I have a Fiskars rotary blade, not sure how old it is. I'm noticing the blade skipping a portion when I cut now. I bought one of those diamond-edged mats, thinking it might sharpen my blade and fix the skipping problem. Well, now i'm noticing it cutting into my mat a lot more, and it still skips.

So here is my question, what is the better rotary cutter, Fiskars or Olfa? How often do we need to replace the whole thing? I'm noticing my blade is not quite tight anymore either, making me feel very nervous about using it. And, I am not using a self-healing cutting mat... is the self-healing one worth the money spent?

I almost want to have a discussion from the pros telling us newbs what is worth the extra money to have, and what we can skimp by on until we get better, or verify we are addicted. I'm addicted all right, but still on a tight budget. Wondering what I need to save to buy, and what I can get by with.

Ok, I have a few questions :-)

Thanks in advance guys and dolls!