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27 Jul

How to Sharpen Your Rotary Blade

How to Make Your Rotary Blades Last Longer


UPDATE: WOW! After reading many of the comments by many of you below, it seems to be very successful! Others mention that sandpaper works better for them. Again, only use this tip if you are planning to discard the blade anyway and you want to experiment to make it last longer. Do not use this tip on blades that are already functioning well.

If you’re a crafter (especially if you sew) a rotary cutter is your friend. It might even be your favorite craft tool. Sometimes these are also referred to as a cutting wheel or hand wheel.

I will say that one of the most frustrating things is when you go to cut a piece of fabric and your blade is dull! You have to cut it about 3 times to make a cut and then it’s not a clean cut — it’s more like a ragged cut with strings.

Let me show you a tip on how to sharpen your rotary blade if you don’t have a rotary blade sharpener.

Keep in mind that this trick isn’t long-term, but if you’re going to throw your blade in the trash anyway it can’t hurt to try right? We all love the feel of a brand new blade that cuts like butter but this tip is a close second for me!

Oh, and please remember to always be careful when cutting anything with a rotary cutter!

INSTRUCTIONS

You’ll need:

  • cutting mat
  • heavy duty tin foil
  • fabric scraps
How to Make Your Rotary Cutter Last Longer
(Olfa 45mm rotary cutter used)

Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and fold it over a few times. I folded mine until I was cutting through about 6 layers.

Next, start cutting the tin foil many times.

To test it out, I keep some scrap fabric strips on hand and see if I sharpened it well enough.

Repeat the process until the blade is sharp.

How to Sharpen Your Rotary Blade

This is very simple and really comes in handy when you have a dulled blade, you’re in a pinch, and don’t have any replacement blades on hand!

TIP: Some readers have said they use this same technique when sharpening other cutting tools like old pairs of scissors, paper punches, and Exacto knives, too!

My very favorite rotary blade and mats are by Olfa. Can you believe I’ve had the same Olfa cutter for 20 years!

I use a paper trimmer when it comes to paper crafts, but for fabric, these items are my go-to items (and these are off-limits to my family members similar to my favorite fabric scissors)!

They are a little more expensive than others but you are getting top-quality! I even dressed my daughter up for Halloween a few years ago and her costume was a hit!

Olfa Mat and Cutter Costume Tutorial
Olfa Costume Tutorial

Have you tried this tip? I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Be sure to check out these other sewing posts!

Tons of FREE MINI Quilt Patterns

Mini Quilt Patterns

free Jelly Roll Quilt Patterns

Jelly Roll Quilt Patterns

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Previous Post: College Dorm Room Ideas
Next Post: Binder Pouch Tutorial

Comments

  1. Vicki Valenta says

    November 15, 2014 at 7:22 PM

    Thanks for a great tip. I’m about to do some cutting this afternoon and will give it a try.

    reply to this comment >
    • Betty says

      May 20, 2020 at 11:00 AM

      Thanks for sharing the idea.

      reply to this comment >
      • Betty says

        November 5, 2020 at 4:01 AM

        Thanks for idea.

        reply to this comment >
  2. Elisabetta says

    November 16, 2014 at 6:28 AM

    I was thinking of sand paper, but this trick is much cheaper 😉

    reply to this comment >
    • Sandra Kay McCallum says

      June 26, 2020 at 3:32 PM

      My grandmother cut fine sandpaper to sharpen her scissors.

      reply to this comment >
  3. Creative Khadija says

    November 16, 2014 at 8:31 AM

    Great 🙂

    reply to this comment >
  4. Belindq says

    November 16, 2014 at 8:36 AM

    This is real neat! Have pinned this!

    reply to this comment >
  5. strickprinzessin says

    November 16, 2014 at 4:48 PM

    Thanks for sharning, great idea 🙂
    Melanie

    reply to this comment >
  6. Emily Furlong says

    November 16, 2014 at 9:49 PM

    Can you use this technique with scissors as well? Great tip! Thanks!

    reply to this comment >
    • Penny says

      September 18, 2019 at 2:07 PM

      I have heard this idea used to sharpen paper punches also.

      reply to this comment >
    • Mary T Raftery says

      May 2, 2020 at 9:32 AM

      Your trick worked! I went thru three rotary cutter blades while making masks. As a coincidence, my sister sent me your pin. Thanks for the tip!

      reply to this comment >
  7. Amy Huntley@theidearoom.net says

    November 17, 2014 at 5:39 PM

    Great tips! Thanks for sharing!

    reply to this comment >
  8. Pam says

    November 19, 2014 at 2:43 PM

    I am going add a folded piece of tin foil to the sewing kit I bring on retreats. I always have new blades in ther. But, I will try the foil next time.

    reply to this comment >
  9. Jen says

    November 20, 2014 at 4:51 PM

    I’ve also used wax paper to temporarily sharpen rotary cutter blades, paper cutter blades, and scissors. I’m interested to try aluminum foil and see which works better! Thanks for sharing!

    reply to this comment >
  10. Rick says

    November 21, 2014 at 5:17 PM

    This technique is really smart and efficient! Makes a blade sharp with no efforts. Thanks a lot!

    reply to this comment >
  11. elsa says

    January 24, 2015 at 2:57 PM

    Clever tip ~ thanks for sharing it!

