Good practice or not necessary

[Andy Gorman]

If you are cutting reflective all the time it will wear the blade out quicker. It’s a myth that it knackers blades instantly. If set up correctly your blades should last a decent amount of time. I have never found it necessary to buy a different angled blade just for reflective; the standard 45deg works fine for me.

[Peter Normington]

Good practise, always have a spare in stock, and also easier and quicker to change, if its complete with holder.

Andy is correct, it may not wear out the blade instantly, but reflective does take the edge off it, so if you are doing a lot of small fine stuff, always keep a newish blade for this stuff.

Peter

[Robert Lambie]

i agree with what has been said so far Russ… good practice to keep one handy but you can get by without.
reflective is made up of tiny balls of glass sandwiched between the vinyl to create the shimmer when light is bounced off it. its these tiny beads of glass that gradually blunt your blade.

[Shane Drew]

I agree with what has been said here, but I have a blade that is only for reflective.

No reason other than I started doing it years ago, and never really changed my habit.

Also, I do a lot of small text in cast material, and the sharper the blade the better. Reflective does take the edge of the blade slowly, and I have been caught a couple of times using my reflective blade on the small cast jobs, and weeding becomes a nightmare.

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Shane Drew:

but I have a blade that is only for reflective

i practice the same and i also felt tip the end of the blade blue so i know its the correct blade im using 😮 blipped a few jobs myself when i left the ref. blade in, vinyl ends up scrunched in the bin 😀

nik

[Lorraine Clinch]

I find that if I use the same blade for vinyl, reflective and garment vinyl the blade goes really quickly. I now keep my last old blade for garment vinyl, and a 60 degree blade for reflective.

What is the opinion on the cheaper or re-sharpened blades? Do they last as long as the genuine blades (Roland etc), and if not, does the cheaper cost outweigh the replacement time?

Does anyone understand what I am trying to say, coz I’ve confused myself now! 😳

[Marcella Ross]

Lorraine,

I use resharpened blades and have done so for many years. I have never had any problems with them as they’re as good as new.

I use the same blade for reflective, although I don’t cut very much of the stuff perhaps that’s why! I just change the settings and it works fine. But as said already, I always have a couple of spares around.