HerculesHandheld Electric Styrofoam Hot Knife and Accessories SC-190 Cutter Kit

I have used insulating foam sheets to build displays for VBS and other church sets for years. I used to use razor blades and hand saws years ago. Then I "upgraded" to one of the cheap hobby foam hot blades that took forever and were a mess to use. This year, after having to once again build another display, I decided to spend the money to get a real foam hot knife. I was torn between the cheaper off-brand hot knives and this one due to the price difference, but the reviews on the cheaper ones were hit-or-miss so I decided on this one. I was not disappointed in this decision as this hot knife worked perfectly! I used this knife with the included 4" blade to make tons of cuts in (10) - 4' x 8' sheets of EPS building insulation foam, both 1" and 2" thick. I was concerned at first after reading the instructions since they state only to use for 15 seconds at a time, but after using it for a few minutes I realized this is not a problem at all as I will explain...When you pull the trigger this knife becomes hot enough to cut through 2" thick foam in about 4-5 seconds. Once it's hot enough to start cutting, let go of the trigger and keep cutting until you notice needing more pressure to cut. At that point pull the trigger again for a second or two as you continue cutting. If you start to see a little trail of smoke forming that is a sign to let off the trigger as the knife is plenty hot enough. When you near the end of your cut let go of the trigger and finish the cut with the remaining heat of the knife. If you do this, the knife will come out of the cut almost completely clean of melted foam. Basically I hold the knife against the foam at the start of my cut and pull the trigger and hold it in. As soon as the knife begins cutting the foam I let go of the trigger and let the knife continue cutting. When the cutting action begins slowing down I pull the trigger for a second or two, while still continuing my cut, until it begins cutting quickly again and then let off the trigger. Keep repeating this on/off action as you make the cut and you will have no problems at all.It sounds much more complicated than it actually is. You will get the hang of it after your first few cuts. I couldn't be happier with this hot knife and expect to get many years of trouble free use out of it.

This is the best tool I have ever used... I have bought several Hot Knife's in my life time but this one is great... I would suggest this to anyone who cuts styrofoam... We use it for Beta Club skit props... we draw out our designs and then use the Hot Knife to cut the shapes out... works amazing... Like a hot knife through butter.

This thing is AWESOME if you're cutting foam insulation. We use foam insulation boards to make props for our ice skating show and we're wondering why/ how we didn't find this cutter sooner! It makes it sooooo quick and easy! It heats up quick and if you're doing a big project, make sure you're in a well ventilated area as the melting foam board gets a bit stinky. Cuts through like a hot knife cutting butter leaving the edges nice and smooth!

it cut amazing! but didn’t last very long for how much it cost. would love to have the same knife that will last.

Our guys used hacksaw blades, box knives, butcher knives and other ingenious little fixes that this little tool handled withsuch relative ease that now everyone on the crew has their own.

Product not as beefy as I expected. Blades warp easily as temp goes up.

Used this to cut the foam in Pelican cases for several sets of calibrated equipment. Was easy to install the guide (purchased separately) and made cutting the outline of the equipment a breeze.I notice some reviews where people say it died on them after one use. As long as you keep the heat on for less than 10-15 seconds at a time with 1-2 seconds off it works perfectly. If you hold to trigger constantly for minutes at a time, you will burn up any heater like this.

I liked the idea of having control over the temperature to cut with, however this ended up being kind of useless. Even just 2-3 notches from zero, it ended up melting the foam instead of cutting it clean. The foam started smoking and warped the blade, even at low temps which is incredibly upsetting since I needed this to work for a project that now has to be delayed to get a new alternative