The Bottom Line
Kemper Mini Finger Tools are a set of two razor sharp shard covered fine wire tools, designed to cut easily through thin sections of plastic, resin, polymer clay or unfired clay. The tools have a short (3/8 inch) cutting surface and work on a down or draw stroke. These are useful tools, but their short fine blades and cutting edges mean large cuts are slow. They are best used where other fine blades (jewellers saws) are difficult to manipulate. These are ideal for curved or free form separation of small parts, shaped fingers on dolls house dolls, or for cleaning out fine detail on plastic models.
Price around $6.
Pros
- Fine cutting blade can be used to separate very small sections.
- Easily manipulated as is very small.
- Good control possible as the cutting edge is thin and only 3/8 inch long.
Cons
- Cuts only on down stroke.
- Best in soft materials, not terribly efficient on wood or harder metals.
- Easily bent out of shape, especially with harder materials or during multiple direction changes.
Description
- Fine blades great for free form cuts. Useful with polymer clay, clay, plastic or resin and epoxy resin miniatures and models.
- Easy to use in tight spaces as tool size is 1 1/4 inch long.
- Good for spaces where jewellers saws are hard to manipulate, especially if you are separating curved parts like doll fingers.
Guide Review - Micro Saws for Separating or Cleaning Miniature Parts
Kemper Mini Finger Tools are a set of two tools designed originally for separating the fingers on unfired miniature porcelain dolls, a task for which they are very useful. The tools are made of fine stainless steel wire, covered with tiny shards of cutting grit. The cutting section of the blades is 3/8 inchs long, the blades themselves are 7/8 inch long, tapered to be slightly thicker at the end nearest the handle. The handles on the blades are only 3/8 inch long, with grooved ridges to make them easier to hold. Anyone with medium to large sized fingers would be advised to make personalized handles to fit their own grip, using lower temperature polymer clay or two part epoxy putty. The blades have color coded handles to indicate fine and extra fine.
These blades are useful for cutting small curved or free form lines between two ridged sections of thin material. They work well on resin, plastic, polymer clay, or hardened epoxy putty, and unfired porcelain. They are not as useful on hardwood, where the blades may bend easily, or do not have enough rigidity to cut cleanly.
As the blades are very short, and very fine, they take a long time to cut through harder materials. The cutting edge is too short to make them useful for anything much over 1/16 inch thick, unless the material is very soft. They are most useful for places where you might use a needle tool or pin if the material were soft, but where you need to use a blade to clear harder materials.
The handles are not comfortable to use for a long time, but can easily be modified with two part epoxy, or polymer clay, to make a handle suited to the size of your fingers. The tools are held in a pinch grip between your thumb and first finger for use.
