How to Cut Thick Materials with the Cricut Knife Blade
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Learn how to cut thick materials like genuine leather, basswood, balsa wood, faux leather & chipboard for your DIY projects with the Cricut Maker knife blade!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
Ever since I got a Cricut Knife Blade for my Cricut Maker, I’ve been experimenting with all the amazing materials I can cut with it. Just like the other Cricut cutting machines, the Maker can cut vinyl, iron-on and paper for fun craft projects, but with the addition of the new Adaptive Tool System it can do a whole lot more!
The Rotary Cutter and Knife Blade are unique to the Cricut Maker’s Adaptive Tool System, and today I want to give you an overview on the Knife Blade and my tips on how to use it best.
What is it?
The Cricut Knife Blade is a tool you can use with your Cricut Maker that cuts through thicker and denser materials such as balsa wood, leather, matboard, and Cricut Chipboard easily. You can buy it complete with the Drive Housing here.
How do you use it?
You’ll need to prepare your cut by using a StrongGrip mat for your material and ensuring your material is no more than 11″ wide. Next, move all of the star wheels on your Maker to the right so that they don’t interfere with your thicker material or leave marks (I made this mistake when I first tried my Knife Blade!).
Next, attach your material firmly to your mat and tape it on at least two sides to the mat with painter’s tape. Prepare your design in Cricut Design Space, and ensure that your cuts are thick (I tried a thinner design and it didn’t work as well) and that your art is at least 1/4″ from the edge of the material.
(I had an idea to re-create some “special dates” art that I had made for our home a few years ago with my Cricut Maker. The thick numbers in this design are perfect to make with the Knife Blade on 2mm chipboard. I’ll cut the leaf design and handwritten font section onto vinyl.)
After choosing “Make It” in Design Space, connect to your Maker and choose your material to use with your Knife Blade. I’ve tried genuine leather, 2mm chipboard and thin wood with my Knife Blade and was happy with the results. Load your material, press Start, and you’re off!
Note: Cutting thick materials with the Knife Blade will often take a long time as the machine will have to do several passes to cut the material. Be patient – it’s worth it!
I’m excited to show you how my DIY family dates sign using chipboard cut with my Maker turned out next week (and I also cut out a random bunny out of wood for some sort of Easter craft), but meanwhile…
Want some inspiration on what else you can create using the Knife Blade? I love all the ideas featured here! I also love this incredible gallery wall styling featuring items made with the Knife Blade.
PIN ME:
I purchased a Silhouette a couple of years ago because of there design studio. Cricut has since upgraded their system so much I really wish I had waited. I love all the different things you can cut with it. Such a great system.
SIlhouette came out with the Cameo 4 which is very similar to the Cricut Maker. Thankfully all these great Cricut tutorials help me get ideas on what to do on my Silhouette Cameo 4. Also, a lot of earlier Silhouette products can be used in the Cameo 4.