Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

Career Overview

Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.

Also Known As

• Cloth Cutter
• Leather Cutter
• Offline Cutter
• Trimmer

Alternate Job Titles

• Aluminum Sheet Cutter
• Basting Puller
• Belt Splicer
• Bright Cutter
• Bucker
• Buttoner
• Buttonhole Maker
• Buttonhole Marker
• Candle Cutter
• Cane Cutter
• Carpet Cutter
• Chalk Cutter
• Clipper
• Cloth Cutter
• Cotton Dispatcher

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

• Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
• Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
• Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
• Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
• Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
• Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
• Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Manual Dexterity
• Near Vision
• Information Ordering
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Oral Comprehension
• Speech Recognition
• Static Strength
• Control Precision
• Category Flexibility
• Selective Attention

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Cautiousness
• Perseverance
• Integrity

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Support
• Relationships
• Independence
• Working Conditions
• Achievement

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: Less than a High School Diploma

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Word

Tools & Equipment

• Awl sets
• Bolt cutters
• Carpet cutters
• Carpet knives
• Carpet trimmers
• Cordless cutters
• Cordless tile saws
• Cut-off saws
• Flat cold chisels
• Foam rubber cutter
• Glass cutting tools
• Hand planers
• Handheld grinders
• Handsaws
• Heavy duty shears

Work Environment

• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
• Spend Time Standing
• Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$29,910
Median	$38,800
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$57,820

Workers Employed Nationally: 7,070

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.