Monday, April 20, 2020

New Video! How To Sharpen Your Own Scissors

John's back with another handy DIY!

If you've got 3 minutes and a bunch of dull scissors, then watch this:



Stick around to the very end for some epic Suki tail.

If you don't have a sharpening steel like John's using there, then you can grab this one on Amazon for less than $10:



It's definitely worth it, since you can use this to sharpen both your scissors and your knives.

We hope that helps, and please keep the video suggestions coming! John and I really like your idea for the tool introduction series, so I'll try to get him cranking some of those out soon. ::whip crack::

19 comments:

  1. Thanks! Just tried that on a pair of scissors that sorta cut, and now they definitely cut! They even do the thing where you half open the blades and cut a piece of paper by running it along :)

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    1. Niiiiiiice. That's the best for cutting gift wrap.

      Next up: WATERMELONS.

      (Just kidding don't do that.)

      (Unless you take pictures to share.)

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  2. OooooooooOOOo! NOW I understand the difference between a whetstone and a sharpening steel. In my house there is a strong feud between those of us that swear by the stone (me) and those that swear by the steel (my partner). I finally feel like I can at least see it from his perspective now! Thanks, John! Also nice zombie cupcake shirt. :) ~Cashew

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  3. I have a great steel (actually, I think we have two), and I use it on knives regularly. How did it never occur to me to also use it on scissors? Our kitchen drawer definitely has one pair of "why do we even still have these" scissors and one pair that was the good pair, but is definitely getting dubious. I'm gonna sharpen them both today.

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  4. This is tangentially related, but I work at a public library (yay books!) and so we don't have a steel, but our very quick fix to sharpen scissors, hole punches, and die cuts is to go through them a couple times with aluminum foil. I have no idea why this works, but it sharpens them back up enough to help with any frustration. Your way is way more professional, but for things like hole punchers, or for anyone who needs a quick fix and doesn't have a steel, it's a great trick!

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    1. :O Thank you so much - this is going to be so useful!

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    2. What I've heard is: aluminum foil to sharpen punches, shredders, etc. Waxed paper to lubricate them. YMMV, of course.

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    3. running to try this on my three hole punch... Thanks!

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  5. I've actually always wanted to know how to sharpen knives/scissors so thank you for this!

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  6. Wow. That is WAY easier than I always thought it must be! Thanks for this!

    And the Suki tail at the end is purr-fect. =-)

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  7. John makes everything look so easy! Thanks!

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  8. You can also get dedicated scissor sharpeners (great if you sew and need to keep fabric scissors sharpy mcsharpface) - they're very quick to use but I haven't managed to find a left handed pair yet!

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  9. For a video idea: Something I've been thinking about lately is how to improve my indoor photos. My condo doesn't get a lot of natural light, which is great temperature wise but not so great when I'm doing a late night crafting session and all my pictures turn out super dark! I'm currently looking for ideas on making a light box for photography, if you have any ideas on how to add a bit of sparkle to photos I'd love to hear it!

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  10. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing! I’ve done the cutting foil trick, which is just ok compared to this! Love the fluffy Suki 😍

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  11. One thing to consider: angle. You want to look at the angle the scissors are ground at and try to match it, the same way you do with knives. Yes, even when using a steel, not just a sharpening stone.

    Using them regularly is a great idea and can help keep an edge in good shape for much longer. Sharpening stones also have their place. Steels are great for maintaining an edge, but they can only do so much and eventually you'll need to break out the stone and put a new edge on.

    If you do get to where you want to use a sharpening stone (grinding wheel/belt, whatever) on your scissors, best practices is to take them apart and sharpen each side separately. This isn't always possible, a lot of inexpensive scissors are riveted together. And putting them back in a way that doesn't affect the way the scissors work can occasionally be tricky. This is the might be worth paying a professional to do it step. Though, if you're paying someone to sharpen them and they DON'T take the ones with screws apart... consider finding a new person for fine scissors.

    For knives or scissors: pull through sharpeners can work well, but 1) consider the angle they're set to, be sure it's one that works with what you have and 2) be wary of only using ones with diamond stones. They'll wear your blades down faster, and are more aggressive than the average person needs on a regular basis.

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  12. Love the Suki contribution at the very end! Does this work for very small scissors? I have a pair I use for embroidery that I LOVE and don't want to ruin them.
    Maureen S

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  13. I have a pair of scissors that are lovely and sharp, but don't cut because the rivet holding the blades together has loosened. Does John have any recommendations for that?

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    1. Hmm, this is just a guess on my part, but have you tried bonking the rivet with a hammer to tighten it? That's what we do for loose rivets on clothing, so I'm wondering if it would work on scissors, too.

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  14. I sharpen my knives regularly, but never thought to try scissors. It helps to know the why and the direction - thanks!

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