I have to admit to using blades that are a bit dull. If I'm in a hurry I'll grab some Alfoil and run the blade through it a few times. That will carry me through to the end of a sewing session. I hear lots of people say the sharpeners don't work but I have no problems with mine and they do sharpen the blades. I have all but the first blade I bought. I threw the first one out before I knew about sharpeners.
I see a lot of quilters say their mats are worn. That is more likely the reason you don't think your blade sharpeners work. A bad mat is worse than cutting paper to blunt a rotary blade. I use a piece of tulle or a piece of batting to clean my boards. It's a catch 22:- messy mat blunts blades, blunt blades mess up mats.
I had my machine mechanic come and service all four of my machines today and he paid me a compliment which he has given me before. He says my machines are the cleanest he's ever seen. I clean my machines with a long pipe cleaner. He said as I keep them so clean I only need to have them checked every two years.
I find if I look after my tools (not just quilting) keep them clean and cover them when not in use they last a long time.