Choosing the best Tile Cutter
What is a Tile Cutter?
Conventional tile cutters provide a quick and convenient way to cut ceramic or porcelain tiles. Tile cutters employ a hard carbide scoring wheel to score tile and create a structurally weak point on which the tile will break. After scoring the tile, a breaking mechanism is used to apply the pressure required to snap the tile. Hence the alternative name "score & snap cutters". Obtaining a clean break is strongly dependent on the quality of the initial score, material type & thickness, and the sturdiness of the tile cutter.
Generally, the cut edge one would get from a tile cutter will not be as clean as the cut edge of a tile cut using a wet tile saw. Professionals will usually install tiles with the cut edge facing a concealed location (i.e. an inside corner or an area to be covered by trim).
We offer all of the top brands of porcelain tile cutters: Montolit, Rubi, Sigma, Tomecanic, QEP, Ishii, Superior, and more.
Push vs Pull Cutter. What is the difference?
Most tile cutters feature a push handle which means you score the tile with a push stroke. The original Sigma tile cutter's feature a pull handle which scores tile on a pull stroke. Both methods score tile effectively and the options are purely preferential.
Large Format Tile Cutters
Leading manufacturers Montolit, Rubi, Sigma and Tomecanic offer cuts that cut large format porcelain up to 61 inches long. If we break away from the traditional tile cutter board, there are options for cutting large tile slabs that are 5 to 10 feet in length.
Tile Cutter vs Tile Saw
Tile cutters offer a few advantages over a tile saw. They weigh significantly less than tile saws, allowing for a single user to set up and use quickly. Tile cutters are faster to setup as they require no water and they also cut tile much faster than wet tile saws. There are trade-offs, however. A tile saw can typically achieve a clean-cut edge and perform variety of cuts (i.e. miter, plunge cut, notch cut, etc.). Tile saws can cut a wider variety of material, some tile may be too brittle for a score and snap cutter to work effectively.
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