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In this post, I’ll be reviewing We R Memory Keepers The Cinch Bindery Tool. Phew, try to say that in one breath!
Table of Contents
What is The Cinch?
So what exactly is the The Cinch and what is it used for? The Cinch is a product from the US made by the company We R Makers (previously known as We R Memory Keepers).
It is a dual action manual machine that punches and binds. So it’s a perfect tool to make your own albums, notebooks, scrapbooks, journals or even sketchbooks!
The machine utilizes spiral binding method to bind your projects. So if that’s what you’re looking for, The Cinch is a perfect machine for you.
Are there other types of cinch binding machine?
There are 3 product ranges of binding machine that We R Makers makes: The Cinch, Mini Cinch and Multi Cinch. The Cinch is available in 2 models, one that can punch square holes and one that can punch round holes.
Mini Cinch can only punch square holes, while Multi Cinch can punch holes of different shapes (its cartridges are interchangeable). Since we’re reviewing the original Cinch binding machine, I’m not gonna go into details here.
Where to purchase it?
You can get the machine from Amazon and you can easily find it in any craft stores in the US.
We R Memory Keepers The Cinch book binding machine
- binding pitch 2:1
- easy to use
- great tool to make scrapbooks, calendars etc.
In Europe, this machine is hard to come by and there aren’t many colors to choose from. I was finally able to find the one I like on ebay after searching for it for a long time. It’s a used one though, but I paid half the price so I’m not complaining!
What do you get when you purchase the machine?
So out of the box, you’ll get one Cinch binding machine and an instruction booklet. That’s pretty much it.
Although you can use it solely as a hole puncher, that’s probably not the reason you’d buy the machine. Chances are, you’re planning to bind books with it as well. For that, you need to purchase some other tools separately.
The most basic tools you need are binding wires and a wire cutter.
Binding Wire
The Cinch is a 2:1 pitch binding machine. Binding pitch refers to the spacing of the holes per inch. So 2:1 (two to one) pitch means that the machine can punch in two holes for every inch available in the sheet of your book.
This is important to know because you can’t just get any spiral binding wire to bind your project. You’ll need to get compatible wires for that. In this case, you’ll need 2:1 binding wires.
You only need to worry about binding pitch if you’re buying your wires from other manufacturers. Else, if you buy your wires from We R Makers, they’re always gonna be compatible with your machine.
Wire Cutter
To cut the wires to length, you’ll need a wire cutter. We R Makers is selling their own wire cutter so you could get one from them.
I have to say that I am not a big fan of their wire cutter. The handles are too slim. It kinda hurts the palm of my hand when I apply a lot of force when I use it to cut.
And it’s hard to store it as it is a spring-loaded wire cutter, so the handles and the jaws stay open all the time. I would just get a non-spring-loaded wire cutter from a hardware store with a better build quality, if I were you.
Build quality
The Cinch is extremely well built. The first time I received it, I was surprised at how heavy the machine is. Well some parts are made of metal which kinda explains it, but those parts also add to its sturdiness and durability. It’s such a robust machine that won’t easily tip over as you punch.
Even the moving plastic parts are very well made; they have perfect fit. There are no loose parts or parts that wiggle vigorously like what you get from those cheaply made products.
I am pleasantly surprised at how good the build quality of this machine is and am very happy I made the purchase.
Value for money
If you plan to make a lot of projects with it, then yes it’s good value for money. I have so many papers that I’ve purchased over the years, I could easily make at least 20 A5-format sketchbooks out of them.
A good quality A5 sketchbook could cost up to 25€ here in Europe. Even if I would buy the cheapest sketchbook, which is about 10€, I would still save a huge amount of money in the long run.
If you’re planning to use it to start selling books for your small business, then it’s an investment that won’t break your bank.
Punching performance
Max paper thickness
The Cinch can punch up to 20 copy papers. That’s like about 2 mm in thickness. So if you’re punching a chipboard, make sure that it’s not going to be thicker than 2 mm.
I find that it punches thicker materials better than it does with thinner materials. If you cut like 10 copy papers at once, you get a cleaner cut than just punching 2-3 copy papers. So just keep that in mind.
Maintenance
The punch dies on the machine aren’t designed to be replaceable. However, you don’t need to worry about the dies getting dull over time. Most users don’t have problems with their machines after using them for a long time.
But in case you wanna maintain it, you might want to sharpen the dies once in a while. To sharpen them, fold up some kitchen foil and punch holes through it several times. You can also punch wax paper to lubricate them.
