Cricut Blades Differences Guide – Everything you need to know

Let me help you avoid the headache of learning and figuring out what you need to know about the Cricut blades.

If you want to learn the differences, types, care, and everything about them, you are in the right place!

Before I got my Cricut, I didn’t understand anything about blades. I even thought that I just needed one blade for everything. You see it’s not that simple, but once you finish reading this post, it will be!

Before we dig into this topic, let’s have a little overview.

Blades allow your Cricut machine to cut all of your projects. However, and depending on the types of materials you want to work with, you’ll need a different kind of blade.

Right now, there are eight types of blades and four other crafting tools available:

1. Fine Point blade – Gold/Silver
2. Deep Point blade – Black
3. Bonded Fabric blade – Pink
4. Foil Transfer Kit – Blue
5. Rotary blade – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
6. Knife blade –  only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
7. Quick Swap Perforation blade – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
8. Quick Swap Wavy blade – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
9. Quick Swap Debossing tip – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
10. Quick Swap Engraving tip – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
11. Quick Swap Scoring Wheel tips – only works with the Cricut Maker – Silver
12. Cricut Joy Fine Point Blade – Silver with a white top – Cricut Joy Only.

Each one of the blades and Tips I just mentioned has different superpowers and can cut different materials. Failing to use the right blade can damage your materials, or even the blade itself.

You don’t NEED to worry about this though, because before you are going to cut a specific project, the Cricut Design Space software will tell you WHAT blade you need with any material.

However, I still think it’s a good idea for you to learn the Cricut blades differences so you can see if you need a specific blade before you purchase materials, or even more important before you buy a Cricut Machine (Not all blades work with all machines).

NOTE: If you are still deciding what Cricut you should buy. I highly recommend you reading this post. It took me a whole week to put it together and multiple hours of research. That post will help you to find out if the – or what – Cricut is the right machine for you!

Are you ready for some fun? Let’s go ahead and get started.

Everything you Need to Know about ALL of the Cricut Blades

When I bought my Cricut, I thought I had everything I needed, I sort of thought it was like a printer, but instead of printing, you just cut. Right?

Oh, boy, I was wrong!

The Cricut Machine is way more complicated than a printer, and there are many things to keep in mind before, during, and after the cutting process.

One of the variables that will set you for success is knowing about the Cricut blades and the materials each one of them can cut.

I am blessed to own all of the blades and that combined with my own experience and all of the research I’ve done, I am entirely sure that in this article you will learn everything you need to know about all of the Cricut blades.

Make sure to read my article on the differences between the Cricut Maker and Explore Air 2 for a more in-depth comparison of all of the things you can do with each machine.

Cricut Blade Anatomy

Cricut blades are exceptionally well designed and you can feel the quality of the materials once you are holding them in your hands. They are beautiful and do their job to perfection!

While I was learning about this topic, I was quite confused with some of the terminology that I read across the web regarding the Cricut blades. If you find yourself in the same spot, here I am to make it easy for you to understand.

Besides, colors and functionality when you see a picture of one particular blade what you are seeing is not just the blade itself, but also the housing.

Let me describe it better here:

• Housing: is what holds the blade in place. When your blade is due for a change, you don’t need to change the housing.

• Drive Housing: This type of housing is specifically designed for the Cricut Maker only, and they differ from standard housing blades because they have a golden top gear. The Cricut Adaptive Tool System drives these gears. Drive Housing blades come with a plastic cover that should be left at all times to keep the gears clean.

• Blade: blades look somewhat similar to a small nail, and are inserted inside the housings. Blades can be replaced when cuts are not as sharp as they used to be. Note: blades for drive housings look all different.

Cricut Blades and Tips – Quick Reference Table

For a quick reference of which blade and tool work with each machine, check out the following table.

