"I purchased my Silhouette for business purposes and use on a very regular basis- nearly daily and will cut several sheets of paper at a time (often 10+ sheets). I use a variety of paper weights, generally Core'dinatations and Bazzill linen textured cardstock, smooth patterned cardstock, or lightweight smooth scrapbook paper. However, I have had massive blade problems from the very beginning. After spending hours on the phone with tech support, I was finally made aware that Silhouette sent out blades that had been set at the wrong angle. Once I received a replacement from Silhouette, everything worked wonderfully- at least for the first cut or two. I have been purchasing blades from Amazon for the past couple months because of their great pricing (and have prime shipping), and I'll generally buy 4 at a time (plus a mat or two) to last a month. Unfortunately, the first batch I received from Amazon, all 4 blades were bad- as in would only score my paper, regardless of it's weight. I got a replacement via Amazon, the second batch had two good blades, two bad blades. Since then, it's been a hit or miss whether the blades will be bad or good (generally all orders have at least 1 defective blade). Because I go through so many blades, I have a hard time staying away from Amazon- only because of their pricing. However, I feel at this point, I can no longer purchase my blades until they start shipping out blades that will work. The customer services has been terrific and very speedy, but still creates a huge inconvenience for my business. Overall, I think these blades are horrible and for designing such a great machine, Silhouette should have no problem designing a blade that will be just as great. Regardless of the fact that I use my machine so often, I feel the blades wear out extremely quick. I've basically given up on cutting anything too intricate for the blade dulls nearly immediately after cutting anything with lots of detail- if it will even cut through, that is. Not to mention, paper particles always get stuck up around the blade and can be difficult to remove. After every couple sheets of paper, you have to pull out your blade and blow into the blade to clear any particles otherwise it will not cut correctly. I have a serious love/hate relationship with this machine. When all works as it should, this machine will exceed my expectations, but has also been the cause for many many headaches. Be cautious when ordering, as there is a very good chance you may receive a defective blade! 7/23/13 Update: Just wanted to update this entry- My wholesaler began carrying Silhouette products early this year and I have completely switched over to purchasing blades strictly from them only. It has been like night and day with the new blades- they cut perfectly, from simple to detailed cuts on a variety of papers. I still cut a high volume of sheets per day, though the blades last 2-3 times longer than the blades purchased from Amazon. From what was once a beyond stressful situation has turned into a wonderful experience- I love my machine and it's finally working as it should. I believe Amazon purchased a very large lot of blades when the new machine first came out and unfortunately, they were all defective blades (Silhouette later admitted to setting the blades at the wrong angle). I can only hope this is still not a problem at Amazon. Best of luck!"
Silhouette Replacement Blade (Compare Deals from $7.79)
"I am just finishing up a huge project for a friend's wedding. I am making 25-four sided luminaries with a lid. Each box takes 5 sheets of paper with each of the 4 sides having an identical, intricate lace pattern (made from the "card lace center" from Silhouette online store) It has taken me 3 blades to get through the first 8, but only 1 for the last 17. I used Hobby lobby textured cardstock (I do not recommend this paper)finially settling on speed 1, depth 6. Things I learned about the blades.... slower is better for intricate patterns the fabric blades (which the silhouette website says are the same blade, diff. color so you can use one with paper, one with fabric) are much better becuase the very tip of the white cap twists off to in order to remove paper particles. This is a much needed adjustment to the blade. Once I started using these blades instead of the black blades, they last longer because the blade flows better from lack of paper, PLUS you dont damage the blade trying to clean out the paper using a straight pin or damage the ratchet system by twisting off the black cap as seen on several you tube videos. I am looking forward to the time when the old style black blade stock is used up and the new style is most common. I love my silhouette. sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly what blade depth and speed are best for each type of media/paper. it is always best to use a test cut, and when all else fails, use a sslllooooowwww cutting speed. the first few boxes I made with regular cardstock and Bazzil basics were easy to cut and I could use a faster speed. But price and "the perfect color" had me buy 100+sheets of the Hobbylobby textured cardstock. much drama ensued, but I finially fiured it out. Cricket matts seem to wear out the blades faster and do not work with "print and cut projects" (the black lines on the mat seem to mess with the optical sensor), but they are less sticky and if you have a major project with tons of repetitive cuts like this, it is kind of nice to use a cheaper mat. Right now, the fabric blades are even $1 cheaper... \ Silhouette Fabric Blade"
"I pre-orderd a cameo after having a craft robo for a year. At first I really despised the new blades since it seemed like they only worked for a short period of time before they just started tearing. After quite a bit of experimenting, I determined that I was cutting way too deep for the paper I was using. Turns out that the tip of the blade was getting broken off and this was causing it to tear, especially on curved cuts. Now I'm getting more lifetime from these blades than I was from the old style! So far I've cut about 3 dozen sheets of 12" x 24" vinyl with intricate cuts (think stick figures) on the same blade with no indication of blade wear. For longer blade life, you really want the shallowest cut you can get away with. I keep a list of the blade lengths for various brands of paper and vinyl I have good luck with and use calipers to check the thickness of any new stock for a rough guide of what the first test cut should be. I also mark damaged blades with a paint marker so that I don't accidentally put them in with my good blades."
