I remember when those nip-and-rip devices came into use as the new and wonderful improvement, but I don't think I'm very old! Since they would only work effectively on tightly woven cottons, of course they became obsolete when perma-press and polyester double knits became so popular. It was even difficult to find 100% cotton fabrics for many years, until quilting came back into vogue.
As for ripping, I spent a while trimming scraps into blocks at my last Linus Project group meeting, and those ripped edges on some pieces were downright annoying! I've tried ripping a few times in recent years and was always disappointed in the way the fabric seemed to end up crooked anyway, since it had been printed on skewed griege goods and wrapped still another way on the bolt, and no amount of pulling, washing, wetting, stretching or ironing would put "humpty dumpty" back together again.