Has anyone found a way to sharpen 45mm rotary blades? I have bought the Dritz sharpener disk and found it not very good at sharpening. Are there other brands that work better than this one?
Do you find that the cutting board dries out in dry climates? I don't know if this why the blades don't stay sharp very long. BUT to be honest they don't last very long on my new board either.
Any suggestions would be helpful.

I am having the same problem and the blades are not
CHEAP.

Maybe some one will have an answer for us.

eunice :(

I don't know how to sharpen them well but I'm ordering some from Harbor Freight Tools. Right now they're on back order and I won't get them until sometime in October but they're 2 for $1.49. They call them round Carpet Cutter blades. They fit rotary cutters. 45mm

Sometimes it can be your surface under you mat is not perfectly smooth. Also on my big mat I have a place right in the middle where I use it most often & the blade wants to skip when it gets to that area. If I move to a different spot it does okay so I figure it must be the mat. As far as the sharpeners, I have only used the one you mentioned & I couldn't tell it really helped much. I saw a new one the other day that was about $30, maybe gingher, & at that price I would hope it would work but would only want to buy it somewhere that would take it back if it doesn't.

I think if you try using the sharpener more often, before they get really dull, you may have better luck.
It seems that these are best for "keeping" them sharp, not putting a new like edge on them, so letting them get dull first isn't a good idea. :wink:

A member of my quilting group has a sharpener that has a knob on top and you turn it. I can't remember the brand but maybe I can get some information from her as to brand and how it works. You may be right about my mat. It is very dry here and it may be dried out. The quilting group has a mat made of some type of plastic and it has griover all over. It seems to work for most of them but not for me. I may be holding the cutter wring. (Just letting off ideas here!)
They sharpen the bladers some how but don't know how. When I meet with them I may be able to send that information to you.
Liz

I bought the sharpener from the Grace Company. It's about 12" long with a groove in it and you run your blade through it several times. I heard from someone on here that it didn't sharpen an already dull blade but did make a difference on the life if they used it regularly when opening a new blade.

I had a blade that was getting dull when I received the sharpener, so decided to try but didn't expect much. To my surprise, it was better and I am still using the same blade a month later. I recommend the Grace TrueCut sharpener.

i BOUGHT A COLONIAL BLADE SHARPENER FOR THE 45 MM -- DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB, YOU CAN SHARPEN THENM A FEW MORE TIMES TO GET SOME MORE LIFE FROM A BLADE. NEVER AS PERFECTR AS BRAND NEW BUT GETS RID OF ALL THE LITTLE ANNOYING NICKS.

CONNECTING tHREADS HAS THEM FOR I THINK IT WAS $14.95

The rotary sharpener with the knob on top that you turn is the Orbital sharpener. It does work but a sharpened blade is never quite as good or lasts as long as a new one. I find if I sharpen it before it has any nicks or is totally dull then it is maybe lasts 3/4's of a new one. A second sharpening will last 1/2 as long and often I can get a third sharpening after which I usually discard them. It will not remove large nicks and care must be taken when getting the blade in place not to cut yourself. The sharpeners are not cheap ($37 Canadian) plus 13% sales tax but eventually it will pay for itself and new parts (the little grinding wheels) are available. I buy blades, a dozen at a time when they are on sale at Len's Mills (a large discount fabric/craft/linens/lots of other interesting stuff type of store once or twice a year.

my Orbital sharpener is gathering dust. i won't "diss" the product; i just found it too difficult to use. not worth the effort. i assume others are quite happy with theirs.

the Colonial sharpeners work great but require a lot of elbow grease. i use mine often.

i just bought the fancy shmancy rectangular one, described above, with the long sharpening stone. it definitely extends the life of a blade if you use it as recommended to keep the blade sharp. because the stone is only one one side as you sharpen, it pays to sharpen, flip, then sharpen again.