Blade / Tip	Maker	Explore	Joy
Fine Point Blade	x	x
Deep Point Blade	x	x
Bonded Fabric Blade	x	x
Foil Transfer Kit	x	x
Rotary Blade	x
Scoring Wheel	x
Knife Blade	x
Perforation Blade	x
Wavy Blade	x
Engraving Tip	x
Debossing Tip	x
Cricut Joy Fine Point Blade			x

What are the different types of Cricut Blades and What can they cut?

Right now, there are seven different blades and three different tips available. All nine tools can be used with the Cricut Maker, but only three of them can be used with the Cricut Explore Family Machine.

Let’s dig in!

Fine Point Blade

The Fine Point blade is the most common, and it comes with all of the Cricut Machines. It’s made out of German Carbide, which an extremely durable and high-quality material most commonly used for cutting tools materials.

This blade is perfect for making intricate cuts, and it’s designed to cut medium-weight materials. It used to be silver, but it now comes in a beautiful golden color.

It works with any of the Cricut Explore Family machines and the Cricut Maker.

Note: Besides color (from silver to gold) there’s no difference between the housings silver and gold housings, including the blade there’s inside it when you initially purchase your machine.

However, when you purchase a replacement blade for the Cricut Maker/Explore ALWAYS MAKE SURE that you purchase the blade with the white cap. The grey cap it’s for older Cricut machine models.

Check Fine Point Blade Price

What Materials can I cut with the Fine Point blade?

• Printer Paper
• Vinyl: Glitter vinyl, printable, outdoor, holographic
• Iron-on or also HTV (Heat transfer vinyl)
• Cardstock
• Washi Tape
• Parchment Paper
• Vellum
• Canvas
• Light Chipboard
• Faux Leather (Paper Thin)

Deep Point Blade

If you need to cut thicker materials, the Deep Point blade will be your best friend. You can use it with any of the Cricut Explore Family machines or Cricut Maker!

The angle of this blade is so much steeper – 60 degrees compared to 45 degrees for the fine point blade – This allows the blade to penetrate and cut intricate cuts in thick materials.

The color of this blade is black and must be used with its respective housing. And by that, I meant that you can’t interchange other blades like Fine Point and Bonded Fabric.

Check Deep Point Blade Price

What Materials can I cut with the Deep Point blade?

• Craft Foam
• Aluminum Foil
• Genuine Leather
• Metallic Leather
• Magnetic Sheet – 0.6mm
• Corrugated Paper

Compare the Angle Differences between Deep Point and Fine Point blade

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Bonded Fabric Blade

The Bonded Fabric blade is like the Fine Point Blade, but it’s color-coded so you only use it with fabric. To have a better experience when cutting fabric, don’t use this blade paper, or vinyl.

There’s a big caveat with this blade though. The fabric you are going to cut needs to be bonded to a backing material.

If you are a sewer, you might know what bonded fabric, but if you are like me and have no prior experience with fabrics, let me explain to you real quick.

“Backing” is a type of material – like heat & bond – that you need to adhere – bond – to your fabrics so you can cut with this blade; hence the name Bonded Fabric blade.

If you don’t bond your fabrics properly, you risk tearing apart and stretching out your materials, and you might also damage your mat.

Not fun, right?

This blade is compatible with the Explore Family Machines and Cricut Maker, the color is pink and can be used with the Fine Point blade Housing and with the Pink Fabric Mat.

If you don’t have a pink mat, you can also use it with the Standard Green Mat.

Note: If you are confused about the Cricut Mats. Let me help you out, go and Check out this fantastic post. I spent multiple hours putting together, trust me, you will learn all there’s to know about the Cricut Mats.

Check Bonded Fabric Blade Price

What Materials can I cut with the Bonded Fabric blade?

Like I just mentioned above, ALL of these materials need to be bonded.

• Oil Cloth
• Silk
• Polyester
• Denim
• Felt
• Burlap
• Cotton

Foil Transfer Kit (New)

The “Foil Transfer Kit” allows you to create beautiful and crisp foil effects on your projects. It’s compatible with the Cricut Maker and any of the Explore family machines.

