I well remember my very first Olfa Rotary Blade Cutter that I bought at the Seattle area's Sewing Expo oh so many, many years ago. Throughout the years I have bought replacements blades and actually learned how to replace the blades without cutting myself up. I added an Olfa's 45mm cutter to my collection but didn't use it much... UNTIL the cost of the 60mm blades began to go up.

Today I noticed someplace (sorry, don't remember exactly where I was looking) that an Olfa 60mm replacement single blade was $7, I decided to do an online search for 5 pak blades of this brand. Here's what I found.

These are costs of a 5-pak of 60mm Olfa blade replacements:

Overstock.com: 28.49 + 2.95 shipping= $6.29/blade

Olfa.com: 50.99 + 9.90 shiping= $12.18

Amazon.com: 17.65 + 4.99 shipping= $4.53

Buy.com: 36.28 + free shipping= $7.26

I didn't check out JoAnn's nor factor in their 40% & 50% off coupons.

My solution: Harbor Freight's carpet cutter 45mm replacement blades and use them in my Olfa cutter. Sad to me because I have always enjoyed and appreciated Olfa's brand of products.

I have been buying mine from the auctions on ebay for years. I too, get disgusted at the cost. I usually bid on a big enough lot to outfit me and my mom long enough to take my time to watch for cheap deals on ebay again.

This is the way to go!

Natalie, what kind of prices have you won per blade? I have never done that before.

Wow, what information.......I work for an apt. complex and we have rugs replaced all the time by a company so mayb if I check with him, I might b able to get some blades cheap for my 45mm huh???? Thanks for the info.

Shar, if you have a Harbor Freight near you, that is where I get mine. Some people have not had success with these blades but I have, so far.

Here's a look at completed listings on eBay for 60mm rotary cutting blades sold in lots:
http://completed.shop.ebay.com/i.htm....c0.m270.l1313
You might have to be signed in for the link to work.

As you can see, the price per blade can vary from over $2 to under $1.50 (not including shipping, which usually works out to less than $.25 cents a blade if sent priority). It depends on the day and who else is bidding.

Thank you. I will have to start looking on there. :-D

Cool, we do have one near me......in fact, I just informed someone to go buy a tote for their sewing machine there, cheap and nice, real nice but never thought of blades, thanks....are they round then to fit in the cutter? Is that what they use for rugs do u know?

thanks for all of the information above

The larger quantity I buy, the better the deal. I can usually hold out and get them for under $2/blade. Just the inital investment but I don't mind that at all for the prices I get.

I love my 60mm cutters. I have two- Martinelli and Olfa. I use a sharpener to keep them sharp as long as possible. I have considered buying a 45mm cutter but I so love the 60mm.

Have you checked with LP Sharp.com. I've been getting my blades from him and you can send in your old sed blades and he will send you new ones I haven't had to purchase any from him but check him out.

Just checked out the prices on the 60mm- 5.00 per blades with exchange-free shipping.

The other thing you may want to check is the lots for olfa. I bid on a lot of the lots and get new cutters and blades. Then, the blades work out to be cheaper and between mom and me we can always use another cutter.

Thanks for the info.

I've been buying mine from ebay for years. Have never found anywhere cheaper and have always gotten a good deal. Last time I heard (here in Australia) a 60mm blade cost around $20.00 each and 45mm about $14.00 each. That was in Spotlight not sure how much in LQS.

I bought some Friskar brand blades for my Olfa 60 mm rotary cutter and they cut just fine. Seems to me they were 1/3 the price of the Olfa brand blades at Joanne's. Just for the heck of it, I marked the date on the last blade to go on the cutter and it's still going strong. That date was 3-11-11 and have cut 6 to 8 quilts plus gobs of 3 1/2 inch squares my quild uses to make 9 patch blocks for wounded soiders.

You could try http://www.lpsharp.com/3.html, although I don't think they'll compare with Harbor Freight.

