I have a fiskars 45 mm. one and I don't know if it is true for other names brands but I buy my blades at Harbor Freight in the carpet layers section. They fit and if you are lucky on sale you get 2 blades for less than a dollar in one package and if you are not lucky you get 2 blades for a little over a dollar. They are throw away at that price and a new one for almost every project!!!!!!!!!! I love it. I stock up and always have at least a dozen on hand. It is worth a try in other brands as well.

I mainly use Olfa cutters. However, two things I've learned in my journey of quilting. No. 1...Are you by any chance left-handed? I am. And found after 3 years of using a rotary cutter that it had not been converted for left-handed use. No. 2...The best thing I ever did was take a rotary cutting class at a quilt shop. I had to drive 100 miles to a shop that offered it. I learned so much about preparing your fabric for cutting and using the rotary cutter...It was worth the money. I definitely think you need to be cutting on a hard surface...not on the top of your ironing board. Do not use the grid lines on the mat for measuring...turn your mat over and use the blank side. Use your ruler for measuring. And yes, yes, we tend to always want to get the most out of our blades but change them more often than you really want too. It matters!

One thought on the Fiskars...make sure your blade is not too tight or too loose. You want the blade to roll smoothly. If it is too loose, the blade will wobble and skip as it cuts. If too tight, you will not be able to cut without forcing the blade forward.

Also, do not ever cut towards you! Disaster waiting to happen. Always turn your work. Lots of people use the mats that turn to help with this issue. (Have cut myself badly, thus this bit of advice).

I do think, however, that your main problem is trying to cut on the ironing board.

Anita

I love my Gingher best of all. I have about a doz rotary cutters, a Kai, several Olfas and several Fiskars and a Martelli,

My first question would be "are you right or left handed?" It makes a difference in blade placement, other than that you probably are just having a little trouble getting used to it.

http://www.overstock.com/Crafts-Sewi.../product.html?
This is the one i like. I like that you only have to uncover 1/2 of the blade to use it, so it seems a bit safer to me. Plus you can change the blade really easily. I have had an ergonomic one like you picked, but it's the wrong angle for me. I think they are all personal preference .

If you haven't tried the ghinger now is the time. It is more costly but so worth it. The blades really last longer. I also liked the stick - not sure what you call it - clover makes one. But the ghinger is the best.

I purchased the blades at Harbor Freight and they skipped so badly I returned them. I don't like having to go over one piece of fabric 6 or more times to get it cut all the way through. I have heard other ladies complain of this same thing, so it wasn't such a bargain for me. Also these are made for carpet layers and a df who owns 2 stores say the guys hate them as they are more work cutting thru carpet they would rather use their knife.

I'm glad they work for some.
Just an fyi: if your blade is skipping, reverse it in your cutter and put one dab of oil on the blad and you can get longer life out of it. Then I also recommend the electric sharpener by True Cut as it does all sizes of blades, but you do have to put one drop of oil on each stone before sharpening.

I had two of the same one you have. I loved them. Cutting on your ironing board is not a good practise unless your ironing board is stabler than mine. My I ironing board is a real old timer made of some type of metal. it also has a large board over top of it to allow me to Orion bigger pieces of the quilt. The padding makes it difficult to cut on it. Now back to the cutters ... I have used both Fiscars and Olfa and even one I found at the flea market which is red. They all work fine when I have a sharp blade in them. Try your kitchen countertop or your kitchen table and you will see a hundred % difference

Likewise, I prefer and love my Martelli over my other cutters.