Instead of havin' to fumble around on a bare roll of packaging tape in a frustrating effort to find the leader, the gun keeps it in place and ready to use on the next box! Just put the free end of the tape down on one side of the box, then-SKHKHKHKT!-all the way down to the other end, and let the serrated cutting blade sever the length from the rest of the roll! This particular model even has a tension knob on the spool that helps keep the tape roll in place with a clockwise turn, and also loosen it up when spent (counterclockwise turn).

On a final note: if you give the buyer the option of shipping via standard mail or Priority Mail, I recommend you keep two of these handy-one for the regular tape, and one for the Priority Mail tape. Believe you me, it's worth not having to go through the hassle of taking the regular roll off, then putting on the Priority roll, find the leader, thread it through the gun, etc.

`Late

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Don't buy this model  Nov 13, 2009
By Liyanage M. Perera "malith perera"
I bought this item when I'm moving. The dispensing mechanism is not adjustable. Spend few extra dollars and buy a better one.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:

This Tape Dispenser is awful  Apr 07, 2010
By P. northrup
The clear packing tape gets stuck on the metal guide each time I try to use it. Most dispensers of this type have a flexible or hinged guide, this one is unmoveable and evidently welds itslef to packing tape. It's useless.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Great tape gun for the price  Dec 05, 2009
By Mediahound
I do a lot of shipping and have not found a better tape gun for the price. This one is very sturdy and should last you years as it has me. While there are more expensive ones on the market, there is not a reason to spend the money on them because the performance is not greatly improved with them or anything.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

3m pistol  Feb 19, 2011
By Cheryl Ann Koontz "Engineer Tech"
This tape dispenser is very hard to use. The tape gets stuck on the metal end of the dispenser every time, and it does not flow freely, so you have to constantly pull the "stuck on" tape away from the metal piece before it will release the tape. It does not do what I think it should. This is not a good machine.

See all 14 customer reviews on Amazon.com