Technique Thursday: Review of Tim Holtz's Vagabond

by Sharon Jeffs



I have an absolute devotion for all things techy. Put that with a tool to make life easier and I am hooked well and truly. I try really hard to stay away, to read reviews before I purchase but more often than not I end up buying and having a go for myself no matter what anyone else says.

With the vagabond, I tried to hold off but the appeal of an electric die machine as opposed to a manual one was too great a pull. So, I took the plunge and bought one despite some nervousness about what it could actually do. I chose the Vagabond over the other competitive electronic devices solely because of how it looked but once it arrived I was more than thrilled with it. I love that it is so compact, the support platforms fold up and hide within the case as does the power cord in a small side compartment. It is a bit heavier than I had anticipated but it also feels very solid, like it could last forever which I want it to after it's price tag!

I think my biggest concern was it being able to cut using the Nestabilities and other dies within the spellbinder and/or Quickutz range. Nothing on the internet suggested it would and many forums were listing it as incompatible. I did however find some interesting PDF notes available at the Sizzix website that helped me immensely. Once it arrived (impossible to not notice it either because it’s quite heavy) I experimented with different dies and different cutting mats until I got the perfect cut with each different die from different companies.

Mats

The Vagabond comes with an extended spacer, shim (plastic sheet used to add depth to the extending pad), 2 standard cutting mats.


In my research I found I needed a Wafer-Thin Die Adapter from the Sizzix range if I wanted to successfully cut with the quickkutz and Spellbinders dies. In addition, I needed the Sizzix Texturz Impressions pad and silicone mat to emboss the edges of the Spellbinder dies.


This collection of mats is all I needed to cut Sizzix bigz, Sizzix Sizzlets, Cuttlebug dies, quickutz dies and spellbinder dies. I can also use them with the Sizzix embossing folders, Tim Holtz embossing folders and the Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Die/Mat Configurations

The Vagabond come with a fairly comprehensive instruction book telling you exactly which pads/mats to use when cutting with the Sizzix range therefore I’m not going to say much more about the mat use with this range.

But for the other dies that are commonly available, here goes …

Cuttlebug – Dies

The Cuttlebug dies are very much the same as Sizzlets so I followed the same rules for cutting with Sizzlets. I began with the Solo Platform and shim then added the sizzix standard cutting mat; my Bazill card and die then finally the last sizzix standard cutting mat. I tried this way twice and found that if I placed the die in the centre of the mat then the cut was deeper and much more successful which is really important when working with intricate scroll cuts.

Cuttlebug – Embossing Folders

Use the same combination as the cuttlebug dies.

(solo platform/shim/standard cutting matt/embossing folder and card/standard cutting mat)

The Vagabond did a beautiful job of embossing the Bazzill card, see in the photo.

Quickutz Dies

I was a bit nervous about using these dies as I kind of felt that they were too thin to be usable but I worked it out in the end. I found the best combination listed at the Sizzix website.

(Solo Platform/shim/ Thin Die Adapter/standard cutting pad/die and cardstock/standard cutting pad)

I found this worked really well. There were a couple of sections where the Bazzill wasn’t cut all the way through but as these were in the intricate scrollwork areas that catch in other machines, I didn’t worry about it too much. However, I did work out that if you centered the die along the mat so that the length is running vertical then you get a perfect cut, intricate cut or not.

Nestabilities and other Spellbinder die instructions

Ok this was definitely the challenging one, there are two steps. To cut the Nestabilities shapes out I followed the same configuration as the Quickutz dies.

(Solo Platform/shim/ Thin Die Adapter/standard cutting pad/die and cardstock/standard cutting pad)

This cut the shape really well but of course doesn’t emboss the edge. So it goes back into the machine using the following configuration –

(Solo Platform/shim/impressions pad/cardstock and die with card still in place after cut/silicone mat/Standard cutting mat)

This gave me the desired effect with these dies that was originally intended.




So, after all that I bet you're thinking ... Is it worth it? The machine that is... and yes it is. Despite my initial trepidation about the weight of it and the price and the fact that - eek! - I may just break it; I found it far much easier to get the cuts I want. Initially when it arrived I felt quite fearful of the instruction manual because seems very thick at first but when you open it up its all step by step images and only a third applies because the book contains the same instructions but in different languages. It is not techy at all. The machine cuts with a more even cut (important to me because I just don't want to spend time trimming my design where it didn't cut properly) and I love the idea of pushing a button to get my cut rather than having to hold the machine steady with one hand while I crank a handle with the other. For me, this is a huge timesaver!

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