Well, my last vistit to Joann's they had a Fiskars cutting mat (18 x 24") and a rotary cutter on sale for $7.00. I have only had these...maybe 2 months...if that. I already had to replace the origional blade because I nicked it on the ruler. I put a new one in and it became dull very fast. I put the current one in maybe 2 weeks ago if that, I haven't used any rulers since I put this in. I always make sure to close it before laying it down ( I learned that the hard way...well I should say my thumb did...lol). I haven't dropped it and I haven't cut any pins...there could have possibly been something else hard laying there I didn't notice. Once the blades have nicks in them, can they still be sharpened?