On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:00:00 GMT, (jim) wrote:

I've used hand files as instructed by various web pages. The beveled
edge is nice and shiny, but still dull as before I started trying to
hone them.

A file probably won't get them sharp enough, you need a sharpening
stone. Try the fingernail test: Slide the sharpened edge of a blade
along your thumbnail as if you were trying to shave it (away from your
thumb!). If the blade slides easily and doesn't catch, it's dull.

If you get the blade sharp and it still doesn't cut, then the blade
might be bent or as another poster said, the pivot is loose. As you
close the shears, one blade should slice across the other with the
contact point moving from the pivot side toward the end of the blades
as you close them.

HTH,

Paul