How Long Do Cricut Blades Last

When your Cricut blade is at the end of its life, it’s pretty easy to tell: tricky weeding, wasted material, and constantly upping that pressure. But how long do Cricut blades last? It’s important to have an idea of how often you’ll need to replace your Cricut blade so you can avoid those classic annoyances that come from crafting with a dull blade.

How long Cricut blades last will depend on how much you use your Cricut machine. Most casual crafters find that their blades hold out for six months to a year, while more frequent users and business owners may change more quickly. The materials you cut also determine how long your Cricut blade lasts.

There’s a lot more that goes into replacing Cricut blades than you think, so let’s dig into some important questions together so you’ll know just what to do when your blade goes dull.

Please note that we use the Cricut Joy for most of our projects these days. Much of the information we have to share comes from our experience using the Cricut Joy, but the advice in this article is fairly standard when it comes to Cricut blade replacement. So, you can get a lot of good information and tips regarding just about any model of Cricut machine. Just remember that some models feature more elaborate blades that we won’t cover here.

Also, before you try any tips and tricks you find online, check the manufacturer’s warranty to make sure you aren’t voiding anything unintentionally.

How do different materials affect Cricut blade sharpness

Not all material is created equally. Different materials affect Cricut blade sharpness because they require different pressures to cut.

We’re going to list a few of the most popular below, but check out Cricut’s list of approved materials for the Cricut Joy here.

Cardstock

You’ll need to make Cricut Joy blade replacements far more frequently if you spend a lot of time making cards, which is one task that Cricut Joy was made for.

Many Cricut users find that cardstock is difficult for their blades to cut. It will dull your blades more quickly than vinyl. Set aside a Cricut Joy blade just for cardstock, and make sure to use the cardstock setting if your Cricut has one. Using too much pressure will keep the blade from rotating.

Many smart crafters do this with their scissors, as well. Just like you should never use your fabric scissors to cut paper or open a cardboard box, make sure you separate blades by project type. Otherwise, you’ll be replacing blades far more often than you’d like and potentially ruining a lot of great projects by using a dull blade.

Cutting regular vinyl on Cricut Joy

Vinyl is easy for the blades to cut, so you won’t need to make many Cricut Joy blade replacements if you exclusively cut vinyl. There are two types of vinyl for the Cricut Joy: regular vinyl and Smart Vinyl.

The best way to cut vinyl with Cricut Joy is to use their Smart Vinyl, which is designed just for the Cricut, but you can use regular vinyl, as well. Go through the software as if you have Smart Vinyl. Make sure you are using material that has straight edges and is exactly five and a half inches.

Vinyl is amazing for all kinds of projects. We love how a little vinyl can totally personalize our glitter tumbler projects.

Fabric

Cricut does not list fabric as one of the materials Cricut Joy can cut. However, other Cricut machines can easily cut fabric.

A Cricut rotary blade is usually needed to cut out fabric projects. You want to make sure you only use this blade for your Cricut fabric projects. Keep separate blades for all your projects. Especially with paper and cardstock, multi-material projects can lead to a duller blade down the line.

Material isn’t the only consideration when it comes to extending the life of your Cricut Joy blades, however. Let’s look at another factor that might be harming the life of your blades.

Am I making too many Cricut projects?

Another factor regarding when you’ll need a Cricut blade replacement is how often you use your Cricut. Obviously, a blade that gets a lot of use will wear out more quickly. To us, there’s no such thing as too much crafting, but to your blades, it’s a different story.

A casual Cricut user won’t need a Cricut blade replacement more than once or twice a year. If you aren’t making multiple projects a week, your blade will last longer. More frequent Cricut users will find they need to replace their Cricut blade more frequently, even as quickly as once or twice a month.

Needing a Cricut blade replacement shouldn’t deter you from crafting. After all, this is why you bought Cricut Joy in the first place, isn’t it? But should you replace your Cricut blades altogether, or is there a better way?

Should you sharpen or replace your Cricut cutting blade?

Reuse and thriftiness are very important to crafters, so of course our minds will automatically jump here. Can we get a little more life from dull Cricut blades?

To clean and sharpen a Cricut blade, simply punch it in and out of a wad of aluminum foil a few dozen times. You can also run a piece of foil through your Cricut as if crafting so long as it is the proper size. This will clean any residue off of the blade that might be there from previous projects.

There’s no way to truly “sharpen” a Cricut blade, but cleaning off residue by using tin foil is a great way to keep it producing neat, clean cuts for longer. Cricut blades are pretty cheap to buy online, so you can easily replace them if your old ones go dull.

Different types of Cricut blades

No Cricut blade replacement guide would be complete without at least a brief overview of the kinds of blades out there. Let’s take a closer look at the different types of Cricut blades.

Cricut fine point blade

This is the most popular option you’ll find and the cheapest to buy online from third parties when you need a Cricut blade replacement.

Cricut fine-point blades are great for most projects. They make intricate cuts and are great for paper, cardstock, and vinyl projects. They are gold in color, and you can use them with the matching gold housing or even the silver housing. They easily go into Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore machines.

Cricut deep point blade

The next blade you’ll reach for when doing a project might be a deep-point blade.

Cricut deep point blades are harder, more durable, and perfect for thicker materials like cardboard, magnets, felt, and some fabrics. The Cricut deep point blade is black and needs to be used with the matching housing. Like the fine point blade, Cricut deep point blades can be used in Maker and Explore.

Cricut Joy blade

The last blade we want to talk about is the Cricut Joy blade.

The Cricut Joy blade is the all-purpose blade to use with your machine. It’s designed to cut through all kinds of materials like vinyl, faux leather, cardstock, iron-ons, and poster board. This blade is designed specifically to be used in the Cricut Joy and is only compatible with this machine.

What is Cricut Joy blade housing?

You see the term housing thrown around in a lot of articles about Cricut blades, but what exactly is Cricut Joy blade housing?

The Cricut Joy blade housing is the case that holds the blade when you put it into the Cricut Joy. It is what you use to connect your blade to your machine. You need to fit the right housing to your blade. Cricut Joy blade housing is silver and white. Other blade housings are different colors like gold.

The Cricut blade housing is important to get right. The Cricut Joy blade housing is only used in Cricut Joy machines, while the others will typically be compatible with Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore machines. You will run into issues if you don’t know which blade goes into which housing.

Cricut premium fine point blades = gold housing
Cricut deep point blades = black housing
Cricut Joy blades = silver and white Joy housing
Cricut foil transfer tool = blue housing

FAQs

Here are some answers to common questions about Cricut Joy blade replacement.

How do I know when my Cricut needs a new blade?

You will need to replace your Cricut Joy blade when you’re constantly increasing the pressure, having trouble weeding, and often ruining material. Replace your blade every year, at least.

How do I know if my Cricut blade is dull?

Trouble weeding, imprecise cuts, and trouble punching through thicker material are all common signs of a dull Cricut Joy blade.

How often should I sharpen my Cricut blade?

Keep your blades cutting their best by cleaning the blade with aluminum foil once a week and especially after working with a thick, sticky, or fiber-dense material.

How do I store my Cricut blade?

Use little plastic drawers to organize your blades. Use the Cricut to make labels so you never forget which blades are for what projects and materials.