Oil residue
Before every project, make sure to do a test punch with scrap papers. Do it several times if you have to. This is to remove residual oil left on the machine from the manufacturing process. When your scrap paper comes out clean, you’re good to go.
Try to make this a routine whenever you start a new project. You might think that you removed all the residual oil in your last project, but you’ll never know!
My secondhand machine still leaves some oil around the holes and I’m pretty sure that the previous owner has used it multiples times. Better safe than sorry!
Large projects
You can create a project of any size using the machine. The Cinch can punch 12 holes at a time, so it’s perfect for a project that’s 6” in width as you need to punch your material just once.
If you want to create a book that’s more than 6” wide, you have to punch your material more than once. Let’s say you’re creating a book that‘s 10” wide (I’m just pulling a random number here), you need to punch the first 12 holes into the pages first.
Then pull out the slider, place your papers so that second hole from the right is directly underneath the alignment peg. Push down the alignment peg to lock the papers in place.
Refer the guide that’s printed on the machine.
According to the guide, we need to pull out peg #8. So pull out peg #8 (you can leave peg#9–peg#12 as they are), then press down the handle to punch the rest of the holes. It’s really straight forward.
Unless you’re making projects in ISO size format like the A5 or A6, you’ll need to tweak the machine a bit. I’ve covered about it in my tutorial here.
Easy clean-up
On the backside of the machine, there’s a little drawer that stores all the punched-out materials. To empty it out, just pull out the drawer and dispose the content, as simple as that.
You’ll never worry about making confetti mess ever again!
Binding / Cinching performance
Binding your project with the machine has never been easier. Do you see the little hooks on the left side of the machine? You can place your wire on the hooks where you can then thread on the pages.
Use the cinching bar to clamp the wire to close the loops. Push and turn the knob on top of the machine to adjust the cinching bar to the correct height. Turn it until the arrow points to the correct wire diameter that you’re using for your project.
Push the handle slowly and release it when the machine finished cinching. Congrats, you have now successfully spiral-bound your project!
What makes The Cinch better than others?
There are other similar machines that can do the same thing, but what makes The Cinch stand out is how it is designed, in my opinion.
When I was doing my research on which machine to get, I came across a similar machine which is the Zutter Bind-It-All. There are other bulkier machines but they’re out of the question. I wasn’t trying to open a notebook shop here haha!
I was looking for something that’s portable and doesn’t take up too much storage space. So at that time, I was considering to get either the Zutter BIA, The Cinch or the smaller version of it, the Mini Cinch.
Storage
Zutter BIA is a small machine, well kinda. Its handle is inconveniently pointing upward so even though the machine itself is rather slim, it’s ridiculously tall. It’s a little over 11” in height which is almost 29 cm!
There’s no way I can fit it in a drawer. It is also rather awkward to use, since you need to slide the papers down into the punching slot rather than laying them flat on the surface like what you would do with The Cinch or Mini Cinch.
Although The Cinch is slightly bigger, the handle can be easily secured with a clip, making it super easy to store. This is how I store my machine:
Wire Diameter
I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t I get the Mini Cinch? You can clip the handle and store it easily too, right? It’s even smaller and cheaper than The Cinch.
Although that seems to be true, Mini Cinch can only work with 5/8” wires. That means that you could only make books that are no thicker than 13~14 mm. I didn’t go for the Mini Cinch since I want the option to be able to make thicker books. The Cinch can work with wires of up to 1 ¼” in diameter.
12 holes vs 6 holes
Zutter BIA and Mini Cinch can punch 6 holes at a time and The Cinch can punch 12 holes. Using The Cinch would save you a huge amount of time if you’re punching A6-A5 format or US half letter format papers.
Knowing that I’m gonna make A5 and A6 sketchbooks, The Cinch was clearly my best choice.
To wrap this up for you, let’s look at the pros and cons of this binding machine:
Pros
- Great build quality
- Available in 2 models: can punch square or round holes
- Can be stored easily
- Can cinch wires of up to 1 ¼” in diameter
- Can punch 12 holes at once
- Very intuitive and easy to use
Cons
- Can be pricey
- Poor availability depending on where you live
- More suitable for smaller-sized projects
- Less suitable for commercial use
Should you buy it?
If you’re into scrapbooking or if you enjoy making small-sized spiral-bound notebooks, journals etc. then you should definitely get it.
Although you can use it to sell some books for your small business, I would suggest getting a more professional binding machine if you’re going to mass produce.
This machine, in my opinion, is more suitable for hobbyists and DIY’ers for home use and not for commercial purposes.
That said, would I buy it again? Definitely. It has become one of my valuable items that I didn’t regret investing my money in.
