Sharp knife or sharp scissors?

Joe Duder

Joe Duder

Joined
Jan 22, 2013
Messages
3,003
My wife cuts everything with scissors. I find that a sharp knife is quicker, more efficient and easier to use than scissors. For most things: Cutting tags off clothing, harvesting fruit from the garden, cutting strings off of clothing and furniture etc...

Am I crazy?

What do you do?
 
I find them to be equally efficient for most tasks, with scissors winning out for things like cutting paper and knives winning out for opening packaging. A good sharp pair of scissors is a great tool, but most people don't buy high-quality scissors and even fewer sharpen them.
 
amg137 said:
A good sharp pair of scissors is a great tool, but most people don't buy high-quality scissors and even fewer sharpen them.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I think people some times over rely on them. A sharp knife can handle a great deal of tasks that scissors can handle, if used correctly. Nothing can ever replace scissors, but you'd be surprised what a sharp knife and ability can accomplish.

oXObsidianXo said:
I cut a lot of paper with my knives, sometimes I just sit at my desk and cut phone book paper.
Click to expand...

I'm so guilty of that too.:p
 
oXObsidianXo said:
I cut a lot of paper with my knives, sometimes I just sit at my desk and cut phone book paper.
Click to expand...

Knives obviously do a great job of slicing up paper for fun, but if you want a good clean cut scissors do the job a lot more efficiently - no need to crease the paper or carefully maintain a straight line. I have to do that all the time to add images and data to my lab notebooks. I imagine most people have little need for paper cutting outside of wrapping paper and the like though.
 
Is this a trick question?

Sometimes the best answer to a lousy either/or question is both/and.

Opinel in RFP. Micra in LFP.

EDC Pair by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
If people just want a tool to cut things and they aren't interested in the tool itself, then scissors are a pretty versatile tool. There are a lot of things that I cut that are cut easier and better with a knife, but part of that is because I have a lot of interest in the cutting tool itself. I suspect that the types of things that many women cut around the house might be cut easier with scissors.
 
amg137 said:
I find them to be equally efficient for most tasks, with scissors winning out for things like cutting paper and knives winning out for opening packaging. A good sharp pair of scissors is a great tool, but most people don't buy high-quality scissors and even fewer sharpen them.
Click to expand...

Could you recommend any high quality scissors?
 
jac_solar said:
Could you recommend any high quality scissors?
Click to expand...

Gingher makes some very nice tailor's shears/scissors. My grandmother has a pair that she's used for quiltmaking for longer than I can remember (and probably longer than I've been alive), and my grandfather used to sharpen them once or twice a year for her before he passed. I used to get yelled at for playing with them when I was a kid :D. Not sure if they're still made to the same standards, but a cursory google search seems to indicate that people are still very pleased with them.
 
Those are awesome videos.

There is a lot of overlap in purpose between knives and scissors. And there are a few tasks where one is better suited over the other. If someone is more comfortable using one over the other, It's not usually a big deal.

One way scissors shine is the ability to cut sufficiently even after suffering all kinds of dulling and abuse for years without any sharpening. Even the cheapest stamped steel scissors from the .99 Store will likely last the average user many years of duty. In contrast, a knife that is not maintained at least somewhat becomes a spatula before long.

I do think there is a whole 'nother world for knife nuts to explore in the realm of scissors. Despite sharing a good deal of technology, (and much technology that's completely unique to scissors) as far as I know, there aren't any real "scissor nuts" the way there are knife nuts. Even though the level of sophistication is just as limitless, and specialized.

ETA: It'd be nice to be able to buy a pair of Chinese forged scissors by that guy. Anyone got any leads?
 
Last edited:
jac_solar said:
Could you recommend any high quality scissors?
Click to expand...
Germany has a long history of making decent scissors.
I bought a pair of CK scissors ~30 yrs ago, they still cut fibreglass cloth well.
Recently I bought a pair of Clauss scissors from Knifecenter. Fine general purpose scissors at a great price.

The little Chinese scissors mentioned earlier haven't seen a lot of work, but cut very well.

If you're a hairdresser, everything changes.

One of my inlaws is a florist. They use scissors for everything. They like forged carbon steel better than SS, despite the constant moisture. The manufacturers don't seem to be pushing the envelope with new steels the way knifemakers do.
 
Those were some cool videos. I'd like to get my hands on some of those Chinese scissors. Very unique and can serve as a good tool or mantle piece.
 
If you cant get under what you want to cut a knife is better. If your away from your home and need to cut anything a knife is better (rather edc a knife than scissors).......:D
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top