Olfa 70-inch long cutting mat - any experience with it?
 

I've been using a large white cutting mat--one of the ones that dulls rotary blades quickly. I just this morning discovered the existence of a 70-inch long, 3-piece Olfa mat (it didn't exist, as far as I know, when I got my white mat years ago), and hope that someone reading this has experience with it.

The URL for it is: http://www.olfa.com/35%22-x-70%22-co....html#start=49

Before I ask for this mat for Christmas, I'm hoping someone can tell me how well it stays together and how it behaves if you run the blade across the seam between mat sections. I have a low tolerance for poor functionality in expensive products, and really, really, want to be happy with this mat that seems to be the answer to a major storage problem with the white one!

Thanks for any advice. :)

What kind of mat do you have right now that dulls a rotary blade quickly? Just curious because I want to make sure I don't consider it for my next purchase. I have had my Fiskars mat for over 10 years and will probably stick with it. Not ready to buy new yet since I have a couple smaller ones that I use for smaller projects. Just curious!!

I have a 'white' large cutting mat, the one that covers my whole cutting surface. It has never dulled my blade any more then any of the other mats I use. I have Fiskars, Olfa, Omnigrid, Martelli, Polar, June Taylor, and a few no name ones. I have cutting mats on top of every flat surface in my sewing room. Honestly I like the June Taylor one the best.

I just googled the mat and found that Joann's has it on sale right now for 97.99.

Selm: Wow! I'll check that out, thanks!

Tessagin: I'm not sure what the brand is, I'm not home right now to inspect it in person, but I asked my son to look at it and he says there is no apparent branding on it. I bought it at JoAnn's a while back. After purchasing it and noticing that my blades dulled more quickly on it than on my Olfa mats, I read (here, I think) that others were having similar issues with "white mats." The mat is very "plasticky" compared to green mats and is not self-healing, as far as I can tell.

Mine has the name Sullivan's Cutting Edge. It's 34 x 56. I paid $39.99 at Tuesday Mornings.

My girl friend has these mats put together with clips. The clips always get in the way. and sometimes you need to cut where the join is....not friendly. The reason she got these mats was because she hosted a group of girls every month and we all chipped in to purchase these for her. Now that we don't go anymore she took the mats apart. Much friendlier. Not often one needs this long a mat IMHO I have a skinny mat I purchased a long time ago that I can add to my mat if I really need it. Don't use clips just put it there and move the mat down to where I need to cut.

I had one years ago. It was handy to trim customer's quilt. I find that Omnigrid mats last longer then the Olfa mat do.

Those clips look like a real pain, but I don't know how else to get an extra big mat. I do lots of fleece and cuts are long.

I have two Olfa mats which at one timeI connected together with a strip of packing tape down the back. They covered my whole table top and I could fold them to store under the bed. I also have the whit mat and only use it for crafts to protect my table top. Not good for cutting as they aren't self healing.

I want the Martelli one and it is one piece.

You are right. I have the same one and it is NOT self healing. I purchased mine a few years ago
at JoAnns also. It did dull the blades. I no longer use it. I purchased the large Olfa one.

I got this mat a couple of years ago for Christmas. Mine is only in two pieces and I don't think it was as wide. I love that it covers the top of my cutting table but hated the metal clamps to hold it together so I just taped them together with packing tape. Works like a charm.

I also put 2 olfa mats together...used duct tape on the back. They work ok, but there is usually one tread that doesnt cut through on the seam. As long as I know it is there I compensate by gently pulling a tiny bit back and it works fine.

The joining clips and mats HAVE been around for a while. The dang clips and the joint are a pain in the patootie and not worth the cost in my (not so humble, I guess) opinion.

According to the Olfa official website, their largest single mat seems to be 24" x 36". I have this and it works just great.

Jan in VA

And there is a free shipping code, too. OCTFREE60. I just ordered one!

$179 is the cheapest price I can find for this one. Looks good though.

We have a new tape now available which I would use to tape 2 or 3 mats together if I needed to: Gorilla Tape. No kidding, Gorilla tape and glue are the best things on the planet.

Thanks for the experience and suggestions, everyone! :)

They run 50% off sales fairly frequently.

Martelli has a large mat and they are great if you sign up for the newsletter they go on sale for half price several times a year and are worth the wait