The CB09 (Aluminum) Blade Holder

CB09 blade holder

Finally!!! Here is the long overdue promise to post all the information I had gathered regarding the CB09 blade holder, otherwise popularly known as the aluminum blade holder, which is an alternative blade holder for the Silhouette Cameo machine, the Portrait machine and the older model, the Silhouette SD machine.

Cameo machine with the CB09 blade holder

Although I was perfectly happy with my Silhouette SD machine, I just couldn’t resist the temptation and upgraded to the Silhouette Cameo last November. But before I did, I made sure that my beloved CB09 blade holder will work perfectly well with the Cameo just as it did with my Silhouette SD. I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive initially even after being assured by a couple of Silhouette dealers but after just one try, my beloved CB09 blade holder was cutting perfectly like butter with my Cameo. Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance!!! 




Cameo with the Silhouette ratchet blade holder

The CB09 blade holder and the Silhouette ratchet blade holder

Please note that although I had a problem with my Silhouette blade holder that came with my Cameo machine, it did cut perfectly as well as the replacement sent by Silhouette America. The problem I had was not with the blade itself but with the mechanism of the ratchet that somehow got loose that caused the blade not to protrude no matter which setting I turned it to. I never had any problem with the replacement blade sent to me. I actually like the much improved Silhouette ratchet blade holder as it cuts just as well as my aluminium blade holder. The only reason why I opted to use the CB09 blade holder is because the blades are a fraction of the cost of the Silhouette blades and last longer.

The Difference Between the Silhouette Blade Holder and the CB09 Blade Holder

The blades used for the old Silhouette blade holder, the new Silhouette ratchet blade holder and the CB09 blade holder are all the same kind of blade. The difference among these 3 blade holders is the housing mechanism which determines the blade setting. The old Silhouette blade holder (3 colored caps set-up) and the new Silhouette ratchet blade holder both have predetermined blade settings while the CB09 blade holder does not. The user needs to determine the desired setting relative to the material being cut by turning the adjustment knob at the end of the holder which allows for far greater flexibility in the settings adjustment. It's a bit of a learning curb initially but once you get familiar with your desired settings, it becomes second nature. I've been using the CB09 blade holder for more than a year now now and I've never had any problems with it.

Important tip: I suggest starting with the same amount of blade protrusion (exposure) as with the Silhouette blade at number 3 and start from there. You may need to go a tad more but not a whole lot. The less blade exposure, the better. Take a very close look at the photo below. The Silhouette ratchet blade holder is at a setting of '3'. This is how much blade exposure you would like for the CB09 blade holder for cutting medium to heavy card stock (up to 220 gsm). Once you've determined the accurate setting and are able to achieve the desired clean cuts, you don't ever need to make any further adjustment on the blade depth in the blade holder unnecessarily. If you need to cut different kind of material, all you need to do is adjust the cut settings in the Silhouette Studio program, NOT the CB09 blade holder. If cutting heavier materials, you'll get cleaner cuts by simply checking 'double cut' instead of exposing the blade further out in the blade holder.



The 3 Different Blade Angles: 30, 45 and 60 Degrees

There are 3 types of blades classified by the varying angles of the blade:: 30, 45, and 60 degrees. The colored caps are merely used to protect the tip of the blade and the colors are not a standard in determining the particular angle of the blade. For my personal use, I assigned the colors as indicated below. The second photo clearly shows the difference in the angle of the blade.

The primary rationale for the the different angles is cutting depth. A lower angle is ideal for cutting thinner materials while a steeper angle can penetrate deeper and is therefore better suited for cutting thicker materials and designs with more detail as the finer pointed tip can easily maneuver the constant curves and turns of an intricate design.

Points to consider:

An increased amount of blade dragging through the material when cutting fine detail can cause, what is called, vinyl ears (parts lifted up). With minimal blade in the material, a 60 degree blade tends to cause fewer, if any, vinyl ears. Technically speaking, using a 60 degree blade on everyday cutting is a waste of a blade. Less of the blade's cutting area is used, and blade life is wasted. The more horizontal cutting orientation of the 45 degree blade accurately distributes the cutting task over a larger blade area, and thus lasts longer.

It boils down to how much of the blade edge is in contact with the media. The cutting is either performed by a tiny section of the blade or dispersed along a larger section. The edge of the 60 degree blade is more perpendicular to the media therefore the contact spot on the edge must do all the work which makes the blade get dull a lot faster. The edge of the 45 degree blade runs more parallel to the media and the cutting wear is spread over a larger section of the blade which makes it stand a better chance for smoother cuts.

