The Mat Cutter System
This is a good example of an easy to use reasonably priced mat cutter system
 . It's a Logan 301s mat cutter system and will cut mats up to a half sheet of matboard, in other words 20 inches x 32 inches. A standard sheet of mat board is 40x32.
 There are many types and sizes of mat cutter systems
 available that can cut up to a full 32 x 40 mat.
The above pictured mat cutter system is very basic and is all you'll need to cut hundreds of single and double mats for yourself and to give as gifts. If you're planning to go into the custom framing business I'd suggest following the above link and purchase a little more elaborate mat cutting system, although the one on this page would work quite nicely. Mat Cutters In the mat cutter system pictured the gray gizmo that looks like a bicycle handlebar grip is a straight mat board cutter. The straight mat board cutter is for cutting mats to outside dimensions to fit into the rabbet of a picture frame. The mat board cutter holds a razor sharp blade to cut a 90° angle.
Some people may find it more comfortable and convenient to use a razor knife for cutting mat board to size. WHATEVER YOU USE, DON'T USE A RAZOR BLADE ALONE, NOT EVEN A SINGLE EDGE. WE VALUE YOUR FINGERS The other thing-a-ma-jig to the right of the handle bar grip is the actual mat cutter. The mat cutter holds a razor sharp blade at a 45° angle to make the nice 45° bevel on the inside of the mat opening. The blade is concealed until you press the portion of it to push the blade through the mat board. The straight cutter and the 45° cutter are included in the logan 301s mat cutter system Cut Picture Mats FreehandAlthough you can cut picture mats freehand a cutting guide makes things a lot easier and more accurate. I talked to an old timey custom framer who started custom picture framing before the days of mat cutting tools and systems. He used a special knife that held razor blades, different than a modern day razor knife. He could cut an almost perfect 45° bevel in a straight line freehand, but he said that he always made a little squiggle in his cuts so people would know that it was a freehand cut. I wouldn't suggest that now, since most people don't know about freehand professional mat cutters and they would think you made a boo boo. Freehand Mat Cutting With A Guide Freehand mat cutting with a guide may seem like an oxymoron, but its kind of freehand mat cutting using a carpenters framing square instead of a mat cutting board holding everything nice and square and steady.You actually could use a yardstick or a piece of 1 x 4 pine. The yardstick would be kind of hard to keep totally steady and the piece of pine may be a little warped, so I'd go with the framing square if you want to give this method a try. Remember the mat cutting system is still available if you end up saying whoops too many times and run out of mat board before you get your mat cut. Dexter Hand Mat Cutter The Dexter hand mat cutter
 is a really nice mat cutter if you have a bigger hand. My hand is kind of small and the heel of my hand and my thumb didn't match up with the indents for them in the mat cutter and it was difficult to handle. It's all nice shiny, slippery chrome.
The Dexter hand mat cutter is a push type cutter, so it's important that your hand fit all the places that are designed for it to fit or the push is kind of awkward. It's strictly right hand use only. The Logan Hand Mat Cutter The Logan hand mat cutter
 is my favorite. The Logan comes in several different styles, a pull and a push style and with and without the mat marker bar. It's comfortable to use no matter what size your hand is and the Logan hand mat cutters are comfortable to use for left handers as well as right handers.
 The little white line is on both the pull and push models and it's used to start and stop the mat cut at the exact right spot.The mat marker bar slides in and out and holds a piece of pencil lead in one end for marking the mat border width.
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