Silhouette - which blade to choose?

Choosing the right craft plotter for many of us involves many hours of comparing available options. But let's assume that your decision has fallen on a plotter from the Silhouette brand and you are only separated from starting work with your dream machine by choosing the right materials and accessories - including the right blade. It is about blades that I want to talk a little more today. If you are wondering which blade to choose, this article is just for you.

3/6/2024

Silhouette offers a wide range of blades suitable for specific plotter models and with different applications and capabilities. Choosing the right one will make your work easy and the designs you make will be of good quality.

Auto blade

The automatic blade is available for Portrait 2 and Cameo 3 plotters, as well as for Portrait 3, Cameo 4 and Pro. It is ideal for cutting paper up to about 300g, self-adhesive film, flex and flock, and materials such as tattoo paper, thin foamiran and creative foam. The blade automatically adjusts the ten-degree scale to the settings you make in the program, so you don't have to set it manually, and this makes it easier and faster to work with the plotter.

Kraft Blade

This small accessory with a longer-than-standard blade will allow you to cut thicker materials up to 2mm thick with previous generation Cameo plotters, Curio and Portrait, and up to 3mm thick with the Cameo 4. You will use it to cut foamiran, creative foam, acetate sheets (1mm), balsa (1mm) or magnetic film (1mm). To cut properly in thicker materials, you need to make several passes with different pressure settings, which distinguishes the process from that with standard blades. In addition, this blade is primarily used to cut straight - not complex shapes due to the different cutting technology during which it must rotate on the material to change the cutting angle.

Manual blade

By setting the blade advance once, the plotter will not automatically set it before starting each cut. This option may be of interest to those who cut most often in one type of material, requiring the same settings throughout the job. This will save a bit of time that the plotter needs to set the automatic blade. The blade is compatible with Portrait 3 and Cameo 4 models, and can cut in paper up to 300g, self-adhesive film, flex, flock, thin foamiran and felt (up to 2mm).

Standard blade

If you are cutting in material up to 1mm thick with equal cutting settings, but have one of the older models of Silhouette plotters, the standard blade will be perfect for you. Similar to the manual blade, it will save a bit of time compared to the automatic blade. With adapters, you can use it with any Silhouette model, and it will cut paper up to 300g, self-adhesive films, flex, flock, tattoo material, foamiran and felt up to 1mm.

Rotary blade

Resembles a tailor's rotary cutter and has a similar application. It is ideal for cutting cotton fabric, leather, felt, wool or thin crimped tissue paper. Due to its larger cap size, it is compatible with Cameo 4, Plus and Pro plotters. It is recommended for cutting straight shapes because of the different cutting technology, and the needed space on the sheet to turn back to a different path if the cutting direction is changed.

Premium blade

Created from an extremely strong metal alloy, it allows use up to three times longer than a standard blade. Available for both older and newer models of Silhouette plotters. Suitable for cutting paper up to 300g, adhesive film, flex, flock, tattoo material, foamiran and felt up to 1mm.

Summary

As you can see, each of the blades available in our store has its own use and meets the expectations of individual customers. You can choose them according to the plotter model you are using and the material you are working with. This will allow you to achieve the best results when cutting and make the projects you create exactly as planned. Hopefully, this short article will serve as a collection of information to help you when choosing the right blade. However, if anything still seems unclear to you, feel free to contact us and we will be happy to answer any questions and help you make the best choice!