For those of you who have seen my other posts on copper repiping, you’ll no doubt remember that I’ve gone through at least several projects of replacing plumbing in my own home. Yes, only one of those three projects was actually done by me…but still you’ll see that I have a little bit of experience when I talk about our subject at hand. Rather than struggle with your plumbing upgrade trying to cut pipe with a hacksaw, its time you learn to do the job with the right set of hand tools. Pipe cutters are made specifically for…cutting pipe. Even though you CAN cut a pipe with a hack saw, I’m not sure why you’d want to. It is very hard to cut straight and it can easily distort the curve on the pipe, making it not fit for what you needed it for in the first place. The bottom line for our discussion today is that the inventors of the pipe cutting tool made it for a reason. I’m guessing its because they got tired of cutting their pipes the “old” way too. 
Of course, as with any tool, the pipe cutter must be used properly to make sure that it works the way it was meant to.
Lets take a look at some of the details about pipe cutters. Instead of attacking one side of the pipe like you would using a hack saw, a pipe cutter has a system where the cutting wheel revolves around the pipe. With each revolution, the cutter rollers are tightened a bit in order for the blade to bite in a little deeper each time. When done correctly, this produces a nice even cut with a straight edge.
Some tips to using a pipe cutter will make things easier and the results better for those who aren’t used to using one of these tools. To begin with, don’t rush into things. If you go a bit slowly and carefully when starting off, you are more likely to have a good, even cut as you get used to the tool. Go slow when it comes to tightening the cutter, as well. If you try to speed things up and tighten it too much, you can cause as much distortion as you would have with the hack saw. The only difference would be that the distortion would most likely be even all around the pipe which may not completely ruin the pipe, depending on what you are going to do with it.
When you first put the pipe into the cutter, you need to take the time to make sure that the pipe is squarely mounted so that the initial score of the pipe is even and meets. As you go along, the blade will follow this initial score line instead of ending up off kilter somehow. This will make things easier for you while at the same time making sure the cut is nice and straight. 
Also make sure that the blade wheel on the pipe cutter is nice and sharp. If you’re pulling out a pipe cutter that your grandfather used in 1942, chances are that its going to have a dull blade. Even though it may cut through the copper,pvc or steel piping, more than likely it will also not create as clean and sharp as edge as you will get with a sharp, new blade.
If this is your first time trying to use a pipe cutter, following these tips can help you do the job and do it right. Since there are many types of pipe, make sure you find the right kind of cutter for your job. Online stores or even local home improvement stores like Home Depot will carry PVC pipe cutters, copper pipe cutters, steel pipe cutters, and soil pipe cutters. Once you find the right one, practice with it before you use it on a “final” piece of piping. Then when have a nice straight cut, you can file off any sharp edges or burrs with a piece of emery paper or a file.