Shar, if you have a Harbor Freight near you, that is where I get mine. Some people have not had success with these blades but I have, so far.[/quote]

Cool, we do have one near me......in fact, I just informed someone to go buy a tote for their sewing machine there, cheap and nice, real nice but never thought of blades, thanks....are they round then to fit in the cutter? Is that what they use for rugs do u know?[/quote]

Just ask for their carpet cutter 45mm replacement blades. You can also order online. I ordered a dozen at once to make shipping more cost effective. That was because when quilters started going to HF for blades they soon ran out and it took quite a while for them to catch up. LOL :lol:

[/quote]

Thank you Natalie. I will keep an eye on eBay. :D

What type of sharpener do you have? I have thought of doing that myself; hear different things about sharpeners, etc. :-D

Doreen, thank you. I will check it out. :-D

Sounds like a good deal with free shipping!

Ann, I learn new stuff on this board everytime I open it up. Thanks.

Speaking of rotary blades, I have about (6)--- used 60 MM-- Olfa blades that are collecting here if anybody wants them, send me a PM on here and I'll mail them out to you.

They're good but I don't have the gadget for sharpening them.

I just got a two 5 pack from e-bay for $22.00 plus postage. in the 60 mm and they were olfa blades.

Thanks!

I love my 60mm cutter. I always get the best deals on blades thru Ebay. I don't wait till the last minute to start looking. That way I can watch for a great deal.

Just did some checking.......
Checked out JoAnn's "on-line"....today they have the 5 pack of Olfa 50mm rotary cutter blades for 23.99 reduced from $47.99 but, of course, then you have shipping to add to that! They had a single blade listed as $11.99!!! They, also, had their 60mm rotary cutters on sale for 1/2 price if anyone doesn't have access to their coupons.

I have both the Olfa 60mm and the 45mm. I much prefer the 60mm even though the blades are considerably higher. I would like to know where to get a sharpener for the 60mm.

I get mine on eBay. They ended up being about $3.00 per blade that way, but I had to try a few times, because I was placing bids. However, it was well worth the challenge, and I have blades to last a long long time. Has anyone tried the blad sharpening tool? I have been told that it doesn't work very well.

I got a lot them on e-bay 3 yrs ago and got them for about .80-1.00 each.I am going to cry when I have to buy more

I tried Harbor freight blades and they cut worse than my dullest Olfa blade. Have had better success with titianum blades, as they seem to last longer.
IdahoSandy

yep...they are NOT cheap...which is why I am stuck with a large QTY of them that I can never recoup my costs on!...

Good thing I quilt so I can use them!

IF you wipe the blade with a soft cotton cloth and run it through the sharpener after each of your BIG cutting days, or one day a week, it works fine...UNLESS you drop it and get a nick in the blade..then you can not fix the nick!

I have used the same OLFA 60mm blade for over a year, and I cut anything and everything with it...even ultrasuede..which dulls it a bit quicker, but I clean it, sharpen and off it goes again!

Of course with nearly 100 blades in my house(that I could not sell)..I really don't need a blade to last a year..but it is nice to know that it can!

I use LP Sharp for my blades. They charge $5 for 60mm Olfa's and $3 for 45mm Olfa's, and generic blades are cheaper but the best part (for me anyway) is that it gives me a place to recycle old blades. http://www.lpsharp.com/
You send them your old blades and a check (or PayPal) for the replacement blades and they send you back brand new blades and don't charge for shipping. If you belong to a guild they have a program for that, also. I have tried the Harbor Freight blades and they are awful, and they are not big enough to fit in the 60mm cutters.

Thanks for the LP Sharp info.

It looks like they resharpen/recyle blades. Recycling is good!

I get mine on ebay, much cheaper and I always get them quickly

THANK YOU....this is so perfect for my guild of older ladies...I sharpen what I can, but this recycling will be great as well!

thanks, ladies and gents for this thread!

i love to use 60mm vs 45's. but the cost is really outrageous. i will try ebay bidding in the future.

thanks again!