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In today’s post I will be reviewing; Making Memories Slice Elite
Product Details
- Manufacturer/Brand; Making Memories Slice Elite Cordless Design Cutter
- Item number; #36236
- RRP at time of writing:£150
Reason For Buying
I have to admit to loving my Cuttlebug, its quick, simple and reliable but, because I am such a fan of alphabets it is expensive to buy those as metal dies. Of course with those you only get a single size per pack. The advantage of The Slice is that you can cut the designs on the cards in up to seven different sizes, and with additional tools you can emboss or draw the designs too.
What’s in the Box?
- Slice Elite Cordless Design Cutter
- Power Cord
- Blade adjustment wrench
- 5 replacement blades with blade replacement tool
- 6″ x 6″ glass cutting mat
- Repositionable adhesive
- Foam brush
- User manual
- Quick start Guide
- Basic Elements SD Card
- Design card Booklet.
Pros/Cons
Pros
- Portable, if you like to travel with your crafting the small size make this excellent
- Lots of options; with add-on products you can do a lot with one machine
- Compact size takes up less desk space than other electronic cutters on the market
- Design Cards; Lots of brilliant design cards on all kind of themes
- The packaging is sturdy; You can store the machine back in it when not in use.
- Reasonable priced Design cards. Most contain an alphabet as well as words and images. Depending on the card.
- With Seven sizes available to cut from 1″ to 4″ in half-inch increments. (Measured on the diagonal of the image).
Cons
- Expect to need to buy additional items to get the best from the machine.
- The 6″ x6″ mat is adequate for cutting a single image, or for crops and classes but if you want to use large card efficiently and make repeated cuts, you are better off with the 12″ x 12″ mat so you don’t have to constantly move your card around. The more you move your card the more you are wearing off the glue.
- The glue in the box is little more than a tester, I struggled to get good coverage with the little bottle.
- Keep the Basic Elements Design card safe! Even if you aren’t keen on the designs on it, it has a Calibrate setting on there, that you will need if you are struggling to get your machine to cut correctly.
- I would not recommend this tool to newbies, it has a steep learning curve. The product is simple enough, but getting it to work as you expect takes a lot of time, practice and wasted card.
- Getting a good coverage of adhesive is key to good results. This is tricky to perfect.
Build Quality
The tool itself is very well made, from quality materials. Very ergonomic and is easy to store in its own packaging. Heavy enough to be robust, light enough to be portable. The handle and edges of the machine where you hold it are a slightly rubberized plastic which makes for a good grip.
Value for Money
It is a considered purchase. If you use a lot of alphabets, or like the intricate shapes, then once you get the hang of it, it is worth the investment if you use it a lot. You get a lot of designs on each Design card and the seven sizes of each makes for good long-term value.
Would I buy it Again?
Ask me in 6 months. I’ve had it about three months and still working with it. It’s like Adobe Photoshop Elements, really good but it has a lot of quirks. If I had a friend with it, who lived near me, I’d like to have tried hers first.
Summing up
This is a superb product with a lot of potential. If you buy the embossing tips you can emboss the designs on your design cards too. If you buy the pens, you can draw the designs from the cards in the colours available. My advice is READ every review and comment on this machine that you can. Be aware that there was an earlier model just called The Slice, which was slower, however by using the MS+ Design cards they have a speed upgrade on them. If you can do a class with a Slice before you buy or can try a friends first, I would highly recommend that you do so.
My problem is that I over stretched my budget to get this and its extras, so this put a lot of pressure on expecting fantastic results. I immediately bought the 12 x 12″ hands free glass mat, as I could see the 6″ x 6″ one would be too small for day-to-day use. The Hands free version, due to my limited dexterity and the built-in foam on the back meant it would be fine for the embossing heads, should I go for them at a later date. By this point I had made a substantial financial investment in the product and expected it to get going easily, as soon as I got it out of the box.
What actually happened was, I struggled to apply the glue properly with the foam brush and later on, it seems I applied too little of the adhesive but I had overspent and couldn’t afford to get another bottle of glue straight away as I thought what was included would be enough. (Bear in mind I was applying this to the 12″ x12″ mat, not the little one included in the box).
My die cuts were coming out in strange shapes, wonky or with sections missing. Often the paper/card would lift and the machine would eat the die cut (this turned out to be due to not enough glue on the mat). What was most annoying was the fact that the machine would cut nicely sometimes, then the next cut of the same shape, same size would go all over the place, the cutter would trace back over the design and thereby sever part of the design. It drove me NUTS.