"I love my cameo and have been using it for two years now. I have always ordered my blades through amazon because of price and never had any problems with them. I was having a lot of cutting problems with blades I ordered a while back,I ordered 6 and only one has worked well. I noticed that the ones from my last amazon purchase are very loose and easy to turn when you change the blade depth, something I had never noticed with any other blades. After reading some reviews I realized others were having problems and there is something wrong with the blades. I now spend a little more and buy them from Silhouette. I find the blades are back to the quality I experienced before and last a long time. No more cheapies from amazon"
"I had some trouble with the blade that came with my machine originally, but silhouette has great customer service and replaced it. I purchased the machine as a pre-order, so all of the current blades are perfect. I have been using one lade for over a year now, still works well! I do quite a bit of cutting, usually several projects a week. So this is very durable. I cut both paper and vinyl, it cuts intricate designs well. I do notice that I have needed to increase the force slightly as the blade wears, but that it acceptable since it still cuts well. Sometimes paper gets caught inside but there is a great youtube video on how to clean it without damaging the blade. I was initially concerned that since this blade comes as a unit. You cannot just replace the blade, you replace the whole thing. But it has more than met my expectations and since the unit has lasted more than 3-5 times that a Roland blade lasts, I am very happy with it. I still have Roland blades to use up, but they usually only lasted 1-2 months for me before I needed to replace them. As I used this product, I noticed that it lasted for much longer and have been pleased with that and it helped to justify the additional cost. It is actually more affordable in the long run."
"These cutters cut pretty well! I use them mostly on card stock and they go through it with no problem making detaching the design for the mat no problem at all (as long as you have the little spatula). They last pretty long but, alas, they do have to be replaced after a big project. Most of my cutting is on setting 4 and the only real way to know if it's time to replace is when the designs become hard to remove or there are skips in the cutting. I'm not employed by Amazon, but I have to say that theirs is the best price I can find. Michael's and JoAnn's carry them but, if you read the small type on the coupon, those 40% discounts do not include Silhouette products. Since I don't know if I'm going to need to change blades in the middle of a project, I always order an extra one so I can continue without interruption and not have to pay full price if I'm in a rush."
"These blades are defective! I ordered 5 blades with my subscribe and save and after trying to use two of them I have returned them to amazon as I cannot afford to have any more of my cut material ruined by bad blades. I had been using my previous blades for 4 months with zero issues. I needed new blades as they were beginning to dull and no longer cut through the material completely. The blades from amazon on the first use began to turn around in their casing and completely ruin the material I was cutting. The second blade I tried did the exact same thing. I had read the item reviews before purchasing and there was one from 2012 that mentioned the same issues but I figured there was no way this would still be an active issue as it is now 2015... WRONG! Amazon clearly has not done anything about the defective blades and is continuing to send them to customers... Its one thing to have a defective batch that happens its another to have a defective batch and do absolutely noting to fix it for 2 years."
Silhouette Replacement Blade (Compare Deals from $7.79)
