what blade do i use to cut vinyl on cricut

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Dislocated by the unlike blades that tin can go with your Cricut Maker or Explore? This guide shows which blades go with which machines, their unlike uses, how to tell them apart, and how to change them!

Depending on your Cricut machine, you'll accept a option of blades to help yous go the best cutting for your materials! In this post, I'll get over all of the different blades you may utilise with your Explore or Maker, including their different uses, how to tell them autonomously, and how to change the blades themselves!

Before nosotros get into the actual blades, let's tackle a few ofttimes asked questions well-nigh Cricut blades. These questions utilise to all of the different Cricut blades.

How Long Will My Cricut Blade Last?

Ahhh, that'due south a question that gets asked a lot. And the answer is…a while. A pretty long while, if y'all're non cut anything crazy with your bract. At that place's no magic number for how many cuts yous can do with a bract. Information technology depends on the materials you're cutting, the intricacy of your cuts, and the stage of the moon (just kidding…but you know what I hateful).

How Exercise You Know When to Replace Your Cricut Bract?

This is definitely a case of "you'll know it when you lot see information technology." If your blade stops cutting cleanly. If it leaves tiny rips in your material. If it doesn't cut all the way through. Or if it breaks (I'thou looking at you, Pocketknife Bract).

Earlier your replace your blade, try replacing your mat. Ofttimes that will work and y'all won't need to replace your bract quite all the same.

IMPORTANT: Obviously in that location was a large round of Cricut blades that were too long (*cue screaming at the sky*). This has caused problems for so many Cricut users. The *bad* blades take a gray cap. This is intensely frustrating and every bit far as I can tell, nothing has been done to rectify it for people who take the wrong blades.

Where Tin You lot Buy Replacement Blades?

Here are a few places I have establish to purchase Cricut blades. Shop around and see who has the best bargain!

• Cricut.com
• Cricut Blades at Amazon.com
• JOANN (in-shop and online)
• Michaels (in-shop and online)
• HSN.com

Annotation that there are no replacement blades for the Cricut Wavy Blade or the Cricut Perforation Blade—if you demand a replacement (still unlikely) yous'll have to buy a new tool tip.

Tin I Use Not-Cricut Blades in My Cricut?

Yep! I wouldn't put bargain basement blades in my machine (you're going to end up changing them more ofttimes than is probably worth it), but I have used blades from other companies with no problems, including these Cricut blades.

All About the Cricut Blades

Okay! Now let's have a look at each of the private blades.

The Cricut Joy Blade

Cricut Joy just has one blade and it is a fine betoken blade. This bract comes installed in your machine. It is smaller than the housings for other Cricut automobile blades, and they are not interchangeable.

Cricut Joy Fine Bespeak Blade Housing Color

The Cricut Joy housing colour is white.

What Mat Should Yous Use with the Cricut Joy Fine Signal Blade?

Y'all can use either the Cricut Joy StandardGrip or LightGrip mats with this blade. Y'all tin can likewise apply this blade to do Cricut Joy Matless Cut.

What Can You Cut with Your Cricut Joy Blade?

The Fine-Betoken Blade cuts light to mid-weight materials cut on a Cricut Joy, including, Cricut Smart Materials, fe in vinyl, adhesive vinyl, cardstock, newspaper, fake leather, fake suede, Cricut felt, washi, and more.

The Cricut Fine-Betoken Blade

The Cricut Fine-Indicate Blade is the standard blade that comes in both the Cricut Explore and the Cricut Maker. It was previously called the "Premium German Carbide bract," but is now merely referred to every bit "Fine-Point."

Since new Cricut machines include the housing for this blade, it is unlikely yous volition need to buy a new housing, simply if you are having serious cutting problems, replacing your housing is an choice. This really solved a problem I was having with my Cricut Maker—it wasn't cutting through cardstock even after I replaced the blade, so I swapped out the housing and that solved the problem.

Cricut Fine Point Blade Housing Color

Depending on when you bought your auto/bract, the housing for your Fine-Point Blade may be silver or gold. The silver housing is the older version, which has been recently replaced with the "premium" gilt housing. The premium Fine-Point Blade is a little stronger and more durable than the silver housing and blade, though I cut for years with the silverish version and information technology worked great. Unless you're having issues with your silver housing and blade, there'southward actually no demand to upgrade to the gilded housing and blade.

