the negatives are properly placed, click the mouse and the guillotine comes down. Rinse and repeat.
 
For Arjay: I also use the Kaiser Diacut 1 and doing a lot of lowlight shooting I encounter the same problem. When I get into a similar situation I pull the film out and on the light table I count 8 sprocket holes and put a slight mark with a fine sharpie right after it in the center of the negative. If there are more shots like that I just keep counting and marking. When done I put the strip back into the cutter and line the mark up with the strip of metal where the cutting blade is. Only a small bother to be sure I've got the whole image as I framed it.
 
If there are problems finding the edge of the frame visually, remember that there are eight perforations along the side of each shot and do some careful counting. You can even mark with a pen, through the perforations on an 'easy' strip of negs, on to a piece of white card etc. so that you don't have to count.

If you have a camera which puts the cut through a perforation then it has been (re-)assembled incorrectly as that should not happen - remedy would be to set up the sprocket thingy in the camera correctly . . . errmmm, somehow.

I must admit, writing of sprocket-holes doesn't help me much with my medium-format night shots of the back streets in town though . . .

Edit: Aha, the magic number of eight sprockets is known by other people :)
 
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The absolute film cutter! :)
 
I got a cute little old Spiratone film cutter on eBay for about $15. Only accommodates 135 film, but it's illuminated. I used scissors for years and did a lousy job. When I started processing my own stuff again last year, I realized that I'm doing a worse job now than before so decided to be a pussy as Frank so delicately put it.

Recently when preparing to process and spooling some CMS 20, which doesn't seem suspectible to tearing by hand, I snuck a sharp-pointed scissors (that was what was nearest by; too lazy to leave the room to get some safe ones) into my changing bag to try to cut the stuff midstream. Not recommended, as I damn near sliced off one of my clumsy digits.

I probably shouldn't be allowed to even own scissors. And, apparently, I'm not alone. Funny blog entry here about chefs and kitchen accidents.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/chefs-show-their-kitchen-battle-scars/

For example: "Watch out for big carrots: Mark Ladner (Del Posto, New York) explaining how he lost a bit of finger while slicing and dicing." And, that is not a cheap restaurant.
 
Wow, the interesting thing is that I am discovering that what I found a problem for me and i was shaming mysel f admit and confess it, is a problem for someone else as well !
I never consider what MartinP suggest, to consider and mark the eight perforation. I'll try next time ! it is interesting always to learn something new !| Grazie, thanks
robert
 
Keith said:
Cheap kitchen scissors over the top of something white for me ... I think the long bladed type definitely make the job easier. One decisive 'snip!' :p
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+1. I've not cut through a frame yet, but Murphy's law dictates this record probably won't stand for long :)
 
More spacing is needed

More spacing is needed

I think you hit on a very common problem that most shooters don't want to admit to. The fact is, the spacing between negatives is usually way too small. Even if they're cut precisely, they don't seem to sit in the enlarger's negative holder correctly if you're trying to print one on the end -- especially if your film has a bad curl to it. And as for the suggested cutting devices, most of these involve more film handling, never a good thing. Besides, they're all out of production anyway, or will be soon.
 
jburgie said:
I think you hit on a very common problem that most shooters don't want to admit to. The fact is, the spacing between negatives is usually way too small.
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Completely agree - I would love to have my cameras adjusted so there were larger spaces between frames.
I use a glass neg carrier to get round the problem - but it's difficult keep it dust free.
 
I've been working with some TX @3200, very dark settings, and it's been VERY tough to identify the spaces between frames in some cases. I think the advice regarding some thin scissors is a good one.
 
Best scissors I found was in "notions" store in Chicago. This is a place that sells supplies to seamstresses and embroidery fanatics. Blades are just long enough to cut in one go - narrow enough that you can see the "cut-line". Bought three pairs - somehow lost two and I am defending the last pair with my life. They are also spring-loaded so you have less "sticky" effect when you cut tape for loading. I think they were made in Finland.
As for sprocket spacing - it is possible to adjust the sprocket wheel - but it is a bit tedious as you have to test any adjustment. I abhor having to cut across the sprockets!!! Hangs up when you stick them in file pages and drives the scanner nuts too.
If you really want liberal spacing - get a Nikon S with the 24x34 filmgate - you can write captions between the negs!
 
Get a good binocular loupe. Any reasonable scissors will work OK when you really see what you are doing. Look through the loupe against the light and watch the cut the scissors make carefully.

Erik.
 
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