sushi

Is flannel particularly tough on blades? (I have no idea!) Has the flannel been washed? How would you rate its quality? (Is it 100% cotton?)

You say you get seven good cuts before a nick shows up. How many layers of flannel are you cutting through each time?

lainealex

I don't know - I'm trying to find out if flannel is tough on blades?

I'm using very high quality flannel from Moda, Maywood etc - all 100 percent cotton. I'm only cutting one layer, maybe two.

sushi

Unless there's something special about flannel you and I don't know about, this doesn't seem to be the problem.

DOTTYMO

I'm not always positive if I have a new or old blade as I always put old blade in the empty box. .

This was just a thought. I think I would go and buy a new cutter. 3 blades are almost up to that cost and if it continues wow money is flying out of the window.

SimpsonFrances

Gee, that is so frustrating. You've thought of all the possibilities I think. I believe at this point I would start over with a new mat, cutter and blade. If you get the problem again, it has to be your cutting technique! I have had to replace mats, rulers and blades for all of the above reasons, but usually I can tell which instrument is faulty! Keep us posted. I am really interested in what you find out!

citruscountyquilter

Have you tried cutting other fabrics than flannel with the blades and see what happens? This would at least rule out the fabric as the culprit. Is the blade in securely? There was another post on here a while back about the screw that holds the blade in place malfunctioning. I haven't had that happen but that could be worth looking into.

Weezy Rider

I can have that problem, too. In my case, it's hard to keep steady pressure on the cutter if you can't walk around the table, and is your floor flat? I have the top of an extremely expensive cherry executive desk for the table. You can stand on it, no wiggles. But there is a slight dip in one spot, and cutter will miss there. My kitchen floor is vinyl over cement, and there are dips in that floor. You can see the puddles when you wash it.

I use either a True Cut or Martelli ergonomic cutter and have a Martelli mat.

Nilla

I just had this problem a week ago! I changed the blade and it seemed to have a nick. I took it off and put it back on to make sure I hadn't put it on incorrectly. I tried another cutting mat. I changed the blade and it still seemed to be jumping. I pulled out another rotary cutter and it worked fine! I tried yet another blade and now it's fine. I guess there were just a few bad blades in the pack. Of course, I bought them a long time ago with a coupon so I don't have a receipt, but lesson learned.

lclang

Check the center of your rotary cutter. After a lot of use they can become slightly oval and cause problems with the cutting, no matter how many new blades you put in them. If you have a second rotary cutter, try the blades in another one and see if that makes a difference. If they work fine in another cutter, then it's probably wear to the center of your original tool.

lainealex

I'm going to use the back side of the mat and buy a new rotary cutter and see if that works.

How can that not work?

Lainey