What Mat Should You Use with the Fine-Point Bract?

Mostly you'll exist using the blue LightGrip mat or the green StandardGrip mat.

What Can You Cut with Your Fine-Point Bract?

The Fine-Point Blade cuts a huge array of low-cal to mid-weight materials cut on a Cricut, including (click links to run into individual tutorials for these materials):

• Adhesive vinyl
• Fe on vinyl
• Paper + Card Stock
• Cricut Faux Leather and Imitation Suede
• Other low-cal or medium-weight materials

The Cricut Deep-Cutting Bract

The Cricut Deep-Cut Bract is an add together-on blade that works with both the Cricut Explore and the Cricut Maker. It's designed to exist stronger than the Fine-Indicate Bract and uses a unlike bending and depth-of-cut to cut thicker materials. You will need to buy this blade and housing separately.

Cricut Deep Cut Blade Housing Color

The housing on the Deep-Cut Blade is black. There is a similarly labeled deep-cut blade housing that is blueish, but that is for the older Cricut Expression machines—don't buy information technology for your Explore or Maker.

What Mat Should You Use with the Deep-Cutting Blade?

Try using the purple StrongGrip mat for the heavier materials cut by the Deep-Cut Blade.

What Can You Cutting with Your Deep-Cut Blade?

The Deep-Cut Bract cuts thicker materials than the Fine-Point bract, including:

• Magnet
• Chipboard
• Postage stamp Cloth
• Thick Card Stock
• Stiffened Felt
• Arts and crafts Cream Sheets
• Cardboard
• Cricut 18-carat Leather

If you lot are using ane of these materials, Cricut Pattern Space will prompt you to utilize the Deep-Cutting bract in your automobile. You tin can also play around with Custom Material Settings to utilise the blade to experiment with all sorts of materials.

If yous are looking to cutting much thicker materials, or fifty-fifty take a amend experience cutting materials similar chipboard higher up, y'all might desire to await into getting a Cricut Maker with the Knife Blade, as seen below.

The Bonded Cloth Blade

The Cricut Bonded Fabric Bract is an addition blade that works with both the Cricut Explore and the Cricut Maker (though if you lot're cutting cloth on your Maker, I recommend the Rotary Bract).

What is Bonded Material?

Bonded textile is a regular material, often cotton fiber, that has a stabilizer ironed onto the dorsum. This allows for a more stable material, which makes information technology easier to cut. Heat N Bond and Wonder Under are popular stabilizers, and Cricut has a line of "fusible" bonded material (12″ x 21″) that allows you to skip that bonding step.

If y'all desire to cutting united nations-bonded fabric (most fabric you'd purchase off the bolt in a store), you'll want to upgrade to the Cricut Maker and use the Rotary Blade, as seen below.

Cricut Bonded Fabric Blade Housing Color

Here's the big "secret": the Bonded Textile Bract is exactly the same as the FinePoint bract, but pink.

Cricut's thinking with making the aforementioned blade in two colors is that y'all don't use your fabric scissors on paper (anyone else have a mom who would shoot yous "the look" if yous used her fabric pair of scissors on construction paper? Just me?). By having a separate housing and blade color, you know to go along them separate. Basically the pinkish Bonded Material Blade is your "textile scissors." Reserving fabric tools for fabric cut prolongs their textile-cutting life!

The Bonded Fabric blade is color coordinated with the pink FabricGrip mat to aid remind you that pink is for fabric.

That being said, the FinePoint/Bonded Fabric blades and housings are interchangeable. You lot tin buy the pink blades and utilise them in your silver/gilt FinePoint housing and vice versa.

What Mat Should You Utilize with the Bonded Fabric Blade?

Yous can use almost whatever mat for bonded fabric, but I'd stick with the pink FabricGrip mat. That fashion you don't get your other mats covered in threads.

Replacing Basic Cricut Blades

Replacing the Fine-Signal, the Deep Cut, and the Bonded Cloth Blade

Replacing the blade is the aforementioned for all three of these blades. It'south easy, but be careful not to cut yourself.

