Cricut has many blades and they all have their special purpose. It is confusing sometimes to know which Cricut Blade to use and how to use it. But don’t worry. I’m here to explain the differences.
There are 10 types of blades
- Fine Point Blade
- Deep Point Blade
- Bonded Fabric Blade
- Rotary Blade
- Knife Blade
- Scoring Wheel (Single and Double)
- Perforation Blade
- Wavy Blade
- Debossing Blade
- Engraving Blade
I am going to go through them one at a time.
The Fine Point Blade
This is the workhorse of Cricut Blades. It comes with a new Cricut and is used for almost everything. The housing is gold and the blades have a white rubber covering when new if you get them from Cricut. There are cheaper places to buy them, like Wish. The correct blades to get have a 45 degree angle. The fine point blade is for both the Explore machines and the Maker.
The Deep Point Blade
The Deep Point Blade has a black housing and a black rubber cover if bought from Cricut. Again you can get them cheaper other places, like Amazon. You will have to buy the housing separate from your Cricut. This would be one of the first blades I would buy for any Cricut machine.
This blade is only used on thicker or harder materials like foam or magnet sheets. It has a steeper angle of 60 degrees. The deep point blade is for both the Explore machines and the Maker.
The Bonded Fabric Blade
This blade has a pink housing. It can be used in both the Explore and the Maker but the rotary wheel works much better. The bonded fabric blade will cut fabric that is bonded to fusible backing. (The rotary wheel doesn’t need the backing).
I would only buy this blade if and when you need it. In fact I currently don’t have one. I use the rotary blade in my maker. Also the fabric must be bonded to cut with this blade. When I had one, I cut felt and “bonded” it to contact paper and that worked fine.
The Rotary Wheel Blade
The rotary wheel blade comes with the maker. It cuts fabric and is very sharp. The blade needs replaced quite often if you cut a lot of fabric and there is a kit to change the blade that is fairly inexpensive. By the way, my maker was bought used and didn’t come with this blade housing and you can’t buy one anywhere. Call Cricut and they will send you one for free.
When cutting fabric you need a fabric mat to keep your fabric from raveling. I don’t know how it does this but it does. I can only be used with the Maker.
This blade housing may look like the quick change blade housing but it is not. The blade doesn’t come off that way.
The Knife Blade
This blade is like having your own Exacto Knife in Cricut. It cuts leather, Balsa wood, chipboard and all sorts of other thicker material. It is only for the maker. If you want to cut other things than vinyl or paper get this blade.
You must calibrate this blade when you use it. If you don’t, Design Space will keep reminding you to calibrate it. I am currently working on a video to help you do this and will put a link here when it is done.
It is also not a quick blade housing.
The Scoring Wheel (Single and Double)
The scoring wheel is only for the maker. It works like the scoring stylus in the Explore machines. It comes in a single and double blade versions.
This blade is very dull. Th e idea is to make a score line or fold line on paper. The single scoring blade works on all paper, and the double scoring blade works best on heavier paper. You can change which blade you use on the maker. I go into more detail about these blades and how to do this here.
The scoring wheel is the first of the blades to have the quick change housing. The bottom pops off and you can attach a new type of blade to it. I believe all new blades will have this capability. And if you have a quick change housing you can buy just the tip for the new blades which is a little cheaper.
The Wavy, Perforation, Engraving and Debossing Blades
These are the four new blades by Cricut. I have all of them and will be reviewing them one at a time in other posts. They are available in both the full housing or just the quick change tip.
The wavy blade cuts a wavy line like those scissors you can buy which makes me think that there will be a whole line of this type of blade.
The perforation blade cuts dashes for tear offs. You can make your own tear off cards or raffle tickets with this blade.
The debossing blade works like the scoring tool on the Explore machine but a little deeper.
The engraving blade with engrave into metal and other materials. There is a list here. The reviews that I have done are here:
In Conclusion
I hope this helps you decide which blade to use and when to use it. I use the scoring blades often and of course the fine point blade. The single scoring blade is the one I would buy first if you have a Maker. The engraving blade is the next useful blade to me. I made Christmas presents for my whole family with this blade. See them here. The debossing blade is probably the least useful and I see very few projects online about using it so I think others agree.
If you have any questions or other suggestions, write a comment below.
You are the first person that has been honest about how long the rotary blade lasts. Not long for sure when being used! Anyway to sharpen it?
Not that I know of but the replacement kit is fairly cheap on ebay.
I am constantly browsing online for posts that can facilitate me. Thank you!