Damn Judi. I mean yes, but I wasn't expecting THAT face to suggest it....
So I am definitely the odd person in the sewing world who cuts everything with my scissors. I’ve been a sailmaker for 30 years and we cut paper, Mylar, Kevlar, carbon fiber, fabric (of course), rope, tape, adhesives, you name it. I’ve been using the same pair for 20 of those 30 years as well. We do get them sharpened but not all the time.
Dyneema is the one thing that will mess up your scissors though. My buddy at work had a dull spot on his that wouldn’t sharpen from dyneema webbing. We ended up getting a special pair for that and Kevlar, with micro serrated teeth.
I will say though that a person’s scissors are sacred, you don’t touch another sailmakers pouch and tools. What they do with them is their business, use your own tools.
That extends to all tools in my opinion.
Don’t borrow someone’s tools without their express permission, and don’t lend someone a tool unless you either know what they’re doing with it or you don’t care if it gets damaged.
Yup. I hired an apprentice once, and the first few days every time I’d come into the shop my pouch would be either missing or emptied and I’d have to run around finding my tools. Did that twice and was like your first job is to make your own pouch and then got him his own tools. My fault really, I should have done that right off the bat.
Interesting, is sail fabric thicker or easier to cut than like clothing fabric?
Also it's interesting to see so many people who do different jobs online, I met someone the other month who lived in a boat during the FL hurricanes.
It can vary from thicker and heavier to lighter, and there are lots of different finishes as well so it can be quite stiff or supple. The cloth is made from polyester, or Dacron as it’s also known. We also use ripstop nylon for spinnakers. And then you have the laminate sails which can be made with Mylar and different fibers like carbon, Kevlar or dyneema.
Whats the deal with fabric scissors? Do they break when used on other things?
fabric scissors need to be sharp to do their job effectively.
cutting other things, even paper, can (and will) dull the blades enough so they're no longer suitable for their original intended task.
then when gramma, or whoever, wants to use 'their scissors' to cut some fabric, and they aren't functioning properly... let's just say it may not go well for the guilty party.
tl;dr: they're no longer pure and must be replaced with new virgin scissors.
That's when they become "stabbing scissors"!
tl;dr: they’re no longer pure and must be replaced with new virgin scissors.
Damn that's a horrible punishment. (I'm at least assuming if fabric scissors are only to be used on cutting fabric).
Fabric scissors just happen to be very good at cutting most things. I use mine to cut open packages, leather, plastics, and cloth! Just avoid cutting anything harder than the steel your scissors are made out of like metal, wires, and such. A quick hone will refresh the edges when you need it.
I was totally ignorant to the world of fiber crafts the first- and last- time my wife found me cutting up something with her sewing scissors.
Of course, that was before she became addicted to every fiber craft under the sun. Now I live in a house with several spinning wheels and a tapestry loom. This could be you too if you start crocheting. Take heed.
(I'm actually fine with it because she's making me an Ernie sweater. I saw an Ernie costume on Halloween and I suddenly realized how much I wanted an Ernie sweater. So I asked and she immediately said okay. Yay!)
When she’s done the Ernie sweater could she make me a penguin one? Thanks
Thinking black sleeves on a white sweater, penguin on the white part of course, the cuffs are penguin foot yellow and the collar black as well.
The thing is, it's pretty dang easy to sharpen scissors on a sharpening stone. Like, use em for everything! Go ham! Just sharpen them when they get dull.
So you know how when you cut something and the object was to hard for the scissors and the object turns sideways between the 2 blades and makes it so the scissors never function as well again? I'm way to good at doing that... Other than pulling my head out of my ass and using a different tool, any suggestions on how to fix those tools? My kitchen sheers are like that now after using them to prune my strawberries outside. (Clearly I need to have designated sheers/scissors for different things, but sometimes I'm just that idiot that thinks 1 hammer fits all jobs
Family is gathered around grandpa in this exact situation. He raises his head off the pillow and squints around the room.
That you, Bill?
Yes, dad, it's me.
Is Carol here?
Yes, I'm here dad.
Jimmy? Sally? Are they here too?
Yes dad, the kids are here.
Is Walt here?
Yeah dad, I'm right here.
You're all here?
Yes, we're all here dad.
Everybody's right here?
Yes, dad.Then why is the goddam kitchen light still on???
I am sliding gracefully into dad mode about thermostats because that is ancient technology and you should know better. Lights are all LEDs now and I even got the ones with batteries so they stay on in a blackout, so leaving them on charges them and is good, sort of.
A cardinal sin.
on the one hand, other people should respect your shit.
On the other hand, you should know better. I'm usually against victim blaming, but if the scissors that are the easiest to find are your fancy expensive ones, then what did you expect.
The best way to protect your fabric scissors is to ensure that other scissors are more easily available to the idiots who'd wreck yours without a second thought. This also means keeping track of the shitty tools you never use because they exist purely to keep others away from your good shit.
I've been on the receiving end of this, and I've learned from it. I like candles, and have lived with potheads most of my adult life. Lighters go missing faster than I can buy them. Now i keep an electric lighter that can't be used for smoking but can be used as a taser.
Well don't leave them where they are accessible in cutting things that aren't fabric.
Or maybe keep them with your fabric things.
Or maybe get a whetstone like your grandma did, grandma
Consumer grade whetstones are completely unsuitable for maintaining fabric shears. Maintaining a consistent bevel on stones that coarse is damn near impossible, and you're most likely going to ruin the mate between the cutting faces beyond repair.
("well I sharpened mine with an unoiled chunk of arkansas asphalt and they cut even better now": no you didnt, you're cutting with the burr, it won't last, I hate you.)
Well don’t leave them where they are accessible in cutting things that aren’t fabric.
You have so never had a little girl Kelly in your life.
