How to Cut Rubber Matting: It’s So Easy

This video shows how easily the Slice® Manual Utility Knife cuts through Wearwell flooring. Slice also makes an Auto-Retractable Utility Knife and Smart-Retracting Utility Knife. Slice offers rounded tip blades and pointed tip blades for all three utility knives. The best option for you depends on how you’ll use the tool, and the level of safety you require.

Knowing how to cut rubber matting will save you the time and cost of hiring someone else to do it, and you’ll be able to make custom mats to fit your specific needs. This material may look tough to handle, but learning how to cut heavy duty rubber mats is easier than you might think.

Rubber mats, also called anti-fatigue mats or rubber tile, are useful in a variety of settings, so once you get a handle on the best way to cut rubber flooring, you may find yourself seeing more opportunities for using it. Rubber flooring provides cushioning for areas where you stand a lot, like in the kitchen, at a workshop table, or at a standing desk.

You may also be cutting rubber mats for an area where a soft surface is preferable to a hard floor, but where you may not want carpet. This includes children’s playrooms, outdoor play areas, and home gyms.

An added bonus is that these surfaces are easy to clean, so sweat, food, or spills are not an issue.

The Best Way to Cut Rubber Tile

There are six simple steps for cutting rubber mats:

  • Put on protective gear
  • Make sure your utility knife is in good working order
  • Measure the area you want to cover
  • Mark your measurements on your mat
  • Expose the blade of your utility knife
  • Score along your marked measurements
  • Follow your score marks with additional pressure to finish your cut

The Finer Details of How to Cut Rubber Mats

The basic steps of cutting rubber mats are straightforward, but for first-timers, some explanation will prove helpful. The protective gear you’ll need are some protective gloves, and knee pads if you’ll be working on the ground for a long period of time.

To make sure your utility knife is up for the job, first see that all moving parts work smoothly and nothing is rattling. Check that your blade is clean, rust-free, and in good condition. Also consider if you have the safest cutting tool.

Slice® utility knives feature our patent-pending finger-friendly® blade edge: it’s safe to the touch. Also, all of our blades are 100 percent zirconium oxide. This material is extremely hard, and our design takes advantage of that: Slice blades have been shown to last up to 11 times longer than metal counterparts, and they never rust.

Also, all Slice tools are ergonomic, so they fit comfortably in your hand. This makes your cutting experience easier than it would be with a poorly designed tool. Ergonomic design also cuts down on hand and forearm fatigue.

The video here shows how easily the Slice Manual Utility Knife gets through Wearwell flooring. Slice also makes an Auto-Retractable Utility Knife and Smart-Retracting Utility Knife. The best one for you depends on how you’ll use the tool, and the level of safety you require.

When you measure the area you want to cover and mark your flooring, stick to the age-old adage: measure twice, cut once. You want to ensure that you don’t cut your mat too small.

When you are ready to cut, use a straight edge to help keep your cut lined up with your marking. Before the first time you cut rubber flooring, or if you haven’t cut this material for a long time, practice your skills on a scrap piece to get a feel for it.For thicker mats, you’ll likely want to score the material first—that is, just cut part-way through. For thinner material, like that shown in the video, it may be easy enough to cut all the way through on the first go.

Now that You’ve Learned How to Cut Rubber Mats...

Rubber flooring can add comfort and safety to numerous types of floor surfaces. You can keep it down permanently or stack or roll it up for easy storage. Now that you know how to cut rubber matting, how are you going to use it?