This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosures here.
New Cricut users often wonder when to change the Premium Fine Point blade. It depends on a few factors including how often you use your machine and what type of materials you cut. In general, 3-6 months is the average useful life of a Premium Fine Point blade in a Cricut Maker machine. I didn’t replace my blade as often with the Explore. With the Maker, there are many more blade options, and so you may not need to replace the Premium Fine Point blade as often if you are using the rotary or knife blades frequently. (Note: The Premium Fine Point blade used to be called the German carbide blade and came with a red cap.) Cricut blades cannot be sharpened.
How to know if a blade is dull
If a blade stops cutting all the way through on a material you have successfully cut in the past (and the mat isn’t too dirty), it’s probably time for a new blade. This Cricut card stock nearly always cuts beautifully, but I noticed some “hanging chads” on a recent cut. Sure enough, my blade hadn’t been changed in about a year. If I’m having to get my Xacto knife out more often to complete cuts, that’s a sign it’s time to change the blade.
After changing the blade, no more hanging chads!
Save the date
Life gets busy, and I’ll soon forget when I last changed the blade. When I install the new blade, I write the date on a piece of tape and stick it to the back of the machine. If I get a “hanging chad,” I can quickly check to see if it’s been a while since I’ve changed the blade.
Which blade to buy
If you are using a Cricut Explore or Maker, you need to buy the Premium Fine Point Blade with white cap, NOT the Fine Point Blade with the gray cap. The Fine Point blade will fit in the housing, but the quality of the cuts will not be as good, and it will probably cut through the backing on vinyl. You can read more about which blades are for which machines here.
Where to buy
The cheapest place I have found to buy new Cricut brand Premium Fine Point blades is Amazon.
The best deal is this 10 pack of blades. I like buying the bulk pack so I can always extra on hand.
The above post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosures here.
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