Blades - Cougar vs. Roland vs. Cricut

[cbauer50]

I have been testing cuts for the past couple of days, trying to get a good cut on vinyl using a 45 degree blade.

I changed blades and looked at my 45 degree blades closely.

I compared my cougar 45 degree blade to some of my other 45 degree blades I had that I used with my KNK Maxx cutter.

I noticed a big difference - but now I am not sure which is which. (see picture) I know the one is the cougar blade, but I have some others that are just like the cougar blade, but don't know if they are roland or cricut because I had them all in the same case. I circled the part of the blade where there is a big difference.

Can someone that has a cougar blade and either roland or cricut blades look and compare and see if you can see a difference?

Carol

[Thyme]

One thing I will point out to you is that it is unlikely you will have a Roland blade, what you will have is Roland type blades. There is a big difference between the two. Roland blades are made only by Roland and are extremely expensive. Roland type blades are made by dozens of manufacturers and will vary greatly in price and quality.

[cbauer50]

okay - I will restate it.

Blades - Cougar vs. roland type vs. cricut

[Elizabeth]

Hi Carol,

Here is a photo of a Cricut blade. I'm sure its a Cricut, as I just took it out of the package. They are tough little suckers to focus on!

cricut blade 45.jpg

Hope this helps!

[cbauer50]

Thanks Elizabeth. Do you have a cougar blade that you can compare it to? You don't need to take a picture. If you just put them side by side, you should see a difference.

I think they are the cricut, but just want to make sure.

I have some 60 degree cricut and they look just like the 45 degree (except for the slant of the blade), but the area I circled is "fatter" - "thicker".

Carol

[Elizabeth]

Hi Carol. Yes, my Cougar blades are "meatier" with a more defined "wedge" at the top of the blade. I hadn't thought to look closely at them before.

[cbauer50]

Thanks, Elizabeth! I think that solves my problem - at least I am hoping it does!

Carol

[Elizabeth]

Glad I could help! It was kind of fun to look at my blades up close. Now I will know how to identify mine if they get mixed up. I'm a little paranoid about that, so it hasn't happened yet, LOL.

[sherri]

Thanks, Elizabeth! I think that solves my problem - at least I am hoping it does!

Carol

Carol..I am really confused now. How do you think this helped? I want to clarify a few things for people regarding blades. This is for everyone...a LOT of people call blades "Roland blades" what Dawn referred to up above is that a Roland blade is NOT a Roland blade. Roland blade were the gold standard so after many years of producing Roland Blades with great cutting success people equate quality with the name. Unfortunately MANY, MANY people on the Internet and ebay sell blades and list them as Roland Blades and they are not..but they well..TONS of them. I have heard the nightmare stories over and over again. They buy blades on the Internet and get a great deal. They get them for one, two three shipments and things are GREAT..then they get a really bad shipment and think it is something they or the machine are doing to cause the problem. It is NOT..they got a bad batch of blades from China that they are dispersing to people via ebay or the Internet and they are JUNK...and you have little if any recourse. They felt since their blades had been good before they should still be good. Not true. There is one cutter supplier in particular that supplies the cheap blades from China and they do NOT work well. It makes it look as if their cutter has problems. In addition to this the shaft of the blade has NOTHING to do with the difference in blades. As a matter of fact , from shipment to shipment that shaft can be different. That includes OURS...the only thing that matters is the angle of the blade that causes the correct cut, the material the blade is made out of and the company that supplies it. Dawna nd I pay a lot of money for our blades to make sure they are consistent...and they are. The cut very well and we get compliments on it a lot. In particular if someone has been using other blades in the past. They can then really tell the difference. If you are cutting vinyl or lightweight paper we encourage you to use a less expensive blade but make sure it is a brand name blade. Cricut blades and Pazzle blades are good blades for basic cutting of vinyl and lightweight paper. They are consistent. If you want a good blade that will last, ours and the TRUE Roland (which are also expensive) are the way to go. This truly is a case of you get what you pay for. The problems to look for in a blade are under a magnifying glass and that is little burrs and nicks or chips in the blades....but nothing about the shaft of the blade. Sorry for the long read but I felt this had to be clarified.

[cbauer50]

<<Carol..I am really confused now. How do you think this helped? >>


You know all the problems I was having last week trying to cut 1/2" letter in vinyl. I tried every setting I could think of, and finally got good cut in SCAL using these settings:

Pressure: 8
Speed: 125
Overcut: 1.5
Blade Offset: .35

I could not get a good cut in MTC. Between the 2 programs, I probably cut between 50-60 5-word phrases out. I even bumped the blade offset all the way up to .50 and down as far as .10 in MTC. Still getting nicks (or maybe chads would be a better word).

So - I try another blade. I checked to make sure it was a 45 degree angle and compared it to the one I took out. That's when I noticed the difference in the thickness. I then compared those 2 different ones (the new one I just grabbed and the one I just took out of the machine) with the cougar blade (that I still have in the zip lock bag). (Now this explains why I was originally getting good cuts when I first got my cougar because I had a cougar blade in it.) When I changed blades, I just grabbed a red-capped blade. Some of them are cricut and some are roland type.