• Removing the housing from your Cricut machine.
• Gently push the plunger at the top of the housing and drib the old blade into a small-scale container or newspaper towel to dispose of it (I nigh often put information technology in the plastic container the new blade comes in for disposal).
• Remove the protective cover from the new blade (the rubbery plastic slice). Insert the shaft of the new blade into the housing. There's a magnet in the housing that will agree the bract in place.
• Then put the housing and new blade dorsum into your machine and shut the clench.

These three blades exercise not not need to exist calibrated.

The Cricut Rotary Blade (Maker-Only)

The Cricut Rotary Blade comes with the Cricut Maker and is Cricut Maker-specific (it cannot be used in the Cricut Explore). I've written extensively about the Cricut Rotary Blade, simply here is a bones overview.

The Cricut Rotary Blade is purpose-built for cut fabric on your Cricut Maker. It uses a 12mm rotary blade (sort of like a tiny pizza cutter) to slice its way through materials without dragging. This means y'all can cutting unbonded fabric.

Cricut Rotary Blade Housing

The Rotary Blade comes in a silver housing with a gold gear at the tiptop. It does not have a number engraved on it like some of the other Cricut Maker tools.

What Tin You Cut with Your Rotary Bract?

The list of fabrics you can cut is practically endless. Cricut has qualified more 100 materials to cut with the Rotary Blade, but a few popular materials include:

• Burlap
• Canvas
• Chiffon
• Cotton
• Denim
• Flannel
• Fleece
• Jersey
• Linen
• Muslin
• Nylon
• Suede

The Rotary Bract is also actually nifty at cut felt, as well every bit thin materials similar crepe paper that might drag and tear with the Fine Point or Bonded Cloth blade.

What Mat Should Yous Employ with the Rotary Blade?

The Rotary Blade is designed to be used with the pink FabricGrip mat. Cricut says the FabricGrip mat is made of a stronger, more dense material that volition withstand the pressure of the rotary cut process.

That being said, I have used erstwhile greenish mats in the past to cut felt using the Rotary Blade. Felt is so linty so I don't love using my FabricGrip mats and I observe an old green mat with some stick left is a amend pick. I haven't had a problem with the pressure mentioned above harming my green mat.

Calibrating Your Rotary Blade

When yous first use your Cricut Rotary Blade, you need to calibrate information technology the first time to use it. You really merely need to calibrate your Rotary Blade once, when y'all first use it. Yous're actually calibrating the Rotary Blade housing, non the blade itself. When yous supersede the blade, the housing remains calibrated. If you move your housing to a different machine, or use a different housing in your machine, you lot will need to re-calibrate your Rotary Bract.

Blueprint Space volition prompt you to calibrate the first time you use your Rotary Blade. You can also apply the dropdown card on the left and click on the Calibration tool.

In the Calibration screen, in that location are three options: Calibrate your Rotary Blade, calibrate your Knife Blade and calibrate your printer for Print So Cut. Cull Rotary Blade here.

If you haven't already, insert your Rotary Bract into Clench B of your Cricut Maker. Also put a slice of white printer paper on a cutting mat, aligning it with the elevation left corner. Then click continue.

You'll then exist prompted to insert your mat with the printer paper into your Cricut using the Load/Unload button.

So click the Go button on your Maker and information technology volition cut some examination lines. Once you unload your mat, you want to find the cut lines that overlap the most. You lot can meet the examples in the screenshot below. Information technology may be difficult to run into on your printer paper, and then hold it up to the light and bend your mat just a bit. If two or more lines are well-nigh the same, just cull 1.

Once y'all have selected your overlap and clicked continue, the scale is consummate and yous can apply your Rotary Blade!

How to Modify the Rotary Blade

The replacement Rotary Blade kit comes with everything you need to change your blade.

• Remove your Rotary Bract housing from your Cricut Maker.
• Place the empty protective cap over the blade.
• Using the included screwdriver, remove the screw from the Rotary Blade housing and set aside.
• Pull off the protective cap that now has the old bract and discard.
• Place the new protective cap and blade onto the Rotary Blade housing.
• Insert the screw back through the blade and use the screwdriver to tighten.
• Place the housing back in your machine.

