(Reposted from my forum for your convenience.)

There are 2 kinds of replacement blade packages available as accessories for the Craft ROBO and Silhouette craft cutters.

The first kind is a complete replacement package that contains a plastic blade housing, 3 colored caps, and a black protective cap. This package usually costs anywhere from $20 to $30.

The other kind is a replacement blade pin, which does not include the plastic housing or the caps. Replacement blade pins generally cost about $10.

I'm going to show you guys how to replace the blade pin in an existing plastic housing. First, this is how the blade pins are packaged:



It's a plastic clamshell that contains one blade pin. Here you can see the blade pin itself, with a protective rubber cap:



In the photo below, the new blade pin is shown next to a plastic blade housing, which is about to have its dull blade pin replaced.



The first step, naturally, is to unscrew the colored cap from the blade housing:



Next, use a pen or a pair of tweezers to pop out the old blade pin, as shown below. Make sure you do this over a table or something so the old blade pin doesn't obey the law of gravity and consequently impale you in the foot:



You might notice a tiny C-shaped piece of plastic fall out the back of the plastic housing. That's the retaining clip for the blade pin--you don't really need it, but reinstalling it only requires a pair of flat tweezers.

After you've removed the old blade pin, slide the new one into the plastic housing:



Screw the colored cap back on.



Done!

The only thing you really need to remember after this point is that if you leave the retaining clip off, make sure that when you're changing blade caps, point the blade housing *up*, not down. Otherwise, the blade pin might slide out.

Buying blade pins is a lot cheaper than buying the whole blade housing package, and replacing them is easy. You should only buy a new blade housing package if the blade housing itself breaks--if you just have a dull blade, buy a new blade pin instead.

-Mel

Awesome! Thanks Mel!

I'm well over 700 pages now into my first blade, and it's still not showing any signs of being dull, although I purchased 5 spare blades. At this rate, I should be good for years. lol

I've taken the actual blade out of the holder. The little white ring fell out. I did put it back on.

I have the Silhouette SD so does it matter which way the blade goes into the black holder or does it adjust itself when you cut? I find it very loose now so that when I change the caps, the blade always falls out.

Thanks

It's a swiveling drag knife, which means it'll always steer the sharp edge into the direction of the cut. (That's why the machine sometimes makes a short cut before it actually starts cutting the model. It's orienting the blade.)

So, no, it doesn't matter which direction the blade is pointing when you insert it.



From the first post:



-Mel

Just brought two sets of 3 blades via eBay from printerprovider, and tried one out, replacing the blade was as easy as shown, I found a old tool i used to use at work to strip wire from connector blocks, was just the right size to replace the plastic clip on the top of the blade holder..

Sob