Hi all. I use just an old pair of "hand me down" wire cutters, but the blades are not really sharp and smooth anymore. I'm considering buying something new. What is your preferred hobby clippers/nippers/cutters/etc for cutting GW models off sprues? Thanks!
Either a new pair of small wire cutters, or the little guys that come in the warhammer/40k paint and tools set, or the good old bend and twist method, depending on how solid the piece is.
flush cutters, beware you get what you pay for https://www.amazon.com/flush-cutters/s?k=flush+cutters
I have a box cutter type of knife and a pair of cheaper snippers. Sometimes it is better to use the knife, but sometimes I have damaged the model by trying to cut off sprue bits (especially when the piece I want to keep is long and thin), so I got the clippers and this is much better now.
My favourite pair of clippers I have currently is one of GW's older versions, with a durable handle and a very thin head that makes it easy to clip with precision. My Space-Marine-fan uncle kindly gave them to me (probably having got some newer ones) and I have preferred to use them ever since. Unfortunately I've lost them currently and can't for the life of me remember where I put them My second-favourite pair, brought out of sparehood by this event, is a cheap pair of Rolson ones I got at a DIY retailer very affordably that are almost as good, just not as precise to use as the GW ones. In general I would say to just get an affordable pair of cutters that does the job (and preferably from a retailer other than Amazon as we should all avoid filling Bezos' greedy magnate pockets where we can) - that's one thing you shouldn't need to spend much on. Let's face it, we already spend goodness knows how much cash on our hobby without having to buy unnecessarily-expensive clippers purely for clipping off bits of miniature from sprue with.