I love using foil on my projects and I on many occasions I used iron-on. However, with iron-on you don’t have the intricacy that the “Foil Transfer Kit” has.

This kit is a 3 tools in 1; to best suit your project, Cricut has a fine, medium, and bold tips.

As far as I know, the foil tips only work with Cricut foil transfer sheets, they are available in a wide variety of colors.

Here are some of the materials you can use when working with the “Foil transfer kit.”

• Cardstock
• Deluxe Paper
• Pearl Paper
• Vellum
• Printable Vinyl
• Printable Sticker Paper
• Matboard
• Poster Board
• Copy Paper
• Photo Paper
• Faux Leather

Rotary Blade (Only Cricut Maker)

The Rotary blade is fantastic and it’s driven by the Adaptive Tool System, that’s why it’s only compatible with the Cricut Maker Machine.

The drive housing for this blade isn’t interchangeable with other blades. For you to change the blade itself, you need a particular kit.

The Rotary blade cuts through, pretty much, any fabric. And the best of all, you don’t need any backing material to stabilize the fabric on the mat. That alone should get you super happy!

This blade also comes with the Cricut Maker (this is a big deal because you usually have to buy these sorts of tools separately or in a bundle) and can only be used with the Fabric Grip Mat.

Although this blade is very cool and potent, it does have a small restriction. The image or project size you are trying to cut should be at least 3/4 of an inch (19 mm). Cutting smaller projects will result in shortening the blade’s life.

Check Rotary Replacement Kit Price

What Materials can I cut with the Rotary Fabric blade?

• Bamboo Fabric
• Bengaline
• Canvas
• Cashmere
• Chiffon
• Corduroy
• Cotton
• Denim
• Felt
• Fleece
• Gauze
• Silk
• Lycra
• Microfiber
• Nylon

Knife blade (Only Cricut Maker)

This knife blade is one of a kind, and it’s only compatible with the Maker Machine.

I think this blade is what makes the Cricut Maker a total making machine. The projects you can cut with this baby are just amazing. You can create wood signs for your home, boxes, extremely sturdy cake toppers and more.

The Purple or StrongGrip Mat is the mat you should be using with this blade. Sometimes that mat it’s not even enough for you to keep the materials in place, especially is you are cutting wood.

If you need to add extra grip because of the material you are using, use painter’s tape on the edges of it to secure it to the mat.

The drive housing for this blade isn’t interchangeable with other blades.

Check Knife Blade Price 

What Materials can I cut with the Knife blade?

• Tooling Leather
• Balsa – 1/16 in & 3/32 in
• Basswood – 1/16 in & Basswood – 1/32 in
• Heavy Chipboard – 2.0mm
• Matboard 4 Ply

QuickSwap Tips and Blades (Only Cricut Maker)

Unlike the rest of the blades that have a different housing, The QuickSwap system allows you to use five different tools (2 blades, and 3 tips)

• Scoring Tip
• Engraving Tip
• Debossing Tip
• Wavy Blade
• Perforation Blade

Something cool, and that I am quite thankful for is that you can use all of these tools with the same housing and that my friend equals savings!

Let’s see a little bit more about all of these tools:

Perforation Blade

This particular blade will allow you to create projects with a tear finish. With this tool, a new world of possibilities has open. You can create coupons, raffle tickets, etc.!

Some of the materials you’ll be able to use with this blade are:

• Corrugated Cardboard
• Metallic Poster Board
• Cardstock Glitter
• Cardstock Heavy Cardstock
• Felt
• Craft Foam
• Glitter Craft Foam
• Iron-On
• Faux Leather (Paper Thin)
• Tooling Leather – 2-3 oz. (0.8 mm)
• Vellum
• Plastic
• Acetate
• Foil Acetate

Learn how to use the Perforation Blade.

Wavy Blade

Instead of cutting on straight lines like the rotary or fine point blade, this tool will create wavy effects on your final cuts.

Getting curved lines in Design Space is quite complicated, so this tool will come in handy if you like these sorts of effects.

