Thank you Jan, I did not know that!!!!

Jan,

I had no idea! Thanks!!

After switching to The Big Mat (www.sewingemporium.com), my blades last a lot longer now. I've used the white mat sold by Joann Fabrics; it seems to be an off brand. The surface is somewhat rough. It does cause the blades to get dull very fast.

I have made several quilts on my last blade..it just goes on like the enegizer bunny..never stops cutting...but I know I'm gonna have to change it sometime...not today...

Same as myself. We have some personalities born in 1948 including Sooty oh and Prince Charles. Good year to be born

Rotary cutters. I followed instructions on the pack and started cutting. I am ambidextrous and until I went to class and my friend went to use mine and said your not left handed. I had managed to put it all together for left handed . I was cutting left handed because with right hand not good and I didn't realise I was doing it.

I find that I need to replace my blade more when using batik I assume because of the tight threads. Since dad died I have to buy more he used to sharpen then or me.

Yes my last 2 blades are very dull and I haven't cut much. and I cleaned my matt and even tried a new matt and blade was still dull, very disappointing

Can't get the link to work....or google for Big Mat....help?

http://www.sewingemporium.com/
The link looks the same, but I got this one from Startpage (Google). You need to enable javascript. Think it could be one of the tracking apps that messed up.

I had a big mat. It did all right until I went to clean 505 off of it. The blue lines came off. I bought a Martelli at a show.
Larger mat (extra borders) for same size. Much thicker. I'm using a Truecut holder and either Olfa or Fiskers blades. Just bought some titanium, but haven't tried them yet.

Olfa does OK.

Have you considered that the dulling might be caused by your mat needing Mat Care? It is recommended by manufacturers. They get a lot of abuse in cutting and do need to be refreshed. Thanks for asking the question. Mine really needs a wipe down or bath.

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.