I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Just a couple light passes
and it was perfect. It now will slice through tissues paper hanging limp
leaving a perfectly cut edge. The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

On Jun 16, 3:32*pm, "Bob La Londe" wrote:
...The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

Were you running?

On Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:32:47 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Just a couple light passes
and it was perfect. It now will slice through tissues paper hanging limp
leaving a perfectly cut edge. The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

Oh, sure. Try it with a second pair. Methinks you got lucky.

I wave mine over my 600 grit diamond plate a couple times and they
love it. I need to get a 6 or 8" 1200 grit plate.

Diamonds are a boy's best friend, y'know.

P.S: Dull knives and shears (and rocks and clubs) work best on the
noisiest of little yappers.

--
Happiness is when what you think, what
you say, and what you do are in harmony.
-- Mahatma Gandhi

"Bob La Londe" wrote:

I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander.

I've always used a file.

Wes

On Jun 16, 3:32*pm, "Bob La Londe" wrote:
I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. *Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. *Just a couple light passes
and it was perfect. *It now will slice through tissues paper hanging limp
leaving a perfectly cut edge. *The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

Use the belt backing as a strop but be mindful of direction you can
turn the belt inside out and it can be loaded with rouge, ink the
edges with a sharpie to see your progress when grinding.
Most 1x30 belt grinders do not have enough clearance to take a leather
stropping belt.

You may just be cutting with the burrs. A file, as Wes suggests, is a
relatively fail-safe sharpening tool for scissors.
Ya done good if they're better than they were.. but if it's just burrs, the
sharpness will fade kinda quickly.

I've seen a lot of decent tools and knives fuctup by some who thought a belt
sander would be effortless and a perfect solution.

A haircutter friend preferred me to sharpen her scissors.. and they were
touched up frequently enough to only need stoned lightly. Good quality
German specialty scissors.

Quality scissors are slightly hollow ground on the mating surfaces, and when
treated well, the sharp edges hold up very well.

Talkin carbon steel here, not stainless.

--
WB
..........


"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after
struggling to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out
to the shop and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Just a
couple light passes and it was perfect. It now will slice through tissues
paper hanging limp leaving a perfectly cut edge. The dog saw me come back
with scissors in one hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points
unknown...

On Jun 16, 11:23*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:32:47 -0700, "Bob La Londe"

wrote:
I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. *Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. *Just a couple light passes
and it was perfect. *It now will slice through tissues paper hanging limp
leaving a perfectly cut edge. *The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

Oh, sure. Try it with a second pair. Methinks you got lucky.

I wave mine over my 600 grit diamond plate a couple times and they
love it. I need to get a 6 or 8" 1200 grit plate.

Diamonds are a boy's best friend, y'know.

P.S: Dull knives and shears (and rocks and clubs) work best on the
noisiest of little yappers.


If they're really dull, you can use the diamond hone. I don't let
mine get that dull, usually just needs a pass or two from a hard
Arkansas stone to get them back into shape. For the cutlery impared,
you DON'T sharpen the wide, flat areas that rub together, the cutting
parts are the narrow angled areas, "shears", you know. If you're new
at the game, a magic marker will show where you've hit and where
you've missed. Top-quality scissors have screws that allow some
adjustment and also dismantling for sharpening, not rivets.

Stan

On 6/16/2011 2:32 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after
struggling to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair
out to the shop and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Just a
couple light passes and it was perfect. It now will slice through
tissues paper hanging limp leaving a perfectly cut edge. The dog saw me
come back with scissors in one hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed
for points unknown...



If a belt sander works really well, I am somewhat reluctant to ask how
you were sharpening them previously.

Ummm,,, maybe look into making a mini-project of a Lanskey-style
sharpening setup for your scissors. You grind the (steel or stainless)
blades only with smooth ceramic stones. 30° is a fair guess, but the
angle varies from 5° to 45° with different models of scissors-

http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/Scissorangles.htm



Aluminum-blade scissors are resharpened by putting them in the trash can
and buying a new pair. The faces (that are ground) and sides (that rub
together) both wear down so fast it isn't worth the bother. Their price
should reflect their disposable nature.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:04:44 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Jun 16, 11:23Â*pm, Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:32:47 -0700, "Bob La Londe"

wrote:
I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Â*Yesterday after struggling
to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair out to the shop
and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Â*Just a couple light passes
and it was perfect. Â*It now will slice through tissues paper hanging limp
leaving a perfectly cut edge. Â*The dog saw me come back with scissors in one
hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed for points unknown...

Oh, sure. Try it with a second pair. Methinks you got lucky.

I wave mine over my 600 grit diamond plate a couple times and they
love it. I need to get a 6 or 8" 1200 grit plate.

Diamonds are a boy's best friend, y'know.

P.S: Dull knives and shears (and rocks and clubs) work best on the
noisiest of little yappers.


If they're really dull, you can use the diamond hone. I don't let
mine get that dull, usually just needs a pass or two from a hard
Arkansas stone to get them back into shape. For the cutlery impared,
you DON'T sharpen the wide, flat areas that rub together, the cutting
parts are the narrow angled areas, "shears", you know.

I sharpen the edge and stone/plate off the burr on the flat, don't
you? Holding the edge flat on the plate is the trick.


If you're new
at the game, a magic marker will show where you've hit and where
you've missed. Top-quality scissors have screws that allow some
adjustment and also dismantling for sharpening, not rivets.

True! I haven't dulled them yet, but I bought a set of tailor's
shears, Touro Tesoura 12 INCHERS!, and they're fully adjustable.
The $33 investment should last me a lifetime +.

--
Happiness is when what you think, what
you say, and what you do are in harmony.
-- Mahatma Gandhi

On Jun 17, 8:45*am, DougC wrote:
On 6/16/2011 2:32 PM, Bob La Londe wrote: I've always struggled with sharpening scissors. Yesterday after
struggling to shear one of our fluffy little yappy mutts I took a pair
out to the shop and very lightly dresses it on 1x30 belt sander. Just a
couple light passes and it was perfect. It now will slice through
tissues paper hanging limp leaving a perfectly cut edge. The dog saw me
come back with scissors in one hand and a gleam in my eye, and headed
for points unknown...

If a belt sander works really well, I am somewhat reluctant to ask how
you were sharpening them previously.

Ummm,,, maybe look into making a mini-project of a Lanskey-style
sharpening setup for your scissors. You grind the (steel or stainless)
blades only with smooth ceramic stones. 30 is a fair guess, but the
angle varies from 5 to 45 with different models of scissors-

http://sharpeningmadeeasy.com/Scissorangles.htm

Aluminum-blade scissors are resharpened by putting them in the trash can
and buying a new pair. The faces (that are ground) and sides (that rub
together) both wear down so fast it isn't worth the bother. Their price
should reflect their disposable nature.

Thanks for that link.
Karl