Hello, I found my blades were getting dull fast too. My mat is cut up so I'm in the market for a new one. I had recently purchased a rotating mat for trimming blocks down and it had a self-healing mat. My blades seem to love it and don't get dull as fast and cuts so much better. I found a place that will cut the self-healing mat to fit whatever size you need so I'm saving my pennies for it. Until then I'll just have to use what I have.