Help me buy a ruler

[Eater of Worlds]

I do various paper crafts/art and I need a ruler.  I can't use a plastic ruler because my scalpel slices into the plastic.  I need a metal ruler, and they come with cork backing or without it.  My only experience with a cork backed ruler is finding an old one in the back of a drawer that has dried out crumbling cork on it.  Is there some benefit to cork backing I'm unaware of?  Apparently it helps prevent the ruler from slipping, but I like to be able to slide my paper back and forth to adjust it and I worry that the cork will prevent that from happening.                        

[THERetroGamerNY]

I've had this metal one for like...... Ages. Has a rubber strip. I see no advantage to cork, especially after what you described.

[doggie]

here you go good

https://www.amazon.com/Starrett-AR-18-Anodized-Aluminum-Straight/dp/B0161N2BWY/ref=sr_1_22?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1470194823&sr=1-22&keywords=starrett&refinements=p_89%3AStarrett

the ruler to rule them all 

https://www.amazon.com/Starrett-C604R-36-Tempered-Graduations-Thicknes/dp/B0002FULN4/ref=sr_1_78?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1470194893&sr=1-78&keywords=starrett&refinements=p_89%3AStarrett

[Maggie Mae]

The cork back is useful for drawing on an easel or wall. 

[OnceUponATime]

 

On 2/08/2016 at 10:13 PM, Eater of Worlds said:

 I can't use a plastic ruler because my scalpel slices into the plastic.  I need a metal ruler, and they come with cork backing or without it.

I have two metal ones and have found that one of my metal ones seems to be a really soft metal which gets cut if i slip with my knife. The other one doesn't seem to have that problem.

I like my Staedtler Mars Metal Ruler although i'm not sure if that is the bad metal or not. While it does have a rubber strip on the back(along the far edge) to help stop slipping, I've never had problems with adjusting paper. What i like about it is it isn't flat, and has a grove for my fingers so I can't accidentally cut them off.

[Chickenbutt]

I use one like this

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Swanson-Tool-Company-4-ft-Inches-Ruler/50438212

It is a yardstick and I use it to measure fabric and cut with my rotary cutter. The rotary cutter edge just slides right along the yardstick giving me a very straight cut. I cut on a self-healing mat.

[Jellybean]

I find metal rulers extremely frustrating because I can't see through them. This may not be a problem in your crafting, but it annoys me!

i like the plastic rulers with metal edging (I think they're Dovecraft), and the ones like this that have a combination of metal and see-through plastic as well as clever sliding and rolling and measuring bits!

would love to hear what you decide, and your reasons (I'm already learning a lot - love FJ - who knew I'd learn about rulers tonight?!)

[Petrel]

This being FJ, when I saw this topic at the bottom of the page my first thought was, "What is the age of the children you intend to beat with it?"

[Alisamer]

I absolutely have to have a cork back if it's a metal ruler. It took ages to get the boss to buy us one at work, and I guard it carefully! We're generally using it to cut out things using crop marks and make score lines on mockups of jobs (I work at a printer) and it was super difficult with the plain ruler, it kept slipping all over the place, especially on gloss stock or paper with lots of toner coverage (toner is slippery!).

I think cork is a great balance of grippy enough not to slip if you hold it down well, but not so grippy you can't slide it if you're not pushing down on it. And I like metal rulers, because I remember all the bleeding from college color theory class, cutting out a zillion 1" squares.

I am going to look at those plastic ones with metal edging for my home crafting, however. That seems like a good combo!