Scissor Sharpening Systems/machines

[UKRay]

I'm looking for a way to sharpen scissors - any suggestions guys? Machines or whatever, I don't have a sharpening guy anywhere near me so need to find a solution that I can use myself and have no idea how to proceed.

Hope you can help.

Ray

[Luke Hatley]

Ray i use a sharping stone and just follow the angle that is on the sissor blade.

[amuckart]

Two questions: What size/style of scissors, and what do you use to sharpen your existing edged tools?

You can sharpen most types of scissors quite effectively by removing the pivot bolt and putting the blade in a vice (with non-marking jaws) then just follow the existing bevel angle with your preferred sharpening device. I use a variety of things from files for really blunt ones right through to ceramic sticks. You need to lap the back between grits too to remove the wire edge. If you lack an appropriate sharpening device, then a solid flat thing with wet-n-dry sandpaper either wrapped around it tightly or lightly contact-glued on works extremely well. You can do this with scissors that lack a removable pivot bolt, it's just less convenient. I've found that if a pair of scissors can't be taken apart then they often aren't worth sharpening.

I usually look to the woodworking community for sharpening ideas since good edged tools are so critical to fine woodwork, and they have some of the weirdest shapes to deal with which means there's a lot of really good info and ideas to be found there. For some reason there seems to be a lot more scientific an approach to sharpening in the woodworking community than in the leatherworking community. Brent's Sharpening Pages is one of the best places on the 'net to look at for basic principles and info on abrasives. It's very focussed on plane blades, but his jig and techniques are adaptable to various edged tools other than plane blades.

At risk of coming across as a Lee Valley fanboy, here's some links to things I think are useful. You can probably find them elsewhere too, but Lee Valley is a convenient one-stop-shop whose service and shipping I've always been very happy with. It's run by woodworkers, for woodworkers, so their kit is well designed for the job.

You can use a 1" belt grinder to sharpen scissors and darn near anything else you might have too. It doesn't come with a motor, but the big advantage it has over cheap 'n' nasty belt grinders you'll find at big-box hardware stores is that it can run in reverse which means you can use it to strop/hone tools with the edge up, which in turn means you can use a tool rest and jigs to ensure a more accurate edge angle. One of these with a variable-speed reversible motor is awfully close to the perfect device for tool sharpening.

They also make a nifty tool rest that'll fit that grinder, or bench grinders, and let you sharpen from 90" to extremely acute angles. Get yourself a decent selection of grinding belts while you're there and you'll be se up to sharpen almost anything for a good long time. I think the belt grinder is a better solution than a bench grinder because you can get access to a wider array of abrasives, and you can do slack-belt sharpening of appleseed edges, which you can't do on a bench grinder.

If you buy one thing to help you with sharpening, make it Leonard Lee's The Complete Guide to Sharpening. It doesn't cover scissors explicitly but as he says, "sharpening is mostly common sense augmented by a few basic principles, some standard abrasives and a few cunning jigs", and it will certainly give you the background you need and ideas for how to sharpen all kinds of things. The Perfect Edge by Ron Hock appears to cover scissors explicitly, but I don't have a copy.

[gesa]

Hello Ray,

how do you sharpen your other tools? Do you use a machine or do you use a stone?

If you use a stone, I have no advise because I am spoiled at work with this maschine:

I can sharpen every type of knife and scissors with it.

For scissors besides the edge there is always important that the blade is polished, because any kind of residue like glue , dye or rust will prevent that the blade can cut. Be very careful that the blade remain strait, do not polish the blade edge from that side!

This one need polishing:

To sharpen the blade is not more difficult than a knife, the only difference I make is that I don't polish it. I only use the sanding belt. This is because I usually sharpen leather scissors, if they are polished the leather slips sometimes.

Gesa

[Jordan]

Tormek T-7 will sharpen just about anything. Also an advert in a woodcarving magazine shows a machine with hardwood disks that match tool profiles I forget the name though.

[amuckart]

A T-7 sure will sharpen just about anything, so long as you're willing to fork out for all the fancy jigs and attachments to go with the $600 machine

A 1x30 belt grinder and a good tool rest will also sharpen darn near anything and to total cost of a belt grinder, tool rest, jig, five 3M Trizact belts in grits from 240 to 2000, and a leather belt for stropping is US$212 - less than half of the cost of the Tormek alone, even if you allow US$80 for a motor and the shipping

Tormeks are probably great for professional sharpeners, or someone working in a huge woodworking shop sharpening a lot of tools on a regular basis, but I know a few people who own them for general sharpening work and none of them think the machine was worth the cost.

[UKRay]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I am exploring a belt grinder... I'll get back to you when I've tried it!

Ray

[Tina]

Hi Ray,

this might sound a bit too easy but...I have in my view the best sharpener for sissors money can buy, from Fiskars. When sewing I need the sharpest sissor to cut my fabrics and ever since I bought my sharpener over 10+years ago I have yet to buy a new pair of sissors...Well spent money and it goes to all my sissors at home :-)

http://www.powertoolsdirect.com/fiskars-scissor-sharpener-30537

[UKRay]

Hi Tina, I've just ordered one!

Thanks as always.

Ray