I had trouble cutting with my old blade. I didn't think it was that long and doubted the blade was the problem. I figured it was the voltage, not the bearing. After trying everything I gave up and bought this set of knives. Attach a medium-sized blade (1/4 inch) and tighten the tension. Bang what's the difference! - It was a bad (stupid) blade problem. So far I've only used one blade, but no problems. Pretty good value for money. in a pack of 3. I also noticed that the price has gone down since I bought them. Please note that I'm only a weekend warrior, so I can't compare the quality that an average user might want. But I'm quite satisfied.