Me and My Cropadile

We have a love hate relationship, me and my Cropadile. That is of course, if such a thing is even possible between me, flesh blood, hormones and drama and a heavy metal, totally inanimate object. Stay with me if you will, see how much of this you can disagree with!

I love that I can cut a hole in 2 different sizes. That is a positive. Therefore I can set eyelets in various sizes. A positive. I can chomp a nice roundy hole through several layers of card stock at once (lazy, huh) - or through chipboard and metal without so much as breaking into a 'nnnnnnnn' sound, or a clenching of the teeth. A positive. It's heavy - sturdy and built to last. A positive. No doubt, it is my 'go to' tool for short reach holes and eyelet setting. Absolutely. And recently it has become an adequate stand in for the cheapskate who sold her Bind It All and has since made 2 mini books with the O wires. (2 more than she ever made when she had a Bind It All!). So it punches holes and sets eyelets, about 3cm max from the edge of the card/paper/blah. It isn't long reach, the maker (We R Memory Keepers) have addressed that with the Big Bite - a gargantuan piece of equipment that does what the Cropadile does, anywhere within a 12" reach.

With so many positives, what are my dislikes? Not many, and apparently, not enough to put me off using it. It's heavy. The scissor action is easy to use, but the handles are further apart than my hand spread and I'm guessing this will apply to quite a lot of female crafters. And the non slip rubber handles are good. In fact, so good that you can't adjust your grip in one move - you have to use your other hand to hold the Cropadile whilst you adjust your grip. It's not long reach, but you already know that. It's pink. I didn't buy the green or any other alternative colour that may have been available because I didn't want the see through storage box and 'free' eyelets. I know I'm in the minority, but really, are manufacturers really so cynical as to think that pink is a default setting for women unless they are prepared to spend more? For me, also in a ridiculous 'discussion only' type vein, I can't quite get over the weight and the sturdiness of it - all that to set an eyelet! I feel somehow, it should be capable of more. Now that is ridiculous I know - I'm not an engineer and I realise the scissor action mechanism for the easy application of eyelets is a bit of a breakthrough really. But still. That's in my head. So overall, why do I use my Cropadile? Because it's there and it will go through most material without biting back. I have a marvellous Silent Setter by Provocraft which cuts and sets in 3 sizes and is not restricted in anyway by reach...it's simply a punch/setter that doesn't require a hammer. But it takes some doing through chipboard, for example, which is where the Cropadile trumps it. However, the Cropadile doesn't trump the Silent Setter for price, reach or indeed, the potential for increased Kegel exercise!