My Martelli mat arrived!
 

I like the purple side, so that is the side I have up. Looks like the yellow side is thicker, though. I haven't cut on the mat yet.

Just for fun, I pulled out my Olfa rotating mat and small Quilter's Select mat to compare the surfaces. Took a starched square of fabric and put my hand on top to see how much it moved on each mat. It barely moved at all on the Olfa mat, but moved quite easily on the QS mat. The Martelli was in-between; a little bit of grab, but not as much as the Olfa. I often have difficulty with either the fabric or the ruler moving on me while cutting, which is why I try to use my Slidelock whenever possible. Seems to me that the QD, being the slipperiest mat, would be the most difficult for me to use for long cuts. It does work great for smaller cuts, though; I have pulled it out for that purpose in the past.

At any rate, I think all three mats are way better than my old mat, which is quite rough in comparison. It was a no-brand name mat that came with my cutting table 20 or so years ago and I'm not sure what it is made of. I think it has made cutting harder on my hand lately, not to mention having to avoid some of the spots with too many cuts in the mat, so I am looking forward to trying out the Martelli for long cuts (once I get further along with my current quilt). I'm hoping I won't have to press as hard.

Please post your results! I have 4 Olfa mats and couldn't justify buying the Martelli even when they were 50% off. :eek:

I Love their cutters and have several. :D

I love my Martelli mat. Waited for the sale because I wanted the largest one.

I bit the bullet and ordered the large one...mine hasn’t arrived yet but will anxious to try it out when it comes.

thanks for posting the comparisons

I have the Martelli rotating mat and love it. But my cutting table has a large Olfa mat. Maybe my next cutting table mat should be Martelli also?

Lindaschipper - did your rotating mat get all scratched up? I've had mine for maybe a couple years and the top got so scratched from cutting on it. Martelli does a one time replacement for $20 which I've ordered. Just wondering if mine is the only one that did that.

If you used the Martelli rulers, the fabric would not move at all.

Prism, I hope you enjoy using it. I love mine.
I didn't get the round mat after all. Maybe next time! My sewing room is such a mess that I'm having trouble finding anything so I need to clean up!

Try the Quilter's Select rulers. They will not slip. They hold the best on the QS mat but works on all mats. I use the glove with the QS rulers and the Slidelock with all the other brand rulers. I have the Martelli mat on my rotating board and on my Alto Quilt Cut. It's fine.

Still not not a fan of the rulers. The material is great for no slipping but I struggle with them being black. Never confident enough about what is underneath that I can not see!

Slidelock
 

I love my slide locks (I have both sizes) Best invention ever

It's interesting that there are several posts about Martelli products. I did not see this one when I posted my question. And there is another thread also. All regarding Martelli. I'm considering getting a mat, a ruler, and the main thing I was looking for, a new cutter. My wrist is really letting me know its time to be kinder to it. I do have a Acuquilt cutter and dies but I still do a lot of rotary cutting. Whew, lots to think about! Since I've been retired I've looked at costs more closely. I'm thinking of this as an investment that will last a long time. Hopefully this is the case. We are so fortunate to have the Quilting Board. I do not have another place to go to for answers or to bounce around ideas.

Prisim please let us know how the mat is working out for you. Congratulations on what looks to be a good choice.

Tiggersmom, you are fine staying with your Olfa mats.

So far, comparing the 3 different mats I have, Olfa is actually my favorite for the cutting surface. I wanted a large mat, and I would have gone with the 3-part Olfa if the Martelli hadn't gone on sale. My reasons for going with Martelli were (1) I would have one continuous mat, (2) there were never any reviews that mentioned an offgassing odor whereas some people complained about that with Olfa, and (3) I was concerned about reviewers mentioning that the newer Olfa mats don't seem to last the way the old ones did.

I had actually purchased the 3-part Olfa mat online when it was on sale at JoAnn's and had brought it home. It sat in its package in the kitchen for several days while I decided to take a chance on the Martelli. After 3 days, there was a slight solvent odor in its area that both my dh and I could detect. However, it wasn't the "skunk" type stink others had complained about and likely would have gone away if I had left it out on the porch for awhile.

Onebyone, thanks for mentioning the QS rulers. I have one here (6.5" square) that I bought along with the small mat to try out. I pulled the QS ruler out to try on the 3 mats. I didn't cut with it, but just put all 5 fingers of one hand on top of the ruler and then tried to wiggle it. It was the most stable on the Olfa mat; required the least pressure to remain stable. It was the least stable on the Martelli mat; no amount of pressure applied by my fingers was sufficient to keep it from moving when I wiggled my hand. It was stable on the QS mat, but only when I increased the pressure -- about double what was needed for the Olfa mat.

I pulled out another 6.5" square (Quilt in a Day) that has grip strips on all 4 edges to try out. This one was the most stable on the QS mat, least stable on the Martelli, with the Olfa in-between. It could be rendered stable on all of them, just like the QS ruler, but with differing levels of pressure.

So far, for me there is no *perfect* cutting mat. I like the Martelli mat, but why on earth did they think it a good idea to run lines at all the 1/2" marks as well as the 1" marks? Both Olfa and QS have lines only at the 1" with marks at the smaller increments which, in my opinion, is much better. The extra lines on the Martelli mat make it more visually confusing for no good reason. I also am not in love with the yellow side of the mat. I'm holding off on a decision about the large squaring-off logo in case I find a use for it in the future.

I tried my Slidelock on all 3 mats, and it works well on all the mats. Again, it does seem slightly better on the Olfa surface; about the same on the other two.

Prism, Thank you for the excellent comparison.

I am going to try the water soak method on my mats this afternoon. Some of my mats are over 15 years and I hope they last a lot longer.

