Review: Tom’s Oil Filter Cutting Tool Helps Clean Up Oil Changes

Not all filter cutting tools are created equal, and this one stands out.

Jonathan Welsh

Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Tom’s Oil Filter Cutting Tool and the aftermath of a filter inspection [Credit: Jonathan Welsh]

Key Takeaways:

Aircraft engine oil filter cutting for inspection is a common maintenance task often complicated by messy, frustrating, and potentially injurious experiences with inadequate tools.
The author highly recommends "Tom's Oil Filter Cutting Tool" from Flyboy Accessories for its straightforward design and effective performance.
When used with proper technique (like securing the filter in a vise and following instructions), this tool significantly simplifies the cutting process, making it cleaner, smoother, and less prone to injury, thus saving time and frustration.

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Have you ever wished the process of changing your aircraft’s engine oil could be a little less messy? While this important maintenance task offers many ways to get your hands dirty, I find that cutting open the oil filter to check for contaminants often is how they wind up bloody.

During a recent oil change for my Commander 114B, I began thinking about how many times I have performed the operation over the years and how rarely I get through it without making a mess of the filter and sometimes spilling blood in addition to oil. Early on I tried basic tools including metal snips to cut the filter can then moved on to specialized filter can cutters available from aviation suppliers.