Methods for sharpening scissors: with a needle, foil, sandpaper, whetstone and on a machine

Having learned how to sharpen knives, many people get excited about the idea of ​​sharpening scissors. At home, people use a sewing needle, a glass bottle, foil, and sandpaper for this. But all these methods are “amateur”. They only briefly restore the sharpness of the scissors. The only way to properly sharpen blades by hand is with a whetstone. But it is better to carry out the work on a machine - an electrical device with rotating abrasive discs.

Home sharpening

If your scissors are inexpensive, there is no point in giving them to a sharpener or working at a machine. Often the metal in them is very soft and only deforms when sharpened. But you can try to restore the sharpness using home methods. But before that, check:

1. Open the scissors and carefully inspect the blades. It's possible that they stopped cutting because of tape or dirt stuck to the cutting edge. If so, clean them thoroughly with rubbing alcohol.
2. Place the scissors on the table. Press the lower ear to the surface, and try to move the upper ear up and down. If you can do this easily, you need to tighten the screw with a screwdriver. It can be moved literally 0.5 mm. It is important not to twist it, otherwise the scissors will stop opening and closing. If the blades are riveted, place the scissors on a hard surface and gently tap it with a hammer.
3. Check to see if the blades are bent and how tightly they fit together.If defects are identified, bend them with pliers.
4. Try cutting paper, thread or thin fabric. Often after editing, the scissors begin to work as before. If not, you will have to resort to sharpening.

Traditional methods

At home, you can sharpen scissors with improvised objects. How to do it quickly and easily:

• Sewing needle. Grandma's old method. The needle needs to be “bitten” with scissors. Imagine that you have to cut it in half. No force should be used. All parts of the blades must pass along the needle: the middle, the base, and the tip. Sharpening time is 5–7 minutes.
• Foil. To sharpen scissors, you will need a large piece of foil - approximately 60 by 30 cm. It needs to be rolled into 6-8 layers and cut into thin strips. Video:
  
• Sandpaper. Like foil, use fine-grained sandpaper. You should take “zero”; coarse grain will not work. It is cut into strips within 5–7 minutes.
• Bottle, glass, glass jar. Open your scissors, place it on the glass container and make cutting movements. Continue sharpening the tool for 3-4 minutes.

Professional sharpening

It is important to sharpen an expensive tool correctly. If for some reason you can’t contact the workshop, first you need to learn the basics:

• Scissor blades should only be sharpened on one side.
• It is very important to maintain the factory sharpening, otherwise you can damage the instrument.
  
• Scissors are sharpened open, holding them at an angle. Note the chamfered corner. Usually it is 90 degrees, but it may vary.
  
• When sharpening, it is important to make precise and smooth movements. The blade must be slid evenly along its entire length, otherwise notches and depressions will form on the cutting edge.
• Sharpening is carried out in two stages. A layer of metal is ground off the blade with a medium-grit whetstone. Then the cutting edge is polished with a fine-grained abrasive to a mirror shine.
  

Items that can be used to sharpen scissors at home:

• Soviet touch;
• double-sided whetstone;
• sandpaper glued to glass;
• machine.

The master clearly explains how to sharpen scissors with a whetstone:

The most difficult thing in sharpening scissors is finding and maintaining the angle of inclination. For beginners, a regular black marker will help with this. Sketch the cutting edge and try to sharpen the tool. If done correctly, the colored line will be completely erased.

Scissors sharpening machine

When sharpening, precise movements are very important. Ideally, the hand should not deviate even a millimeter. Of course, this is impossible when working with a sharpening stone.

• The sharpening machine allows you to set the angle as accurately as possible.
• Rotating abrasive discs eliminate the need to repeatedly move your hand back and forth.
• The time spent manually processing blades is reduced significantly.

Using a sharpening machine you can quickly sharpen scissors. But they can be ruined just as quickly. For the first time, it is better to practice on an inexpensive instrument that you don’t mind throwing away. The disk grit should be medium, and the rotation speed should be set to minimum.

How to sharpen scissors on a machine:

1. Place a vise with an inclined bar near the rotating disk. The inclination should be equal to the factory sharpening angle of the scissors.
2. Turn on the device.
3. Smoothly move the blade to be sharpened towards the rotating stone.
4. Press lightly and gently move it towards you.
5. Check the quality of sharpening and, if necessary, repeat the procedure again.

Scissors fastened with a bolt must be unscrewed before sharpening. It is much more convenient to sharpen the blades separately.

What a modern scissor sharpening machine looks like:

Such a device costs about 2,700 rubles, and there is no point in buying it for home use. It will come in handy, for example, in a sharpener's workshop or in a restaurant where knives need to be sharpened constantly.

How to sharpen nail scissors?

The manicure tool has a curved cutting edge. Many masters sharpen manicure scissors and nippers by hand. It is important not only to repeat the sharpening angle, but also to evenly process the entire bend. The miniature nature of the blades complicates the task. This is where a thin sharpening stone will come to the rescue. How to sharpen nail scissors with them is shown in the video:

If you decide to use a machine, it is important to set the speed to a minimum and select a fine-abrasive grinding disc. The metal on nail scissors is thin and easily bent and deformed.

Sharpening scissors has many subtleties. This is a whole science that needs to be learned from a master. Hairdressers and tailors know that even in workshops, tools are often damaged. A good sharpener is worth its weight in gold to people in these professions.We recommend using home methods exclusively for sharpening ordinary inexpensive scissors, which there is simply no reason to take to the workshop (it’s cheaper to buy new ones).