I’ve been using bunch of 99cent store scissors, but they tend to last about one board. I hate to waste stuff like that…
Every once in a while I steal my wife’s kitchen scissors for a bit – those are nice!!
What are your favorite scissors?
18" stihl-cus through anything…
sheep shears. have not used them for more than about 3 boards plus ding repairs but they are still going strong. find some at a yard sale and give it a go
I’ve always thought that some electric scissors would work well. Has anyone out there used them? Otherwise, heavy fabric shears, sheep shears, or the stainless steel Fiskar scissors, all work well.
The main thing for scissors is to get a clean, long cut without any frayed edges. If you’re cutting cloth heavier than 6 oz, you need to get the real thing at a glass supplier, and these are pricey. If you’re not doing a lot of boards, the Fiskars ones that are at fabric stores will work OK. Get the heavy version in the longest length for basic cutting, and a smaller 6-8" length for notching. Try and keep resin off the plastic handles, cleaning them with acetone will just melt them. Electric scissors work good for long cuts, but the batteries and blades must be good or it will just dig in and snag. For regular scissors, sharp cutting blades are a must, and you can get a special sharpener from www.edgecraft.com with a diamond hone. Alternately, you can locate a sharpening service from a local beauty salon. Cutting carbon fiber or any of the trick reinforced cloths will ruin the scissors in the first couple of feet, so don’t wreck an expensive pair on that stuff.
Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-29-Industrial-Shears-Scissors/dp/B00018API8
Learn how to sharpen them yourself with Japanese waterstones.
Oh yeah, and you want the non rubberized grips for solvent cleanup.
Howzit smedman, I use wiss and fiskers, wiss for first cuts and the Fiskers to clean up any loose ends. You can also get a shapener for the Fiskers that works and I use a honing stone to keep the Wiss sharp.Aloha,Kokua
Black and Decker rechargable scissors, find them anywhere HOME DEPOT etc. Works flawlessly on cutting fiberglass cloth, sandpaper anything
Work smart not hard
Tom
Tom,
Thank you.
I use a pair of vintage Wiss model#20 scissors. Nice and sharp! You can usually find a pair on E-bay for around $20 or so plus shipping.
I don’t do much full-blown glassing anymore; but I have used manual and electric. Both pair are rather obscured lable-wise (resin etc.); but I think the manual shears are Weiss(sp) and the electric are Dritz(sp). Both were purchased at Fiberglass Hawaii. The German shears(manual) are great but it is wise to buy a couple of pairs as they eventually get dull and you can use your reserve pair while the other is at the sharpener. The electrics are wonderful and certainly worth the money. No wravels and easy to cut a straight and uniform free-lap. The problem is the nickel-cad batteries that will have to be used and charged often in order to maintain battery life. I keep mine on charge constantly, even when I am not using them. If you do not use them very often they will eventually not take a charge. I don’t understand why more glass shops don’t use the electric. They are a dream. For ding repair I use any cheap shears that I can buy at Wal-Mart or Home Depot. Usually Fiskars.
I was doing the same thing… buying a cheap pair of new scissors for almost every board and just working it into the overall cost of the board. Since then I’ve been buying titanium scissors that cost a bit more, but last a LOT longer. They’re lightweight, smooth and easy to use, and they don’t snag or push the cloth. I’ve been using the same pair for about a dozen boards and they still feel like new. They cost about $15, if I remember correctly.
The only scissors used in any glassing shop worth spitting upon in my 20-odd years at the game are called “Mundial”…Harsh price but virtually guaranteed to outlive you, unless the factory grommet dares cut 60 grit with them!
Made in Brazil, go figure…these are found under the counter at the kind of shops little old ladies go to for knitting needles and sewing patterns.
Ask for them in hushed tones of reverence, they are the real thing, coming in a velour-lined box and all!
Josh
I use Wiss shears and sharpen them every few weeks with 100 grit sandpaper on a Power Pad spinning at 1700 rpm.
Just find the angle and lightly grind each blade going from the base to the tip (this might take a bit of practice).
It adds a bit of teeth to the scissors and you can even cut thin Kevlar with them (60 grit sandpaper or even a 36 disc is best for Kevlar).
I’ve gone through maybe 6 pairs of shears in the last 28 years and they’ve done a couple thousand boards.
I’ve got some 12" Mundials and they work nicely. Need a sharpen now though.