Good idea...I soak my mats twice a year (January 1st and July-ish). I have two Quilters Select rulers and would like to get a couple more when they go on sale.

It sounds like the Martelli mats are really good. My next mat will be a Martelli. My current large mat still has a few years left in it.

Hmmm... my Martelli mat just arrived. I’m concerned about the slipping issues mentioned here. I have already sliced my ruler holding fingers cross ways with a slippery mat. I have the cutter, and the round mat. Here are some of my experiences with Martelli products as mentioned in this feed-
* Yes, my round mat does scratch with cutting.
* the cutter really is easier on the wrist for me, but it collects lint in the blade casing, and I can not figure out how to completely clean it out, therefore I find the blade starts sticking rather quickly. When replacing the blade, I’ve needed help sliding the blade into the casing. (I’m Actually very good at mechanics)

Chris, this video is kind of long, but she shows how to clean the rotary cutters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ACuhS53ko&t=3s

Regarding slippage, have you tried the Slidelock rulers? I absolutely *love* them, and use them both by themselves and on top of other rulers. They stop the slipping and keep my hand high and away from the cutter. One of the best quilting investments I ever made:
https://www.quiltersslidelock.com/slidelock-models/

I got a set of the 2 sizes of slidelock, and I use both sizes a lot. I got the yellow ones, which theoretically make it a little easier to see the edge of the ruler compared to the clear ones. I don't use the ruler that came with the set at all. It has so many lines it is visually confusing for me, and I prefer to use other rulers for measuring purposes. Their other products are newer; I was surprised to see them when I looked up the website to post it here.

I also purchased their rotating mat with iron pad. I really like that too esp for trim blocks

I soaked all 3 of my big mats last night. 1 Olfa, 2 Omnigrid. I have had the Olfa the longest and it shows very little cuts or nicks. In comparrison my Omnigrid has lots of nicks etc.
As far as soaking them. I soaked approximately the same time in the same water bath and vinegar. I did not do the scrubbing with Dawn as I don't use them to cut my batting but cut it off the big rolls with my Gingers.
They all 'may' feel a bit softer but I didn't do a feel touch before soaking. I have not cut on them yet.

I watched the video on the Slidelock and it seems like an extra step to measure, remove the ruler then cut. I'm a skeptic so I would have to use one before I bought. Also I am right handed and measure from the left. I also have read several time to not use your mats but your rulers as they are more accurate in measuring. Any thoughts on that???
This thread has been very interesting to me. Thanks Prism.

The Martelli salesmen claim that their mats have accurate markings. I suppose the best way to verify that would be to compare them to your rulers.

I use the mat markings primarily to line up the fabric fold when cutting strips. If you want your mat to last, it's a good idea not to use the mat markings for cutting because you end up cutting on the same lines over and over again, making grooves in your mat. By using rulers to square up and cut, your cuts are much more random all over the mat and not running right on top of one another.

The best cutting accuracy comes from using rulers that have fine lines, and from using only one ruler (or one brand of ruler) throughout a cutting project. Most of the quilts I make do not demand such high levels of accuracy, so I often combine ruler brands for a project. For miniature piecing or blocks that require a high level of accuracy to turn out right (such as snail's trail), I would be much more careful about which rulers I am using.

Regarding the Slidelock, I really don't have any problem using another ruler to measure. It doesn't seem like an extra step to me, but then I am used to doing it that way.

There is another way I use the Slidelock which may appeal more to you. I sometimes use my regular rulers to line up my cutting line and then place the Slidelock on top of the ruler before cutting. In this case, I am still cutting along the edge of my regular ruler, but the Slidelock is holding that ruler in place while I cut. This is particularly useful with my long rulers, which are the ones most likely to slip on me a bit towards the end. The Slidelock makes it almost impossible for the ruler under it to move. They do not demo using the Slidelock in this way, probably to avoid possible liability issues, but it works very well. The two things I appreciate about the Slidelock are: (1) it gets my left hand up and away from the cutter, and (2) it holds whatever is under it (fabric or another ruler) firmly in place.

I am in the middle of piecing a quilt so haven't done any cutting yet on the Martelli mat. I do have to do some cutting on my Olfa rotating mat, and I must say I have come to appreciate that surface after comparing it to the Martelli and Quilter's Select. The Olfa has a surface that allows fabric to be pushed around easily, just like the other mats. However, it "grabs" fabric and ruler better than the other two, plus I have now noticed that it does not require much pressure on my cutter to make a clean cut. My old no-name mat required more pressure on the cutter, as did the QS mat when I used it. I suspect the Martelli mat will also require more pressure than the Olfa. Once I get through my current project, I will be able to test out long cuts on the Martelli.

It's a shame that mats are so darned expensive - it really prohibits trying other brands out. Many years ago (decades!), my first mat was a Fiskars, as that was what was available near me then. Then I went to Olfa brand, which was a huge improvement over the Fiskars for me. Others like the Fiskars better.

Now I only use Martelli; I don't find that I have to press harder (it's my shoulders that cause pain more than wrists), even though the surface on them is almost cushioned. I've never had any slippage using them, with or without my Slidelock (which I love when cutting several layers at once). I have ironed on them, without problem, and occasionally use the lines for measuring large pieces. I have one of their strip rulers and the ergonomic cutter, but do not care for either of them.

If you find you are pressing hard - causing both slipping and wrist pain - check to see if you need a new blade in your cutter. Like many quilters, I don't change mine as often as I should, but am most always surprised how easy cutting is when I do! Amazon carries the multi packs for less than the big box store, even when the store has 50% off coupons.

Prism I like your alternative method of using the Slidelock. I might give it a try even though I upgraded to the Go Big. I have a couple of those handle things for the top of rulers but never could tell they made much of a difference.
Peaceandjoy I agree with you that it's a shame they are so expensive but the upside is they last a long time.