This is a case of "You get what you pay for." The cheap cutting mats are not the best for your cutter. Since you are going to be using your cutting equipment a lot, it's wise to invest (yes, this is an investment) in the best equipment. The best mats to purchase are either the Fiskars 24" x 36" - you can get it at WalMart for under $30.00, ot the Ofla or Omnigrid green mats. They are more expensive, but I would assume you could get them at Joannes with a coupon to make the cost less.

I have the original Fiskars grey with orange mat. Have had it for nearly 15 years. I do a lot of cutting. The mat is still going just fine. I'd like to get the yellow one, but keep resisting as there's nothing wrong with my grey one. It's just that my favorite color is yellow!

Now, there have been cases of a blade being duller than it should be from the get-go. I have been using the Harbor Freight blades & am loving them! The current blade is 4 months old! Probably ought to think about changing it out, but it' still cutting just fine.

Good luck.

love the harbor blades!!!
dar

Kneeling down? is this on the floor? is your mat on the floor? that may be the problem. Try working on the kitchen counter - a great height - or at least table height.

Then check your mat... they can sometimes be a problem if you cut in the same place(s) over and over... the invisible grooves made with the blade become clogged! They are self mending but.... and by all means, use the green Olfa ones, largest you can reasonably afford and store... the other plastic jobs are awful, in my opinion.

last... make sure you are using 1 blade... sometimes two can even look like one and that causes a problem... ask me how I know! HAhahaha

Good Luck.

Rotary mats are mats, no matter what brand. The self healing mats get cut by the blade and close up, the hard mats don't get cut so don't' need to heal. A very worn mat should be replaced. I like the hard mats better, they last much longer and do not warp. In industry the hard mats are used and the blades there cost hundreds of dollars to replace.

I have been using my olfa 60mm cutter for over a year without changing the blade. It has always had a skip in it, and being new to this, I thought it was just me. Well, today I started using my new olfa 45 mm cutter and WOW, what a difference. No skips and so much easier to use. I did not want to have to buy 60 mm blades so bought the 45 mm on sale; hubby got me a pkg of 45 mm blades because they were cheaper than the 60 mm. Guess I need to change blades more often.

Nothing more frustrating than a blade that skips!

Go to Harbor Freight, or you can go to their store online and buy blades. They are called Carpet Cutter Blades and they come with 2 blades in a package and it depends on where your at they cost is between $1.49 and $1.99. They fit 45mm cutters. Thats what alot of us are using these days. ;)