The Cricut Pocketknife Blade (Maker Only)

The Pocketknife Bract another Cricut Maker-specific blade (it cannot be used in the Cricut Explore). I went out to Cricut headquarters in March 2018 to learn most the Knife Blade before the launch—start here if y'all really want to practise a deep swoop on the Knife Blade. This is just a basic overview.

The Cricut Knife Bract is designed to cut materials much thicker than anything else the Cricut Explore has been able to cutting before, even with the Deep Cut blade. Basically, it'southward similar to a super precise X-ACTO knife for your Cricut Maker.

Cricut Knife Blade Housing

The Rotary Bract comes in a silver housing with a gilded gear at the top. It does not have a number engraved on information technology like some of the other Cricut Maker tools.

What Tin can Y'all Cut with Your Pocketknife Blade?

These materials have been tested and re-tested past Cricut and they feel skilful putting their stamp of approval on them. Click individual links for my tutorials on these materials.

• 1/32" Balsa Woods
• 1/xvi" Balsa Forest
• 3/32" Balsa Forest
• one/32" Basswood
• 1/16" Basswood
• Cricut Chipboard
• one.5mm Craft Foam
• 2mm Craft Cream
• 3mm Arts and crafts Foam
• 2-3oz Soft Garment Leather
• 4-5oz Soft Garment Leather
• 4-5oz Stiff Tooling Leather
• 6-7oz Stiff Tooling Leather
• 2-ply Matboard
• 4-ply Matboard

What Mat Should You lot Use with the Knife Blade?

The Knife Blade is designed to be used with the purple StrongGrip mat. Brand sure to read my 10 Things To Know About the Knife Blade mail service for more information most actually cutting with the Knife Blade.

Calibrating Your Pocketknife Blade

When you first utilize your Cricut Knife Blade, you demand to calibrate it the first fourth dimension to utilize information technology. Like the Rotary blade, you lot should just demand to calibrate your Knife Blade the first time you use it. That existence said, if you find that your cuts are not cut cleanly, re-calibrating your Pocketknife Blade may help.

Design Infinite volition prompt y'all to calibrate the outset fourth dimension you lot use your Rotary Blade. You can also employ the dropdown menu on the left and click on the Calibration tool.

In the Calibration screen, there are iii options: Calibrate your Rotary Blade, calibrate your Knife Blade and calibrate your printer for Impress Then Cut. Choose Pocketknife Blade hither.

If you lot haven't already, insert your Knife Blade into Clamp B of your Cricut Maker. Besides put a piece of white printer paper on a cut mat, adjustment it with the top left corner. Then click continue.

Yous'll and so be prompted to insert your mat with the printer paper into your Cricut using the Load/Unload button.

And so click the Become push button on your Maker and information technology volition cutting some test lines. In one case you unload your mat, you want to find the cutting lines that overlap the well-nigh. You can meet the examples in the screenshot beneath. It may be hard to see on your printer paper, then hold it up to the calorie-free and curve your mat merely a simply. If two or more lines are about the same, just choose one.

One time you have selected your overlap and clicked proceed, the calibration is complete and yous can use your Knife Blade!

How to Change the Knife Blade

Changing the Knife Blade is actually pretty like shooting fish in a barrel. The Knife Blade replacement comes with your new blade and a white condom changing cap. The changing cap is designed to keep your fingers away from the bodily bract—even if it's boring, it could easily cut you lot!

• Remove your Knife Bract housing from your Cricut Maker.
• Place the white changing cap completely over the old blade and sleeve on the Knife Blade housing.
• Twist the changing cap counterclockwise to unscrew the sleeve from the housing.
• Once the sleeve is removed, plow the housing over and the old bract will drop out. Carefully prepare aside.
• Align the rib of the new bract with the groove in the housing. Make sure the blade drops all the way into the housing.
• Place the irresolute cap (with the sleeve inside) over the new blade
• Twist the irresolute cap clockwise until the sleeve secures the blade into the housing.
• Remove the changing cap.
• Identify the housing back in your machine.

Other Cricut Blades

Check out these additional posts on the newest Cricut Maker blades!

• The Cricut Maker Wavy Blade
• The Cricut Maker Perforation Blade

More Posts About Your Cricut

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Supervene upon Your Blades on Amazon

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Source: https://heyletsmakestuff.com/cricut-blades/

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