Generally:
30 degrees blade - used for thinner material
45 degrees blade - used for medium to heavy materials
60 degrees blade - used for thicker material and more detailed designs

I only cut regular card stocks so I've only been using the 45 degrees blade.

CB09 Blade Holder Assembly

Unfortunately, the CB09 blade holder does not come with any instructions that's why I made a photo tutorial which I shared on the Silhouette Users Yahoo group. These are exactly the same photos:




























The CB09 blade holder is compatible with all the models of Silhouette machines. Here is a comparison of the cuts between the Silhouette auto blade and CB09 using the Cameo 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsjtMElL5dU

How to put the blade in the blade holder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EVRb7L-V3o&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCJhVxqaTh8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpjIgtHgsv4

How to adjust the blade setting for cutting depth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Ws7EwSR-Z-Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQsv0d4FOcU

https://signoftimess.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/blade-depth-and-pressure/

***If the 'hand' of your mouse pointer does not appear when you click on the links above, simply select the complete address and right click on your mouse and click on 'go to......'

Happy crafting,
Ligaya

             *******************************************************************************

UPDATE: August 9, 2012:

I bought my second CB09 blade holder and experienced the same problem shared by some users. The blade holder did not go through the slot of the machine as smoothly as it should. The vendor was willing to replace it but he made me try polishing it with a fine sandpaper and that actually solved the problem. Another user form Europe had the same problem which was fixed with the same solution. She posted this on her blog which I posted as a comment to this post to add the link to her blog where she posted photos of the problem and how she fixed it. Another user, a friend of mine, had the same problem, too, and because she didn't have any sandpaper handy, she simply used her nail file (emery board) which worked perfectly.The holder should glide in as easily as the Silhouette blade holder. It should not be forced into the slot. If you encounter the same problem and polishing fails, please let the vendor know and he will replace it.

                        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE July 4, 2013

I just want to share the experience of a new user of the CB09 blade holder, Debbie. I read her comment in the Silhouette Plus Group which had a link to her blog post. Debbie is a great designer and shares her files for free just like I do. She does many great projects and I consider her an authority and value her opinion when it comes to the use of  the Silhouette Cameo machine and the Studio sotfware. She has some valuable information on the CB09 blade holder: http://www.paperpulse.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-better-and-less-expensive-blade.html. By coincidence, her friend, Kim Bell, mentioned on her blog was the same lady from the USA that I helped with her CB09 blade holder. Kim sent me the supposedly CB09 blade holder that she purchased from a supplier in the USA. She was through the roof with her frustration with this blade holder as it would not cut any card stock. When I got the blade holder, I immediately saw that it is not the correct CB09 blade holder. I sent back the holder to her so she can return it to the store. She asked me the favor of ordering the CB09 blade holder for her from my eBay supplier and set it up for her. She sent me samples of card stocks that she uses like Stampin' Up, Recollections and Copic Paper, all of which are very thick, about 220 gsm. The CB09 did, of course, cut all these like butter. See the posted comment of Kim Bell below.

                     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: August 1, 2013 - Success With The 60 Degrees Blade

Please see my post regarding my successful use of the 60 degrees blade in cutting a cereal box. Not only was I successful in cutting a thicker material, I also discovered how much better the 60 degrees blade is in cutting intricate designs with very fine lines. I've only been using the 45 degrees all along until yesterday when I was getting frustrated with a particular vine design which I had to reduce into a small size to fit nicely over the shutters of a window card I'm trying to finish. For some reasons, I could not get a perfect cut with this particular design with my new 45 degrees blade so I thought of using my 60 degrees blade. OMG, I was amazed how perfect the cut was with one pass and I did not even need to weed any part. The vine literally fell off by itself from the negative of the card stock. Really amazing!!! I've always known that the 60 degrees blade is good for intricate designs as well as thicker materials as reported above in my research but since I've always been successful with my 45 degrees blades, I never bothered with the 60 degrees blades until now. I now use the 60 degrees regularly for designs with very intricate designs and for thicker card stocks.

Ideally, you should maintain at least 2 blade holders, one for the 45 degrees blade for cutting regular cardstocks and the other for the 60 degrees blade for cutting thicker materials like the cereal box. This way, you don't need to fiddle with your CB09 blade holder blade adjustment every time you shift between material types. For intricate cuts on regular cardstock, you can simply replace the 45 degrees blade with the 60 degrees blade without the need to readjust the blade setting. If adjustments need to be made, they can be done on your Silhouette Studio cut settings.

