Advice on Rotary Cutters & Blades
 

Hi All,

I'm fairly new to quilting so I'd love to hear your experience with rotary cutters and blades. Are no-name blades any good since premium blades are so expensive here in Canada.

Currently, I'm using two 45mm rotary cutters (name brand with an 'O') - ergonomic and the pretty turquoise one! Blades are not lasting too long!

Cheers, k:)

Sometimes one can get a pretty good deal on e-bay for blades.

I buy these and have no complaints. They fit all my different brand cutters. [h=1]Quilting Blade RD60-18133, Improved Cut, 45mm Rotary Cutter Blades, 10 Pack[/h]
$19 and free shipping at Amazon.

The blades I bought from Amazon were junk. Every one of the 10 blades had nicks. Im back to buying brand name blades. I hope I just got a bad batch but will stick with Olfa for now.

I stick with Fiskars, the grey and orange cutter. I purchase blades with a coupon or on sale at J's. I have friends who swear by their Martelli ergonomic cutters. Martelli's wants you to use their mats. I don't have a hand or arthritis problem so I haven't given them a long term test drive.

Rotary blades are the thorn in my side. I have to use the Martelli ergonomic cutter because of hand problems, and their blades are expensive, don't last and half of them seem defective. I have to wonder if it's something I'm doing wrong. On the positive side, the cutter is completely easy on the hands. You have to use their blades in the cutter because the notches at the center of most blades will ruin the Martelli bolt.

Have not had luck with no name blades. The titanium blades are expensive but last well. My beef is with proprietary blades (like Martelli) that must be used in their cutter. And the specific shape of the blades is a little different for each brand. So I now have 60mm for Fiskars, Olfa and Martelli; 45 mm for Fiskars and Olfa and 28 mm for Fiskars.

It is just like the connections for charging electronics. USB B type, USB C type, lightning connectors. I leave home for three days and have four or five charging cords. None transferable.

I have been buying the same blades on Amazon as onebyone. I can't tell any difference from Olfa or Fiskar blades and they stay sharp a long time.

joe's mom, they also stress to use their mats. Maybe that's why they dull faster. I don't have either one but when my bee met there, we had to use their mats and their cutters. I always wondered if normal blades would fit. Your description of the notches makes sense.

I tried those blades that onebyone uses and they did not last long in my fiskar cutter. After about 5 or 6 uses they started to skip because they have 3 notches in the center hole. I went back to buying the name brand.