I think the mat makes a difference, something I have just discovered recently. I had been using one of those gray mats, it was cheaper than the Olfa and I figured a mat was a mat. I bought one of those little Olfa mats with the turn table a few years ago. Right after that I had to stop quilting for a while on account of illnes. When I got back to quilting again a few months ago, I forgot I had the little Olfa mat. Then I was digging through my stuff and discovered it a couple of weeks ago. When I used it, I was amazed a how well the cutter worked on that mat. It did not skip at all, but the with the same blade it skipped on the old mat. I ordered a 24 x 36 Olfa mat and received it yesterday. I used it all afternoon with the same blade that skipped on the old mat, and it did not skip once on the Olfa. I love that mat. I cannot even begin to describe the differences in it and the old mat. No telling how many blades I wasted before getting it.