AC-1 Adjustable Circle Cutter vs Badge A minit Circle Cutter

The AC-1 circle cutter... the BEST hand-held circle cutter on the market today!

Badge-A-Minit Cutter AC-1 Adjustable Cutter
Other than the tip of it's cutting blade, Badge-A-Minit's "Cut A Circle" is entirely made of plastic. The AC-1 circle cutter is made of steel and is designed to last a lifetime.
"Cut A Circle" uses a straight-edge cutting blade. The same surface of the blade is used for each cut, which causes the blade to dull quickly. The AC-1 circle cutter has a rotary cutting blade. It has far more surface area, which means its cutting blade will stay sharper far longer.
With "Cut A Circle" you have a depth adjustment knob that MUST be adjusted to the correct depth to make a good cut. If the blade depth is set too shallow, it won't cut through your artwork. If it is set too deep, the blade will cut into the cutting mat and likely yield a cut that is oblong, rather than round. And if the cutting blade in BAM's cutter happens to go off the edge of the paper, it will likely tear the page as it re-enters. The AC-1 has no depth adjustment knob and doesn't need one. You simply apply downward pressure as you turn the handle and the rotary blade cuts your artwork. And if the AC-1's cutting blade does happen to go off the edge of your paper, it will keep cutting as it comes back on the paper.
"Cut A Circle" is not adjustable. It was only designed to cut circles for Badge-A-Minit size 2-1/4" buttons. The AC-1 is fully adjustable and can be used to make cuts for any size button, from a one-inch, all the way up to buttons measuring 3-1/2 inches in diameter, and anything in between.

Here's a detailed description of the Badge-A-Minit "Cut A Circle" cutter, indicated by the letters shown in the photo above.

A. This is the housing into which the cutting blade is inserted.

B. This is the depth adjustment knob. To use this cutter you must set the depth adjustment knob to the correct depth. Set it too shallow and the blade will not cut through your artwork. Set it too deep and the cutting blade will cut into the cutting mat and likely cut an oblong shape instead of a perfect circle. Trying to set the depth adjustment knob to the correct depth is one of the things that makes this cutter difficult to use.

C. This is the cutting handle you must hold on to and twist to make the cutter make its cuts. Holding your hand in this position for any length of time is very difficult.