One thing you can do regarding the material clip issue is to use the tension screw for adjusting the jaws as a material holder. It wont function as a true material clip of course, but you can put a piece of wire, tinsel, etc. over the screw while tying and it will stay in place. You can do the same thing with the screw that keeps the jaws in one of the 3 positions.
can you disable the ratchet function? I don't get why it even has this. I have to get the rotary tension knob just right so I can rotate it in both directions smoothly and not have that slip as you pointed out.
