When To Change Your Cricut Blade - Joy's Life

If your Cricut blade tears paper, leaves tiny rips, or drags material off the mat – even when the mat is fine – it’s time to change the blade.

When to Change Your Cricut Blade

The arrows in the image above point to small tears in the paper – an early sign that your Cricut blade may be dull.

Is Your Blade Dull?

Does your blade tear paper and leave tiny rips in your Cricut cuts? Does it drag your paper right off the mat? If your mat is in good condition, that shouldn’t happen. You might need a new blade.

For tips on cutting cleanly, check out my Cricut Blade Settings guide and my Cricut blades compared.

No Magic Number for Blade Changes

Well, that’s it in a nutshell really. There’s not an exact magic number of cuts that can be performed before you need to change your blade, but think about it like this.

• If you’ve cut chipboard, felt, fabric, foam, vinyl, thin metal, cereal boxes, or made a ton of party décor, your blade may dull faster.
• If you’re now getting rough or incomplete cuts on simple cardstock or paper, it’s time to consider changing your blade.

It’s not just the amount of cuts—it’s the type of material that wears down a blade.

A Real-Life Example

I bought a new Cricut in November and used the blade heavily through Christmas: cutting vinyl, attempting yo cut thin metal, cutting felt, foam, cereal boxes, paper, and cardstock. One day, the blade started tearing paper and wouldn’t even cut all the way through.

I must have gone through 5 sheets of nice cardstock before I finally gave in and changed the blade. When I took that blade out, I put it next to the new one and it was almost half the size! I had worn it down so much! Don’t wait that long to change your blade.

You paid all that money for your Cricut – give it a sharp blade so it can do its job for you.

Related Cricut Posts

• Cricut Blades Compared
• Cricut Personal, Create, Expression and Imagine Compared
• How to Cut Felt with the Cricut