I cut a lot and I bought a Kai cutter in 1982 and only just replaced the blade in December 2012. I do have 4 cutters of varied sizes,so the amount of use is possibly evened out. However, perhaps it is the quality of the blade that is important. I'm not inclined to replace blades when they cost $10 - $15+ in this country. A kind lady on this board sent me some replacements and I have just Christened one of them.