Gift Tags, banners, cards, envelopes, and unique vinyl decals are some of the projects that will benefit from this tool.

Oh, did I mention that you can also cut fabric with it!

Some of the materials you can cut with this blade:

• Heavy Cardstock
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Foil Poster Board
• Kraft Board
• Metallic Poster Board
• Poster Board
• Glitter Cardstock
• Cotton Denim
• Flannel
• Fleece Fusible Fleece

Engraving Tip

The Engraving Tip is something that many crafters have been waiting for! With this tool, you’ll be able to engrave a wide variety of materials.

Do you have a dog? What about making a dog tag!… You can create monograms on aluminum sheets or anodized aluminum to reveal the silver beneath.

Here are some of the materials you’ll be able to use with this blade:

• Anodized Aluminum
• Brass
• Bronze
• Stainless Steel
• Faux Leather (Paper Thin)
• Garment Leather – 2-3 oz. (0.8 mm)
• Genuine Leather
• Tooling Leather
• Vellum
• Acetate Foil
• Acetate

Debossing Tip

This tip will push the material in, and it will create beautiful and detailed designs. The debossing will bring your projects to a whole new level because of the detail you can now add to your designs.

Just imagine debossing a beautiful gift box with flowers, hearts, stars, etc.! You can also make 3D Cards and monograms!

Here’s a list of some of the materials you’ll be able to use with this tool:

• Foil Poster Board
• Heavy Chipboard – 2.0 mm
• Kraft Board
• Light Chipboard – 0.37 mm
• Matboard 4 Ply
• Metallic Poster Board
• Poster Board
• Foil Acetate
• Vellum
• Faux Leather (Paper Thin)
• Genuine Leather
• Tooling Leather
• Craft Foam Glitter Cardstock
• Heavy Cardstock 
• Balsa – 1/16″ (1.6 mm)
• Balsa – 3/32″ (2.4 mm)

Scoring Wheel (Tip 01 and 02)

The Scoring Wheel is a tool that allows you to create beautiful, edgy, and crispy folds on your materials.

To give you the best results, Cricut has designed The Scoring Wheel with two different Tips, 01 and 02. Depending on the material you select, Design Space will suggest you the tip you need.

Tip 01: It is ideal for light materials such as print paper, regular cardstock, etc.

Tip 02: It is ideal for heavy and coated materials such as chipboard, glitter cardstock, metallic poster-board, etc.

Read my tutorial to learn how to use the Scoring Wheel.

Here are some of the materials you can use with this tool:

• Corrugated Cardboard
• Damask Chipboard
• Flat Cardboard
• Foil Kraft Board
• Heavy Chipboard – 2.0 mm
• Kraft Board
• Cardstock
• Foil Acetate
• Plastic Packaging
• Copy Paper
• Corrugated Paper

Check Quick Swap Tools Price

Cricut Joy Blades

The Cricut Joy only has a “Fine Point Blade.” The blade housing has a white cap, and the blade itself it’s quite different from any other blades.

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The Cricut Joy Blade is not interchangeable, therefore you need to use its respective housing.

Here are some of the materials you can cut with this blade:

• Smart Iron-On and Vinyl (Without a Cricut Mat)
• Copy Paper
• Cardstock
• Insert Cards with a Card Mat.
• Writable Vinyl
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Glitter Cardstock
• Foil Poster Board

Discontinued Blades

The blades listed down below have been now discontinued. That’s why I will not be mentioning them across this post.

• Standard blade housing
• Deep Cut Blade & housing
• Scoring tip & housing
• Cricut Cake blade & housing

Are Cricut Blades Interchangeable?

The Fine Point blade and the Bonded Fabric blade can use the same housing. Also, the QuickSwap tools can use the same housing, so if you already own one, from now on, you only need to get the tip or blade.

The other three remaining blades (Deep Point, Rotary, Knife) can only be used with their respective housing.

