Self healing mats? What are they and where are they?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Tools
1

Ok, I hate to ask such a pointless question but I’m having a hard time finding them. I know “most” of them are green and have various line markings on them. So I actually know what they look like in theory. I’ve seen them in MicroMark’s catalogue but the price seemed a bit steep for something I would think should be readily available at almost any decent craft store.

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday with the wife picking up a few things and I looked in the “craft” section. All I found there was a mat by Fiskars while it matched the above description ( of being green in color and having line markings ) it was really hard with a “transparent layer of plastic” over it, which didn’t seem like packaging to me. It was so hard that the first run down something like this with a hobby knife would instantly render the blade dull and useless.

I’ve also checked at Hobby Lobby, I looked in the “sewing/cloth” section but couldn’t find anything, so I “bothered” an employee by asking her, who just gave me a dumbfounded, confused look and said she’d never heard of one.

I haven’t been to Michael’s yet as it’s quite away from the house…

So what do these mats look like? Are they soft or hard? Where might I find one, besides Micro-Mark.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions, and sorry again for asking something so petty as this.
Rob

2

They are green, usually ruled, about 1/8 inch thick, and edge on have one or two obvious layers. The surface can be deformed slightly with a fingernail, and they are fairly stiff.

The mats sold for sewing are not intended for cutting use, but rather for marking and sliding scissors along.

Drafting and some craft stores carry them—ask for a cutting mat, rather than for a self-healing mat.

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Stapples! Ask for a cutting mat. They always have plenty of them.

4

So the Fiskars mat that I passed on at Wal-Mart was more than likely it…DOH. I just really expected it to be softer…

Well if that’s what I passed on, I’m gonna have to go back and get it as it was quite a bit larger than Micro-Marks largest size and about half the price.

Thanks Triarus…

Yann, I only wish we had a staples here in town…I sure do miss em.

5

I’m not entirely sure the Fiskars mat is what you want… last I saw at the fabric store was not a self healing mat. It should say so, clearly, if it is.

6

Nope! This is not a “self healing” cutting mat, this is working mat simply. What you should look for is an ESSELTE cutting mat and it is not covered with any plastic and the texture is rather hard.

X-Acto also makes a self-healing mat for about $20 (12" x 18")

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So the Fiskars mat that I passed on at Wal-Mart was more than likely it…DOH. I just really expected it to be softer…
I recently got a Fiskars self- healing at Wal-Mart, 12"X18" for about $10. And I spilled Tenax on it the next day. It’s gray w/orange grid.

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What effect did the Tenax have on it?

9

I picked up a Fiskars 12" x 18" cutting mat - [use with rotary cutters and hobby knives; durable, self-healing surface] at Wal*Mart for around $10 or $12.
The front is a dark gray with orange ruler markings. The center looks white, the back is a light grey and it’s really thin. Item # : 8611. Hope that helps some.

Oh one word of caution! Darn thing smells like a skunk [yuck]

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When I grabbed a rag and did the first wipe up the orange grid came off. Should have wicked it up with a paper towel. Oh well stuff happens.

11

When I was young, I used my mothers Quilting mat for building a model. They are not self-healing and react poorly to chemicals and sharp objects.

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michael’s does have them. try the drafting-type section.

never even thought about ruining the markings on mine, haven’t used them yet. then again i barely use the mat. just cut things on the desk. (it doesn’t look so hot now but oh well [:)])

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If you have access to a store that sells drafting/mechanical drawing supplies, see if it can sell you a drafting board cover. The one I bought seems to be made of the same material that the “self-healing mats” are, but board covers come in big sheets for much less money. The typical old-fashioned draftsman fastened his board cover down to his drafting board (frequently, as in my case, made from a low-priced wood door) with double-sided tape. Such a surface would be pretty good for building models.

14

Check out those cheap discount clearing stores (like the ones they call “$2 shops” here in Aus) too. I picked up one of those green A4 size cutting mats, much the same as the “name brand” ones for A$2.95 (ok, so it wasn’t exactly $2 [:P])

15

I bought a roll of that long ago from Charrette to cover my old drafting board. Guess I could have search for that somewhere in all our storage boxes. [D)]

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Well I got my mat…24x24 for $16 here locally today so my search is over.

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So much discussion for something so simple![:)]

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I got my mat from tandy leather 10 years ago for less then 20$. Its meant to pound holes through leather and not damage the tool… It is about 16 x 16 It works rather well for simply cutting on. Not sure how it would react to Tenax and honestly I dont want to find out. Ive pounded atleast a 1000 holes on this matt and it could easily do 1000 more. I would highly recommend 1 of these.