Luckily I am on a couple of forums and I begged my forum buddies for help. Thanks to them I found out that using the Design card that comes in the box and pressing the ‘Calibrate’ design on there fixed the wonky cutting. Trial and error suggested the design getting bunched up under the blade was due to lack of glue on the cutting mat. If you read other comments on the machine, I heard people having to spend a long time cutting and adjusting the blade to get it to cut correctly on different thicknesses of card. I’ve been lucky in that respect and it hasn’t given me any trouble in that area.
My best advice before you purchase this machine would be
1. Read all the reviews and forum discussions on The Slice Elite that you can find. Be informed rather than resentful later
2. Try it just with what’s in the box, before you buy all the extra’s.
3. Expect to write off a lot of card while learning how to use the machine. Get a pile of printer paper or scrapbook card in a sale rather than risking your nice stuff in the early days.
I have learnt during the last three months, and have now just bought some alternative glue to try on the mat. I’ll let you know how that goes. It is a good machine, if you have friends with it let them show you how it all works and you’ll probably be ok. In fairness to Making Memories people who have registered their machines and requested help have been very very pleased with the support they received from the company. So if you are still struggling get in touch with them.
Sorry this review has got a bit long, I needed to explain the struggles I had and that some may have been down to me, not the product. I don’t love mine yet, I see a lot of potential but I’m still learning. I do think this may be a good long-term investment and the designs on the design cards are fantastic. Like Adobe, when it works nicely it is a joy, but the learning curve to get there is frustrating.
I try to give you as much information as I can, to help you make up your own minds on whether this machine is for you.
Links
Forum Discussion on the machine
- UK Stampers Thread started 2011.
Now some of the discussions in the following threads were started in 2009. Still lots of VERY useful advice for those new to The Slice or struggling but bear in mind that 2011 is when the New Slice Elite was launched in the UK. Some of the problems mentioned may have been fixed by the updated Slice Elite machine.
- Split Coast Stampers; Slice Elite FAQ Thread started 2009
- Split Coast Stampers: New Slice Owners; How’s It going?
Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon
Billie 🙂
I very much hope that you come to love this machine, Billie and that the alternative adhesive works for you cos that isn’t cheap either!
I expect when I see some of your work with this machine I shall be envious and will be wanting one myself! For the moment I have a long enough wish list and not enough pennies:)
So glad to hear that the advice on Splitcoast Stampers and UK Stampers helped you to sort out the wonky cuts. In one way having a tight budget is good because it means you try and get the most out of the machine instead of burying it in a cupboard somewhere if you had an unlimited budget 🙂
Hugs
Lynn xx
Thank you, Billie. I am really debating this purchase. I bought the original slice, and was very unhappy with it. It had to be replaced twice, and still doesn’t work as it should. Why would I consider the elite? For several reasons. First, I have a number of design cards that are just going to waste right now. Also, I really, really want it to work. It is a great idea, and if Making Memories got it right, it could be an awesome tool. Michaels has it for 50% off this week…will probably take the plunge again… Wish me luck!
Marietta
The Slice Elite is a real step up from the original, the newer version has a speed upgrade which helps with smoother cutting.
I struggled with mine for a while too. Found that using Crafters Companion spray on the glass mat, once the card is held securely the cutting really improves. You sometimes have to fiddle with the depth of the blade at first. Check out the tutorials, on the Slice website, they cover a lots of the basic set up.
Best wishes
Billie 🙂
There are no more blades being manufactured the Slice company is out of business. What are you doing for replacement blades?
TBH I haven’t used the cutter for AGES, so I haven’t looked for blades for it. See if you can find a Making Memories website and go from there would be my advice. I’m quite surprised they have stopped making the blades as they had quite a relaunch of this machine with a bias towards cutting fabric. Here is a link to the manufacturers if it helps https://billiescraftroom.wordpress.com/rubber-stamping/stamping-paper-craft-supplies/rubber-stamping-paper-craft-products/
Hi do you know where I can get my slice repaired two plastic cogs have broken. I cannot find the manufacturer anywhere.
Regsrd
Pat Wood
Thanks for your comment, I had a look but I couldn’t find much in a search either. One person worth asking on social media might be
Debbie Shore here is her website it has her contact info on it https://www.debbieshoresewing.com/
I seem to remember her using the slice for quilting projects a while ago, she may have more info about the industry places for help.
Plan B there seem to be a lot of them on sites like Ebay etc, so if u wanna try to get another machine there were options that way.
Hope that helps, best I can do.
Plan C
Crafters Companion, Sizzix and Tonic are other brands that are doing machines for cutting shapes with dies. don’t know if any of them could be useful to ur projects as alternative machines.
That’s tough since slice went out of business several years ago. I am selling my entire Slice collection at my quilt guild in August -(I got an AccuQuilt Cutter instead) with the entire lot of larger glass, cards, glue and several blades which you can’t get any more…all in original boxes. Let me know if you are interested and I will pull it from my lot to sell.