I had a similar problem once; the blade went thump, thump, thump; carried it to a quilt shop for help. They took it apart and compared with an identical one, and there was a part missing. So I had to buy a new one. BlueBars

I bought a sharpener and at first I was excited about it but not so much any more. Once that blade loses its edge it seems I can never really get it back. I wish they had something with a diamond dust or ceramic dial -- something more stable. My sharpener has a disc in the middle that looks like sand paper and it seems to wear out much faster than any blades ever sharpen... ALSO -- while I'm whining about blades -- I don't know if I press too hard or am doing something else wrong, but my blades sure don't seem to stay sharp very long. Others have said they can cut a queen size quilt out of one blade but I seems to me the first 10 slices are glorious and then it's all down hill. I DO cut a full quilt w/ one blade simply because I refuse to change it -- but by the time I'm done, half the time it looks like a moth chewed the edges of the pieces...

I keep a small piece of batting and a small square of rubberized carpet padding in my blades packs to use to separate the blades and protect my fingers. I did the very same thing when I took a class and put in a new blade, the instructor knew immediately what the problem was!

They do work if the blade is just a bit dull, but not if it's very dull. They will not polish out any nicks in the blade. That said, the blade is never as sharp as a fresh blade, it's a royal PITA to use, and I found the design a bit dangerous. The blades often slipped around, creating a risk of slicing off a finger or two. There is a lot of "handling" of the blade during the process (out of the cutter, into and out of the sharpener a minimum of 4 times, back into the cutter) and every step with the risk of cutting yourself. I tossed mine, and consider the money wasted.