The blades used are 2mm shaft blades. Most blades compatible with Cricut and similar vinyl cutters will work. These blades are inexpensive and readily available through a number of outlets including Amazon. BE AWARE: The blades with black or painted shafts will not work as they must be conductive to work with the touch plate.
The CarveWright drag knife uses a blade holder similar to the type used in vinyl cutters like the Cricut. This blade holder has a .5 shaft to fit in the CarveTight and is electrically conductive so that it can use the touch plate to locate the blade tip without damaging the blade. The blades are held in place with a magnet and the plunger at the top is used to push the blade out for easy removal.
Choosing Your Blade
In Designer 5, under select bit, you will select Drag Knife Adapter in the Drag Knife folder. The blades themselves don’t require different parameters, so you will simply install your blade of choice based on material. The blades for this adaptor are standard 2mm Roland/Cricut cutting blades.
- 45º (blue) blade is great vinyl and other thin material cutting.
- 60º (red) blade is ideal for cutting thicker materials that benefit from the longer cutting surface.
Controlling the Drag Knife
The drag knife adjusts its downward force using bit depth settings. This means that the drag knife depth setting is not the actual depth of the cut. It only determines the force applied by the machine during cutting. That force (depth setting) needs to be slightly greater than the material’s thickness to ensure it can push through. Thicker and harder materials require higher force for effective cutting. We’ve created some general guidelines for most materials.
General Settings Guide
THIN MATERIALS:
Thinner materials add .01-.02 inches to the material thickness depending on hardness.
Examples:
- Cardstock: 0.01 inch (0.27 mm) + .02 inch = .03 inch depth setting
- Paper: 0.005 inch (0.12 mm) + .01 inch = .02 inch depth setting
- Adhesive Vinyl: 0.008 inch (0.2 mm) + .02 inch = .03 inch depth setting
THICK MATERIALS:
Thicker materials add .03-.04 inches to the material thickness depending on hardness.
Examples:
- Fabrics: 0.015 inch (0.37 mm) + .03 inch = .05 inch depth setting
- Thin Leather: 0.05 inch (1.6 mm) + .03 inch = .08 inch depth setting
- Craft foam: 0.07 inch (1.778 mm) + .03 inch = .1 inch depth setting
Note: Leather and other thicker materials work best when cut using multiple passes. Always keep the pass depth no longer than the sharpened length of the blade.
- 45 degree blade sharpened length = .03 inch (general purpose)
- 60 degree blade sharpened length = .06 inch (for thicker materials)
For The Best Settings
When using a new material, set up a series of small test cuts using the guide above to determine the best settings for that material. If you observe the cuts going too deep into your cutting surface, use a lesser depth setting.
Holding Material
It is important to create a flat surface for reliably mounting your material for the cutting operations. The easiest way to do this is with a flat carrier board with a tacky side on top.
We found there are many sources for sticky cutting mats designed for use in Cricut and other vinyl cutting machines. Tacky glues can also be used to make your own surface. Our jig is a combination.
When laying your material on the cutting mat, add some scrap material on the front and back edge of the areas to prevent the rollers from sticking and pulling the material’s edges. In fact, It is a good idea to use scrap material on all areas not used to preserve the stickiness and to prevent the rollers from catching and pulling
Cutting
When cutting the spindle motor isn’t running so the entire process is also very quiet! If, during the cutting, you start to see some tearing of the material, it is likely an indication that the blade is getting dull.