I am using this knife to help build set for the local highschool in a small town. I am impressed so far. I makes a nice smooth cut and goes relatively fast. I will definitely consider adding more of the tools in years ahead.
This simple well made tool was so handy, that I was able to complete an entire life size horse head and neck sculpture using only this tool, and some sandpaper for the finishing details! And that was the first time I ever used it. You can take off nice flat sections and go right into removing indented and shaped areas just by easing up the tension with your fingers. Makes nice clean removal without the burnout or melting of the surface that you get with a hot knife. I put the fine details in with sandpaper and this tool left the surface in perfect shape to use sandpaper on. The hot knives tend to leave a melted hard surface that is impossible to sand but this hot wire left no melting behind! This is a "must have" tool for me from now on! Thanks to all the folks at the Hot Wire Foam Factory for answering all my questions and shipping it out so quickly.
I purchased a kit for a set build of a high school production. I ordered the 3" hot knife as part of our kit and quickly realized that I needed to add the 6". In the course of one weekend, the 3 inch and 6 inch both stopped working, and our Freehand Router kept losing heat as well. The hot knives stopped working entirely, but the router would start working again if you turned it off for a while and restarted it. I've sent an email but have not heard back yet. I LOVED the tools up until the point they stopped working, though. My hope is to hear something back from customer service regarding possible solutions.