Love love love the 60 degrees blade!!! Happy dance!!!

                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: February 25, 2015

Here is an exciting update for CB09 users by Debbie from Paper Pulse Blog. A fellow CB09 user, Pete, shared a wonderful idea on the use of the CB09 on the Silhouette Plus forum. He came up with a template for a numbered settings for the CB09 which is pretty much the same as the Silhouette ratchet blade. He even shared the template which is a Silhouette Studio file which you can download from Debbie's Paper Pulse Blog. I have not tried Pete's idea yet.

                            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE October 1, 2015 - VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE - No need to polish down CB09 blade holder that won't fit in the Silhouette machine

For those who find their CB09 blade holder unable to fit into the blade holder slot of their Silhouette machine, you can simply remove the knob by pulling it out and slide the blade holder into the slot and then put back the knob and lock it securely. The old Cameo model has the knob in blue color, it works exactly the same way. Thank you so much to the Silhouette School for making this video and sharing it. Now we know that there is actually no need to sand/polish down the CB09 blade holder to fit the Silhouette machine. The video also shows how to put the blade in the blade holder and turn the screw for blade adjustment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpjIgtHgsv4

                         -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE October 1, 2015 - Putting the numbered setting marker on the CB09

You can download the Studio file for the template on the number setting guide for the CB09 from Paper Pulse Blog. Here is a video tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1wTnbV2AG0

                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE November 7, 2015 - Incorrect CB09 Blade Holder

Please be warned of an incorrect 'CB09' blade holder. I found this video demonstrating the difference between the correct CB09 and incorrect one. I'm aware of the difference in the hole size as someone sent me her blade holder to compare with mine which turned out to be the CB15 based on the much larger blades. The CB09 blades just falls off the hole of the CB15 blade holder. I was not able to measure the hole size. The one with the bigger hole in the video may be the CB15 which has exactly the same appearance as the CB09 and although it can also fit in the Cameo (and Portrait), it won't work as it is meant for cutting machines with so much more powerful cutting force. The correct CB09 blade when fitted in the correct CB09 blade holder is positioned in the center of the hole and although the blade moves around freely, it stays right in the center and will not fall off the holder.

Demonstrating an incorrect CB09 blade holder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J1ypAUIgkQ

                        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------


**************************************************************************

I would love to hear your feedback on this. Please post your comment below.

Happy crafting!

Ligaya

Silhouette Cameo Cover Tutorial

I made covers for my Silhouette SD and shared them with friends and I made another one for my Silhouette Cameo when I got it last November. I was going to make a tutorial to share on my blog but I found one on Pinterest that the creator is generously sharing. I made mine exactly the same way. This cover is simply for protecting your machine from dust.

For the tutorial: Silhouette cover tutorial

Don't forget to check out my new cards on my previous posts. 

UPDATE:
The website for the link above has been under construction for a while now so I went searching for another tutorial with a free pattern and found this: http://kathleendriggers.com/2012/02/04/free-silhouette-cameo-dust-cover-pattern/

Update: October 28, 2014
Here is another link, it's working a/o this writing :-):  http://kathleendriggers.com/free-silhouette-cameo-dust-cover-pattern/

My Silhouette Cameo

Although I was perfectly happy with my Silhouette SD, I just couldn't resist the temptation and went ahead and purchased the Silhouette Cameo last November. Great decision!!! As good as the Silhouette SD was, Silhouette America found ways to improve the great machine. For one, I find it much quieter. It does cut better. And the wider cutting area gives me so much more flexibility for larger designs such as boxes and envelopes. And it helps me save on paper as I use 12" x 12" paper pads a lot. I just love the 'pause' button on the machine, for one, to put my cutting on hold while checking the initial cuts so I can adjust my cut settings if necessary. You can use both the 12-inch and 8-inch mats. 

I always use 2 books, one at the front and another at the back, to level my mat while cutting to keep the paper stuck on the mat. Without these, there is a tendency for the paper to separate from the mat. 

Just like my Silhouette SD, I made a cover for my Cameo. My next post will feature a tutorial on how to make your own cover to protect your machine from dust.

Don't forget to check out my new cards on my previous posts. 

UPDATE: October 30, 2013

Wheeew, I can't believe that it has already been 2 years since I bought my beloved Silhouette Cameo. I can proudly tell you that I'm still loving it as much as I did two years ago, if not more :-). I'm really very happy with this machine. Just take a look at all the cards that I have created with it. And with my CB09 blade holder, my Cameo produces amazing clean and perfect cuts.

