Originally Posted by Jill

Same thing here--first couple of times the crank was a little hard to turn and the marks on the mat were pretty good. I used it quite a bit during the last week cutting a Sunbonnet Sue and found that the marks are much less obvious and the crank turns very easy. I really think the mats will last much longer than we originally thought. Have fun! I'm anxious to get some of the strip dies.