    reply to this comment >
    • Marica de Waal says

      April 11, 2022 at 2:14 AM

      Wonderful, I didn’t know that. Thank you. I actually do the same with my scissors too and it works. God bless.

      reply to this comment >
  12. Kathy says

    January 24, 2015 at 3:30 PM

    Yay! Going to try this today! Oh, and y’all, those so-called rotary blade sharpeners that you can buy for a pretty penny…I haven’t found those to work at all! Save your pennies for aluminum foil ;).

    reply to this comment >
  13. Lisa H. says

    March 22, 2015 at 11:25 PM

    I just tried this tonight. It helped well enough for me to finish the cutting goal I had set tonight, and who can ask for more than that? Thanks for the tip!

    reply to this comment >
  14. Bert says

    May 11, 2015 at 8:48 AM

    My guild owns a rotary blade sharpener. We tried it with several types/brands of blades. We had great luck with Olfa, but blades from China did not sharpen. There are different grades of steel so your mileage may vary using foil for sharpening.

    reply to this comment >
  15. Pam says

    June 5, 2015 at 7:20 AM

    Can’t wait to try this idea. Thanks for sharing.

    reply to this comment >
    • Bonnie says

      June 3, 2020 at 7:32 AM

      Great idea. I will try it today. Thanks a lot

      reply to this comment >
  16. Anne says

    November 7, 2015 at 10:31 PM

    This makes sense since this is a useful tip tip to sharpen scrapbook punches!!!

    reply to this comment >
  17. Henry says

    December 26, 2015 at 7:01 AM

    Great tips! Thanks for sharing!

    reply to this comment >
  18. Jason says

    December 29, 2015 at 12:57 PM

    Wow. What a great trick. I had my wife give this a try and it worked perfectly

    reply to this comment >
  19. Cheryl Cheatom says

    October 17, 2016 at 4:29 AM

    Wow thanks! I get so frustrated when my blades dull and it becomes more tacting to do my cuts.

    reply to this comment >
  20. Nikki says

    January 2, 2017 at 7:52 PM

    Thank you! This is an awesome fix. I’ll have to remember it the next time I’m living the struggle of a dull rotary cutter.

    reply to this comment >
  21. Donna says

    April 24, 2017 at 5:13 AM

    I am confused. I haven’t seen any tin-foil since WWII. All I have is aluminum foil. Will it work as well as tin-foil?

    reply to this comment >
    • Kari Sweeten says

      April 24, 2017 at 3:54 PM

      Hey Donna. Yes, aluminum foil is what was used we just call it “tin foil” around here, too.

      reply to this comment >
  22. Shoshana Cramer says

    July 11, 2017 at 11:51 AM

    Thanks for the ideas. Blades here are so expensive so any suggestion on how to make them last a little longer is very welcome.

    reply to this comment >
  23. Bev says

    October 6, 2017 at 2:32 PM

    Omigosh… I know this post if very old, but THANK YOU for this tip. I sharpened my rotary blade, then used the strips I cut to sharpen my scissors. ‘Cause I’m thrifty like that. 😛

    reply to this comment >
  24. Rawlene Hansen says

    December 11, 2018 at 9:06 AM

    Great Idea. I am going to try it today. Thanks for sharing

    reply to this comment >
  25. Leilanie Barr says

    January 17, 2019 at 3:33 AM

    Thanks for the great tip. I have at least 20 old blades for my rotary cutter. I will try it and let you know. Thanks

    reply to this comment >
  26. SANDRA HAGLER says

    April 27, 2019 at 11:07 AM

    This makes perfect sense. I use foil to sharpen my scissors why not those expensive blades. Thanks for the tip. I will try today!

    reply to this comment >
  27. Andrea Hinkova says

    June 5, 2019 at 5:18 PM

    Many many thanks! My mum tried it and says the blades are now better than new!!

    reply to this comment >
  28. Robin Clemons says

    June 23, 2019 at 12:56 PM

    Will this work on pinking shears?

    reply to this comment >
  29. Carol Hanson says

    July 24, 2019 at 2:00 PM

    This really works!!

    reply to this comment >
  30. Katherine Branch says

    November 17, 2019 at 7:07 PM

    Thanks for sharing I always wanted to no how to sharpen the blades. I will try this.
    Thanks

    reply to this comment >
  31. Donna says

    December 26, 2019 at 6:41 AM

    love this tip use it for scissors also works well

    reply to this comment >
  32. Carol Johnson says

    June 1, 2020 at 5:44 AM

    I am going to try to sharpen my blades, with the foil

    reply to this comment >
  33. Linda Bazemore says

    June 1, 2020 at 3:25 PM

    This was a hack way before hacks! Mama cut aluminum foil with her scissors to sharpen them. I also use it now to sharpen my small blades of my embroidery scissors to sharpen them ! Thanks for posting this hack.

    reply to this comment >
  34. Crystal Freeman says

    June 13, 2020 at 6:48 AM

    I have tried this and it is good. But before throwing away those blades they still work well on paper crafts.

    reply to this comment >
  35. Gigi says

    June 17, 2020 at 8:23 PM

    Thanks so much for sharing this tip!!! It really works. My Olga rotary cutters sharpened up immediately!

    reply to this comment >
  36. katherine dirksen says

    October 23, 2020 at 10:48 AM

    I hope this works. I have lots of dull blades. I have to make 60 napkins and 6 tablecloths for a wedding.

    reply to this comment >

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