For my followers in the Philippines, you will be pleased to know that I do sell the Silhouette Cameo machine and its accessories along with other craft tools and machines like the Sizzix Big Shot machine, the Cuttlebug machine plus other craft supplies like cardstocks (solids and pattern), lots of dies by Spellbinders, Marianne Designs, and Quickutz, Martha Stewart punches and whole lot more. For inquiries, you can email me at ligayatg at yahoo dot com (no spaces) or just leave a comment on this post with your email address.

For the Silhouette owners in the Philippines, please join our Facebook group where you can enjoy valuable tips and information on the use of the different models of the Silhouette machine and its software, both the basic Silhouette Studio and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition (SSDE).

For more resources on the Silhouette machines and its software Silhouette Studio, visit my Pinterest board for tons of tutorials.

Ornate Heart Frame

I was struck by the beauty and elegance of the original of this card the minute I saw it that I ended up doing something I've never done before. I just wanted to have exactly the same card so I ended up recreating the card 'as is' copying every detail from its color, size and down to every detail on the card. This is my very first copycat card! I've done mono-chromatic cards before and I love them. I saw the original of this card from Pinterest on Gerry Brow's board which led me to the blog of its creator:
http://creativemomentswithsandy.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-02-01T11:13:00-05:00&max-results=10

The beautiful ornate heart frame is a punch by Cheery Lynn Designs called Celtic Heart. I came up with the idea of putting a sentiment on the negative of the punched heart. I applied the 'faux chipboard' technique on the heart frame by gluing 3 layers of the cutout to make it sturdy, thus, creating a great 3D effect.

Items used for the card:

1. Card stock - very light peach, with a bit of
    shimmer (purchased from a local store here)
2. Heart Frame - punch by Cheery Lynn Designs:
                         Celtic Heart
3. Embossing folders used:
    a) Top:  Fiskars Texture Template - Hearts
    b) Bottom:  Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Musical Flourish
4. Border - Silhouette store: lace_border_C00277_17986
5. Flourish (leaves) - Silhouette store: leaves_corner_set_C00262_21585
     I removed the ring in the middle and cut the leaves in half to save on paper space when cutting
     so the 2 leaves are actually 2 pieces instead of just one  - the joint is covered by the silk flower.
     I used the manual embossing technique to add dimension on the leaves. This technique is
     explained on my Mother's Day card posted last year:
    http://ligayatg.blogspot.com/2011/04/mothers-day-card.html
6. Flower - is just an ordinary silk flower that I bought from a local store here

I recreated the card using pattern paper by K & Company. Both the old rose color scheme and the yellow color scheme are from the same paper pad called 'Julianne'. Please note that K & Company carries another paper pad by the same exact name 'Julianne' Designer Paper which has more blues in it and comes in a pad of 54 double sided sheets. The 'Julianne' pad that I used is called Specialty Paper and has only 28 double sided sheets.

The designs used for the yellow scheme card:

 1. Flower - Silhouette store: flower_0108
2. Flourish - Silhouette store: combination of 2 designs:
                    a) decorative_leaf_cluster_C00530_19210
                    b) house_of_3_swirly_flourish_C00073_23444

I used the same manual embossing technique (mentioned above) to add dimension on the flourishes.

The bottom paper of both the old rose and yellow card were embossed using the same Cuttlebug embossing folder Musical Flourish' used on the mono-chromatic card.

Please check out my new previous posts. I'm most definitely back!

Thanks for stopping by.

Camera Card

My dear goddaughter asked me the favor of making this card for her special friend for the 7th year that they have known each other. She wanted the perfect card for the occasion but couldn't find anything close to what she wants. I just couldn't say no when she asked me although I was a bit apprehensive as I don't really enjoy making cards for men and worse, I don't even know the guy. She mentioned that her friend is just crazy over a camera that he recently purchased and I thought of evolving my design  concept with the camera.

I created a JPEG file of the particular model of the camera from the Olympus website and printed the photos of the camera, front and back, and inserted an actual photo of the two of them on the camera display. I created a backing with a fold that I inserted between the front and back of the camera so that the camera can easily be flipped to show the back just as you would with a real camera. She gave me the exact wordings for the sentiment of the card which I put on a simple tag hanging on the front just like a price tag. The 'Picture Perfect' sentiment was my idea which was my original design to give more emphasis on their beautiful friendship.The camera alone was too plain so I added the corner borders, the simplest I can create. The biggest challenge in creating this card was how to make it simple and 'manly' without making it look boring which is always the difficulty in making cards for men. It's no fun making a card without all the frills and embellies that we all love to add.