I mentioned this in every blade description. But if you were skimming this post, there’s the quick answer 🙂

Where Can I buy Cricut Blades?

All Cricut blades and tips are available on any Craft Store like Michael’s and Joann. Even Walmart carries them!

I like to get them on the Official Cricut Website; I have a baby and no car, therefore online shopping is the most convenient for me!

Check out all of the blades prices here

How long does the Cricut Blade Last?

This is not a size fits all kind of question

Although Cricut blades are made to last for a reasonable amount of time, there comes a time where replacing the blade is necessary.

The blade’s life depends on the kind of materials you are working with, how often you use them, and of course how you care for them.

For instance, paper and cardstock are harder on the blades than a much more smoother material like vinyl is. So, if paper is your jam, then you’ll go through blades more often.

Blades that cut through really thick materials like the Deep Point blade and, especially, the Knife blade need to be replaced more often because of the pressure that the blade needs to execute to get smooth and clean cuts.

You’ll know you have to replace the blades when your cuts are dull and not as sharp as they used to be.

How to replace Cricut Blades?

Cricut blades are very easy to change. Just be careful because they are very sharp and I don’t want you to get cut!

The Fine Point, Deep Point, and Bonded Fabric are very easy to change. Just press the top of the blade, remove it with your hands and insert the new blade with the housing upside down.

The other blades – Rotary and Knife, are a little bit more tricky. So the best way for you to learn how to change the blades is by watching! Check out these YouTube videos, and become an expert to change the blades.

Note: I will be creating my videos soon, so Subscribe to my channel and press the bell, so you get notified! It’s also a great way to support me 🙂

Learn How to replace Rotary Blade

Learn How to replace the Knife Blade

How to Care for my Cricut Blades

Caring for your Cricut blades will increase their life. Blades and housings are quite the investment, so make sure you are doing your best to care for them at all times.

Here are a couple of tips for you to take care of your precious blades.

The best way to care for your blades is by using them with the right materials. It can be tempting to try to cut something thicker with the fine point blade if you don’t have have the Deep Point one.

However, not only your project won’t be appropriately cut, but you will also add extra wear and tear to the blade.

Make sure to keep the plastic cover for blades – and also scoring wheel – that has a drive housing. This cover protects the gears of the housing. When you remove the cover, you are exposing the blade & housing to small particles like hair and dust.

Put them away when they are not in use.

How to Store your Cricut Blades

My favorite way to store my blades is inside the Cricut itself. I love that they wherever my Cricut is. You can also have them in a small box or container.

The Compartments inside the Cricut Machines are specifically designed to hold your blades – They thought of everything – For the replacement blades there’s a metallic magnet that will keep them in place at all times.

The Cricut Maker has even more storage for you to keep the blades in place!

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However you decide to store them, make sure to put them way far away from your children’s – or anyone else that doesn’t know that’s a blade – reach.

How to Sharpen Cricut blades

Honesty is key!

I haven’t tried to sharpen my Cricut blades yet. They are still very sharp, but since I wanted you to give you all you needed to know in this article, I wanted to share something cool I found out about.

While researching and learning about the Cricut blades, I found out an excellent way for you to sharpen your Fine and Deep point blades!

The secret is, Aluminum Foil!

Make a little ball with aluminum foil, press the top of the housing so you can see the tip of the blade and poke the ball for about a minute or so.

Frequent Cricut Blades Problems

There might be a point where you’ll feel frustrated about your blades.

Maybe your blades are not cutting well, dragging the materials, cutting too deep, or simply not cutting at all!

Most of these problems can be solved by checking out your settings, especially if you modified them in the past to cut a custom material.

Maybe your mats are not stabilizing the material correctly, and you need to change them, or perhaps it’s time for you to replace the blade.

If these little things don’t solve your problems, check out this post from the Cricut Website for this particular problem. They walk you through everything you need to know!

Don’t leave yet!

I love creating and designing printables. However, I don’t have enough time to create a post for every single design, but I still want to create them!

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