So I sorted them all out - put all the cricut in one case and the roland type in another. I put in the cougar blade and was able to get a nice cut in SCAL (and even changed the blade offset back down to .30). I then cut the same file in MTC and was able to get a good cut. No nicks, no chads. I tried both the original blade holder and the blue click blade holder. No problems.

So then I tood a roland type blade and tried both blade holders, same file, both programs. No problems.

Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, I then took one of the fatter blades and tried both holders, both programs, same file and cut again. Back to the same problems. If I changed the blade offset back up to .35, I could get a good cut in SCAL, but I could not get a good cut in MTC again.

If you get to St. Cloud, I invite you to stop over and I will be glad to show you all the vinyl I cut and the difference - and you can watch me change blades and watch the machine cut with the different blades.

The cricut blades may work for some, but I know that I cannot use them in my machine.

You asked me how I thought this helped - and I hope I explained it well enough. All I know is that I had a he** of a week last week and I'm just happy I can finally cut something now and be happy with it.

I do know that those different blades do make a difference in MY machine. If others can use cricut blades, then they should use them. I just know that MY machine doesn't like them when I am using MTC. I'll just avoid using them so I don't have to worry which type of blade I have in.

If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to answer them.

Carol

[Tyler]

Well, I am glad you got it figured out! Congrats!

[cbauer50]

Thanks, Tyler. It solved MY problem. If it can help someone else, then that's good. All I know is it was one he** of a week last week for me.

Carol

[iggylover]

Carol,

I'm so glad your problem in this thread ( viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2369&start=120 ) seems to be sorted out!

Best of luck with all the experimenting to figure out what works best for you and your machine! Each one is a little quirky and particular (kind of like each owner) on what it wants to be 'fed'.

[cbauer50]

Thanks, iggylover.

As stated above, this is what solved my problem. I just cut something out in MTC a little bit ago and it cut out perfect! Someday it may help somone else who has a problem cutting. I know there are many, many factors that can cause bad cuts - and I tried everything else. This is the one that solved it and for that, I am happy!

Carol

[kim]

I think that helps alot! And now I know I will never get my blades anywhere else or use my Cricut blades in my Cougar. I just always figured that since my Cricut couldn't cut as well as my cougar, there was no point in putting the Cricut blade in my kitty. I always get my blades from Sherri because I know that I will have good results and consistent cuts. That way I always know it is ME that is the problem if something goes wrong. I have heard about the "roland" blades on ebay and other sellers that you can get for cheap, but I haven't tried any of them yet. Mostly because I'd rather pay more and get GOOD blades than have a problem with a bad batch of blades. And with my luck, I would get the bad batch and no backups and be stuck!

[cbauer50]

I just cut something out late this morning with some of the roland type blades I have - don't remember where I got them from - but they cut good. I will use those when I want to cut something out just to see how it looks (like on contact paper) where I don't need to worry. I always like cut it in the final size, but hate to waste my good vinyl, so use contact paper.

Maybe the cricut blades will work in my cutter for paper or cardstock. I'll have to try it. I know they don't cut well on vinyl.

Carol

[Elizabeth]

I'm so glad your rough week is over and you are getting good cuts now!

[Thyme]

Very glad to hear you have sorted the problem Carol.
Happy Cutting!

[Angel135612]

Carol, Thank you for that explanation, that will help us when we try to help other people with problems. Knowing what problems people have, what worked to fix it for someone, is something we can suggest for some one else. It may not fix their problem, but it would be one more thing that could be ruled out. I always like to hear what problems someone has, and how it was fixed, so if nothing else, I can remember it if I ever have problems like that.

I have had a problem with my cutter since I got it, and couldn't figure out what was causing it. It would cut inconsistently, it would cut clean through when the blade was in one area of the machine, and seem to barely scratch the surface of the paper in another, on the same cut. I read on Dawns forum to raise my holder 2 CDs up instead of one... and that seemed to help, although I still get some cuts that don't' cut all the way through... but I haven't had time to work on it, and I thought it was something I would just have to live with and try to make sure I didn't put my paper in one area of my machine. But when I have more time, I may try tweaking the height and force and speed to see where I get the best cuts. And it didn't always do it depending on what media I was cutting. So it was really baffling.

I knew there is a difference in the blades, but I didn't think it could have been THAT much.. but after the explanation from Sherri about the blades, and yours about the cuts, I may only use the Black Cat blades, and save the "cheap" ones for testing and just playing around.. but when I want something cut, and cut well... will use a BC blade. (Now I'm going to have to stock up on the BC blades, so I have them on hand when I need them... LOL) I think I'm also going to check on the inconsistency of my cutting with a BC blade vs a cheap one.. and see if that makes a difference.. along with raising the holder a tad higher.

[cbauer50]

Diane - I was also only using 1 cd, and did try 2, but that didn't seem to help (that was before I discovered the difference in the blades I was using). I used to use credit cards with my previous cutter, so tried that with my cougar. I use 2 credit cards and that is working great for me. It may not work for you or others, but give it a try. 2 cc's seem to be about the same thickness as 2 cd's (I don't have something to measure accurately) - just another little thing I thought I would mention that worked for me.

Carol