Have you ever been cutting a project and noticed that one moment the cuts are fine and the next you’ll see light feathering around the edges? It’s amazing how quickly a blade can go bad. There are a few other tale-tale signs that your blade will need to be changed.
My cuts were fine yesterday and today I’ve noticed that the cuts aren’t coming away from the paper and they’re tearing.
Cameron W. Ashley, PA
It’s amazing how quickly a blade can make the switch from good to bad. You can be cutting right along and everything can be great and then all of a sudden, the cuts aren’t clean around the edges or the cuts aren’t completely through the paper. There are a few ways to determine whether you need to change out your blade. When your blade needs to be replaced you will experience light feathering around the edges of your cuts. You will also notice that the pressure and blade lengths that you had previously been using are no longer working for you. Cuts will seem deeper on one side and lighter on another. You will also notice that increasing the pressure and blade length does not resolve the problem. If you look at the blade and the tip is no longer at a sharp point, but instead has a slight rounded, worn off appearance—you will want to change your blade. It is easy to lose track of how long you have actually been using a blade; especially when you may not be using your Inspiration on a more consistent basis, or find yourself only crafting on the weekends. It may seem like you’ve just recently changed out the blade when in fact it could be months. Another point to note is that it doesn’t go by the time frame in which you’ve been using the blade, but the amount of cuts and the kinds of materials you’ve been cutting. Harder, textured, and thicker papers will demand more from your blade and as a result wear it out quicker than it would if you were cutting more delicate materials like vinyl. When all else fails, change the blade and see if the quality of your cuts improve. Remember that you can always save your older blades for cutting chipboard!