I was actually very pleased with how the card turned out and more importantly, my goddaughter was extremely happy with the card. 

More Graduation Cards

It's graduation season once again so I've been very busy with graduation cards. For those who have not seen my graduation card, please see my post http://ligayatg.blogspot.com/2011/04/graduation-cap-card.html

For the color of the cap, I always use the actual school color of my recipient or sometimes the actual color of their graduation cap. here are some of the cards that I recently made:

I Chose The Silhouette Cameo!!!

I can't believe that my last post was last January! I've been getting some e-mail inquiring what I've been up to as I haven't had any activity on my blog for 3 months. I actually have not stopped creating cards, in fact, I've actually been keeping my Cameo quite busy as I've been enjoying it sooooo much! 

Yes, after the long struggle between the Zing and the Cameo, I ended up with the Cameo and I just love it! I just think that the Cameo cuts so much better than my replaced Silhouette SD. I'm still not giving up on the Zing though as I still want a stronger cutting force to be able to cut thicker materials. I simply chickened out while reading all the negative reviews about the Zing by the early owners late last year. I'm impressed by how Sandy and her group were handling the situation and how diligently they were addressing each and every issue. I've also heard about a lot of happy owners and like I said, I haven't given up on it yet :).

Before I purchased the Cameo, I made a research to make sure that my CB09 blade holder, otherwise known as the aluminum blade holder, which worked perfectly with the Silhouette SD, would also work just as well with the Cameo. I was told by a couple of Silhouette dealers that it does. And the GREAT NEWS is, I've tried it myself and it REALLY DOES work with the Cameo!!! Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance! I've been using my Cameo since November and have always used my CB09 blade holder with it. PLEASE NOTE that although I did have a problem with the ratchet blade that came with my Cameo, I was able to get a replacement for it immediately and I never had any problem with the replacement blade sent to me, in fact, I actually love the much improved Silhouette ratchet blade holder as it cuts just as well as my aluminium blade holder. It truly cuts like butter. I’m inclined to think that the kind of blade used in the Silhouette ratchet blade holder is just the same as the blades used for aluminum blade holder. The only reason why I opted to use the aluminium blade holder is because the blades are a fraction of the cost of the Silhouette blades and last longer. I reserve using my Silhouette ratchet blade for cutting 'sticker paper' which I use for labels. The setting of "1" is perfect for cutting the sheets and other very light paper. I don't want to bother adjusting the setting of my CB09 blade holder which I use for pretty much the same weight of card stock for my card making, from 180 gsm, mostly 220 gsm up to 230 gsm.

I've compiled all the information regarding the aluminum blade holder and will be writing a separate post detailing all the information. I know that this will be greatly appreciated by a lot of Silhouette SD and Cameo users who want to know more about alternative blades for one reason or another. I know that I promised this a long time ago but never got around into doing it until now. I'll just be posting some of the cards that I've been doing and then I will work on the aluminum blade holder post.

Hello everyone..... I'm definitely back :).

UPDATE: October 30, 2013

I completely forgot about this post, sorry! For those wondering about the CB09 blade holder, I did post a detailed report on this aluminum blade holder.

Wheeew, I can't believe that it has already been 2 years since I bought my beloved Silhouette Cameo. I can proudly tell you that I'm still loving it as much as I did two years ago, if not more :-). I'm really very happy with this machine. Just take a look at all the cards that I have created with it. And with my CB09 blade holder, my Cameo produces amazing clean and perfect cuts.

For my followers in the Philippines, you will be pleased to know that I do sell the Silhouette Cameo machine and its accessories along with other craft tools and machines like the Sizzix Big Shot machine, the Cuttlebug machine plus other craft supplies like cardstocks (solids and pattern), lots of dies by Spellbinders, Marianne Designs, and Quickutz, Martha Stewart punches and whole lot more. For inquiries, you can email me at ligayatg at yahoo dot com (no spaces) or just leave a comment on this post with your email address.

For the Silhouette owners in the Philippines, please join our Facebook group where you can enjoy valuable tips and information on the use of the different models of the Silhouette machine and its software, both the basic Silhouette Studio and the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition (SSDE).

For more resources on the Silhouette machines and its software Silhouette Studio, visit my Pinterest board for tons of tutorials.