Cathy M

We have a company that comes in and collects our surgical instruments to sharpen them. I asked one of their reps if they could sharpen up some rotary blades. The gentleman said he'd try and they are wonderful! So maybe a local knife sharpener in your area could do the same for yours. Sure beats having to run to the store when I'm in a cuttin' frenzy... :):)

HeyYou

I still mostly use my wall paper knife..still on the first box of blades :D

check this more on cutters and a picture of a walpaper knife...its red
http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/769.page

Blue Bell

After years of cutting on my mat, I found that I had to replace the mat, as well. Everything wears out!

HeyYou

yes there is a picture on this threadhttp://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/769.page

butterflywing

not long ago i bought 50 rotary blades, no name, from a dealer named j.nockles on ebay. they were $3.00 each for 45's and i love them. yes, it was a big commitment, but i expect to be quilting for a long time. they are generic and fit all my brand name handles. i corresponded with him and i wish he had other sizes. i think they hold up as well as brand names. how long they last also has to do with thread count and weight of fabric and how heavy a hand you have. always bear down as little as you can to cut what you need.

butterflywing

sorry. just checked my statement and find that they were only $2.50 each.
can't beat that with a stick! now i love them more.

by the way, they came to me really well-packed, with vinyl between each blade and lightly oiled, 25 to a clear zip-lock bag.

when i think about the price of gas and what it would have cost to keep shopping for them i think i got a real bargain.

pocoellie

goggle "house of hanson". They have excellent prices on blades, you can get generic blades or Olfa, you can also send in your blades and they will resharpen them and also get resharpened ones cheaper. They also have excellent service, don't charge shipping fees (or at least they didn't the last time I ordered).

sew4fun

A tip from one of the members of my quilt guild is you can take a pice of foil paper fold it and run your cutter through it and it sharpens it. I have tried it and it works. Not for a long time but cheaper than a sharpener or buying a new blade.

Elizabeth A.

As I mentioned I have a Sharpener, and after owning one I'd never want to be without it. I feel like saying send me your dull blades and I'll make them sharp again. There's no point in throwing something good away. And yes they are at least $7.50 for a single at Joann's and that was a couple of months ago. It's much better to get a deal on several like you all are talking about.

My Sharpener is made by Colonial and says "Dual Rotary Blade Sharpener" Hancocks has it for $9.98 right now http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-TS-45, but you can also get it from http://overstock.com for $14, I'm not certain which would be less after shipping.

mamatobugboo

I had also heard about sharpening your blades by rolling over tin foil, that works with regular scissors too, cut through the tin foil - it will also work to sharpen blades and scissors using VERY fine sand paper.

Iwill have to check out the blade sharpener, that sounds great!