You really need a Dremel or a generic equivalent. Everyone should own one, and an extra set of rotary accessories for them. You can buy them at Harbor Freight for about $10 although I really suggest anyone buying one spend a little extra for one with variable speed. Big-box stores like Home Despot have them too. The Dremel brand is just a name, I have both a cheap one and a higher-end Dremel with all the attachements and the variable speed. The name brand isn't that big of a deal IMHO. It's not a rocket or a jet engine.

Always remember to wear eye protection when using a Dremel tool, especially when cutting with those cheaper cutting discs. They will disintegrate and explode quite often and you could put an eye out very easily.

What I do is I cut with a nice cutter but you could use a cheaper one and then cut again with the Dremel a half inch back to get a good cut. It's very hard to cut housing straight with a Dremel on a running housing since the housing is in your way as you hold the tool. If you cut it off first you can cut straight again on the short end. Just measure a half inch long when you make your first cut. Then use the sanding drums to clean up the ends to get them nice and flat. Nothing else you can do will net as much improvement in braking feel like dressing the ends of the cables up. Even with a very expensive bike-specific cutter you still need to dress the ends of the cable up like in that link I posted above.