So... am I supposed to cut on this cutting board? Or not?
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
Posts: 1,329
I have the mat you are speaking of, and I haven't found my blades wear any faster than when I used the Olfa or Dritz mats. I love my big mat and can't imagine how I got along before I bought it.
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 5,397
It sound like you might have got something like I got. I got the large matt to go on top of my cutting table that I also bought at JoAnn's. Then after a few times cutting I couldn't figure out why all of my new rotary blades wouldn't cut; I tried different ones. Then I tried them on a reqular cutting matt and they cut just fine. The large matt isn't self healing so after a couple of times cutting it won't cut on that area again.
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,812
I have tried 3 different mats and as I have mentioned on here before, prefer the self-healing Olfa. I ended up taking the gray mat (hated that slippery non-healing thing) and the one you are talking about and cut them up to use when I made my own templates. I feel I didn't lose any money by not using them for the initial intended use. Quilting sure is trial and error, and what works for some may not work for others.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 781
Yes, those non self healing cutting boards dull your rotary cutter fast and I brought one of those acrylic boards which was even worse. Get the 18 x 24 inch self healing mat as they last longer and this size is perfect for any cutting of 45 inch material or smaller.
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,260
Absolutely YES!!!! It's the board!!! I have one of them that I've had since first staring to quilt. I did not know at the time it was dulling my blades because I didn't know any better. But after reading on this board I found it was better to have a self healing board so I bought one and I no longer change my blades like changing socks. LOL Yep I did a lot of cutting and almost had to change the blades daily with that mat. NOT ANY MORE!!! I can now go several weeks if not months before changing the blades and yes I still cut tons of stuff.
I have one of those big 36" x 54" no-name translucent gridded plastic cutting boards that I bought at JoAnn's. It's nice and big. But when I rotary cut on it, my blades get dull ever so fast.
By way of contrast, I have a little 12" square June Tailor cutting board, and I've been cutting little blocks on that for a very long time and my blade is still ok.
So... is it the board that is the problem?
By way of contrast, I have a little 12" square June Tailor cutting board, and I've been cutting little blocks on that for a very long time and my blade is still ok.
So... is it the board that is the problem?
#17
I stopped using the mat I bought at JoAnn's because the surface was too hard and it destroyed the edge on my rotary cutter blade. It was also harder on my wrist. I now have an Olfa and the difference is amazing. The Olfa mat seems to have a little "give" to it so my wrist doesn't hurt as much and the blades last a lot longer.
#20
Interesting comment as I cut on my big board for the main cuts and often use the little padded flipable June Tailor for trimming and small cuts, the surface is much harder, but I truly havent noticed any difference in the blades wear. My big one is an OLfa, but when my blades get dull, I just use that cheap Dritz sharpener with a little oil on the sharpening surface and keep on going. My blades last a long time. They are OLfa, and I have an Olfa cutter as well, outperforms all the others EVEN Gingher and Fiskars.
Last edited by patdesign; 04-22-2012 at 03:27 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Laura1557
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
53
07-02-2010 10:25 AM