Sharpening a Rotary Blade

 Rotary blades are consumables in the quilting workspace.  A sharp blade 

• promotes accuracy:  A dull blade pulls and stretches fabric when you press down on it if it is unable to cut.  You will see this most notably on bias cuts...pay attention to how the fabric is behaving under the ruler--and you can see this unwanted movement.
• increases production:  If  you cut through many layers, you produce more product per cut. Nothing is more aggravating than trying to cut through layers and then cutting the endless threads or section that were not cleaved through on the first pass.
• reduces fatigue: if you can increase your production, reduce re-cutting, you are physically doing less. 

 I became acutely aware of the importance of reducing fatigue when I was making so many HST and QST units for my Modified Betwixt.  Making 240 units of one unit and 180 blocks of another really brought home how optimizing one's cutting strategy could reduce unnecessary steps.  Unnecessary steps mean more time and more wear and tear on your hand/shoulder unit.

I've considered getting a rotary blade sharpener.  However, I've seen mixed results.  Karen Brown  (Just Get it Done Quilts) has good things to say about her purchase.

As I have a knife fetish, I have many useful sharpening tools in the kitchen.  Because I have a Diamond DMT sharpening set

I conscripted the extra fine stone into service.  I have stones, but because I wanted to sharpen my rotary blade in its holder, the low profile of this stone was perfect.  I didn't feel like I needed to go through any stages.  Further, to be clear, one could just as easily mess up a blade.  So my maiden voyage was on a blade that I would have replaced.

 My initial approach was awkward.  Because the blade was still in the holder, I could only make very short movements of the blade on the stone.  I ensured that my angle was not too acute as to dull the blade or worse, misshapen it.

To my surprise and delight, it worked very well.  The small spot that was skipping now cut straight through.  Therefore, with little time and effort, I was able to improve my results.

Nevertheless, I realize these are consumables, and I always keep plenty on hand for all of the aforementioned reasons why keeping a sharp blade is preferred.

If you have some knife sharpening skills and the equipment, it might be worth a try.  I would not undertake this method otherwise.