PenniF

What kind of table are you using under your cutting mat?....when i use one particular folding table, i have this problem, because the table has a slight "dip" in the middle.

wesing

We love all our Martelli products, including the mat.

Divokittysmom

My cutting table is solid as a rock! SO I don't think that part is the issue. 😊. I will try turning over my mat and doing some cuts on that see how it works. But ultimately from what I'm reading here I really do think maybe a new cutting mat is in order! I'll wait for a great Joann fabrics coupons and purchase a new one. Thank you so much everyone for your Wisdom!! 😊

bearisgray

I have had brand new Olfa blades have one spot on them that won' t cut. Aggravating.

cindi

Be sure to check that your blade is not screwed in so tight that it won't roll. That's happened to me before. Thought my blade wasn't cutting. It wasn't rolling to cut!

Bree123

12 years is a good, long life. It's time to send that mat off to quilt heaven & invest in a new one.

gigi712

You can't go wrong with a Martelli cutting mat and their ergonomic cutters are the best. The martelli mat is much thicker than Fiskars or Olfa. A little pricey but last a good long time. I've had mine for at least 12 years and it's still going strong.

citruscountyquilter

The hints in the previous posts are all good. I try not to cut in the same spot on my mat. That helps make the mat last longer. I don't use the lines on the mat to measure so it is easy to move around. The mat I have now is really old so I just turned it over to extend its life. Works just fine. Try cutting in a different area of the mat and see if you have the same problem.
I like Olfa mats as they have lasted the longest for me and have not warped like the Fiskar mat I tried.

Sewnoma

I haven't seen anybody mention Alvin mats yet. They are less expensive than Olfa and as far as I can tell are just as good quality and come in nice large sizes for reasonable prices. I have a very large one that covers most of my cutting table and I LOVE IT! I bought it on Amazon. I own mats made by Alvin, Olfa, Fiskars & Dritz - Alvin is my favorite.

Hydrating your self-healing mat periodically is important, regardless of brand!! If yours is small enough, take it into the shower with you every now and then, and lay it somewhere flat to slowly dry (don't put it in the sun unless you're trying to fix a warp). If your mat is too large for that (like mine), what I do is every now and then I give it a good scrubbing (I just use water & a brush - this is just to remove lint and any caught fibers) and then I lay warm wet towels over it for a few hours.

If you don't do this every now and then, your mat becomes brittle and won't "heal" anymore. My oldest mat (Olfa) got so brittle that the corner of it shattered when I tried to pick it up awkwardly. Now I know better!

This reminds me, I need to soak my travel mat...

Texas_Sue

I really like the Martelli cutting mat. I bought it probably 10 years ago at the Dallas Quilt show and have had no problems whatsoever. You're absolutely right in what you said about getting dozens of answers - LOL, but I do like the suggestions about soaking your mat and getting the old threads out. To date I have not found any threads embedded in my cutting board.

Susan in (you guessed it) Texas