Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Can't seem to find'em anywhere. Can anyone point me to a place that might have them? Kinda important to have when loading a 35BL :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Steven Beverly Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Never heard of 'em. What are they used for? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Closest thing I could find were these, only the ones I've scene don't look like pruning sheers: http://www.qtek.com/img/products/splicing-scissors.jpg They have sprockets on them that are the exact gauge for 35mm film and make it perfect for cutting right on the perf for to make loading BL and other 35 mags easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted February 14, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 14, 2008 Closest thing I could find were these, only the ones I've scene don't look like pruning sheers:http://www.qtek.com/img/products/splicing-scissors.jpg They have sprockets on them that are the exact gauge for 35mm film and make it perfect for cutting right on the perf for to make loading BL and other 35 mags easier. Hey Jonathan, you're looking for Arri part no. "ARRI K4.30689.0", also known as "platypus scissors". Since I can't find my Fiskars, which I normally use for that, please let me know if you find an extra pair. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Cool, thanks D. I couldn't find it in ARRI's online catalog or online parts catalog, so I just emailed their Camera/Cust. Service division. Hopefully I'll get an answer soon. I've seen'em at my local rental house, so I should definitely ask them as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted February 14, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 14, 2008 Can't seem to find'em anywhere. Can anyone point me to a place that might have them?Kinda important to have when loading a 35BL :) I've never had to load a BL but a 35mm guillotine splicer would work to trim film (other than being relatively large and heavy). Used cement type old school splicers are pretty cheap since everyone now uses tape splicers like Neutapers. I just used my Neutaper to trim a practice load on one of my Arri 2 mags and it worked like a champ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Worster Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Jonathan, if I had to guess I would say the scissors at Lee's were a custom job, maybe Adolf's handy work, but I guess it could have been anybody. They're seriously sweet but tearing the film through a perf works just as well for loading the BL or anything else if you're given short ends with bad edges, worked out just fine for me at least. I guess you could ask Mike if he knows where they came from next time you're in there but who knows who long they've actually been there. Good luck and do let us know if you do find out since they would be kinda cool to have around however i don't know how much I'd want to bring scissors in a changing bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Simon Miya Posted February 14, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 14, 2008 (edited) I've loaded millions of feet of 35mm and never seen a need for special scissors - just tear a few times until you find some perfs. With practice it's possible within a few tears even in the dark. Funny (frustrating) thing is, the cameras that you are likely to work with when just starting out (old Arris and others) are much more difficult to load than the cameras you will work with when you get more experienced (Arricam, Panavision). The newer camera's mags don't care at all what the end of the film looks like. :) Edited February 14, 2008 by Simon Miya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Funny (frustrating) thing is, the cameras that you are likely to work with when just starting out (old Arris and others) are much more difficult to load than the cameras you will work with when you get more experienced (Arricam, Panavision). The newer camera's mags don't care at all what the end of the film looks like. :) Yeah, last time I loaded a BL mag it ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to engage unless I had it perfectly cut on the perfs. I had a pair of blunt tip scissors in the bag and had to snip it a few times before I got it just right and it fed through perfectly. But the amount of clipped ends left in the bag was ridiculous and downright dangerous. Luckily none ended up inside the mag :) It would just be easier to have the sprocketed guide. Alex, I emailed Ryan at Lee's, so hopefully he'll get in touch with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 The newer camera's mags don't care at all what the end of the film looks like. :) Which is probably why they don't make them anymore. I just found out from Ryan at Lee Utterbach's. Ahh well, maybe I will just have to find myself a portable guillotine, just in case I have to work with those old BL mags again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted February 16, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 16, 2008 Which is probably why they don't make them anymore. I just found out from Ryan at Lee Utterbach's. Ahh well, maybe I will just have to find myself a portable guillotine, just in case I have to work with those old BL mags again. BL mags load best when the cut is right through the sprocket holes. I don't know if the guillotine will cut in the proper place. However, some French directors have successfully used it as a threat over recalcitrant crew members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 vive la revolucion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Hal Smith Posted February 17, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 17, 2008 BL mags load best when the cut is right through the sprocket holes. I don't know if the guillotine will cut in the proper place. However, some French directors have successfully used it as a threat over recalcitrant crew members. My Neutaper cuts exactly between sprocket holes. An older cement style guillotine has a slight offset but still avoids cutting through the sprocket holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted February 17, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 17, 2008 My Neutaper cuts exactly between sprocket holes. An older cement style guillotine has a slight offset but still avoids cutting through the sprocket holes. The ideal BL threading cut is not between, but rather right through the sprocket holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 The ideal BL threading cut is not between, but rather right through the sprocket holes. Yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunnar Mortensen Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 This probably won't help you on your search for special scissors but I just got the perfect pair. However I went to Ross Cutlery in LA, the same store that OJ bought his knife. I had them sharpen my straight razor and ended up picking up a pair of vintage, german electricians scissors that are slightly perferated to keep wires or film from sliding. On top of that they ground the tips to completely rounded ends to make them bag friendly. They may not find perfs in the dark but I have gotten pretty good at doing that. Like I stated earlier this won't help you unless you like cool scissors and honestly I just wanted to tell somebody that cared. Try to explain your excitement to to non production people and all I get is blank stares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hmmm, there is a specialty cutlery and scissor store near me...maybe they'd build a custom pair for me :/ Probably wouldn't be worth the money, but perhaps I could find out how much it would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Chris Keth Posted February 24, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted February 24, 2008 Actually, you could build a pair with a little JB Weld, some aluminum and a little ingenuity. It wouldn't be that hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 (edited) Actually, you could build a pair with a little JB Weld, some aluminum and a little ingenuity. It wouldn't be that hard. I'm doing that actually I just got a quote from Arri, they do have them in stock, but they're ridiculously expensive for what they are. The 2nd item is a tong type gauge clamp that they thought I might have been interested in, but I'm not :) ps- I'm pretty sure my name gets misspelled at least once on a monthly basis. Edited March 3, 2008 by Jonathan Bowerbank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Dan Goulder Posted March 3, 2008 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2008 The 2nd item is a tong type gauge clamp that they thought I might have been interested in, but I'm not :) ps- I'm pretty sure my name gets misspelled at least once on a monthly basis. Hey Jonathan, Are you sure the guage you're referring to isn't the first listing? What exactly do they mean by template? (Is it actually something with sprockets?) If the first, or both items are needed to do the job, I'd have to agree that the price is ridiculous. If the second item alone (in conjunction with scissors, or whatever) will do the job, then the price is merely almost ridiculous, but possibly worth it if you do a lot of cutting with time constraints. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Bowerbank Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Sorry, the Film Cutting Gauge are the scissors. The Template is like a clamp that I think works as a guide to hold the film as you cut it with a pair of scissors. Here are the catalog photos Arri sent me: Film Cutting Gauge Template to Cut Film Start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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