I'm wanting a good pair of scissors for cutting thinner leather, canvas etc.... Any recommendations guys.... i'd rather buy well and buy once..
Cheers.
Cheers.
Can anyone recommend a good pair of textile scissors??
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I use Fiskars scissors for darned near everything, ranging from tiny embroidery scissors up to dressmaker's shears. To cut out some thin leather recently the shears worked perfectly.
I use EMT shears do not cost much but but will cut very well even kevlar
Fiskars are good as well +1
Fiskars are good as well +1
I got a set of 10" Korbond dressmaker's shears in the local sewing shop for £20, on the recommendation of the woman who runs it; she said I'd need to spend at least four or five times as much to get anything better.
That was three years ago and they've been superb, they've cut everything I've put 'em too and are as good now as the day I bought 'em. Each of the cutting blades come away from the handles so you can sharpen and fettle them very precisely, but I haven't needed to do anything except strop 'em once. They're also nicely cranked so you can cut long flat runs without having to disturb the material much.
That was three years ago and they've been superb, they've cut everything I've put 'em too and are as good now as the day I bought 'em. Each of the cutting blades come away from the handles so you can sharpen and fettle them very precisely, but I haven't needed to do anything except strop 'em once. They're also nicely cranked so you can cut long flat runs without having to disturb the material much.
Textile scissors?
I use steel ones as textile does not stay sharp long
For years I used a Wilkinson Sword dressmakers set - it took me through a Btec OND Fashion course, designing for a while for (amongst others) Craghoppers, producing multiple DIY clothing and gear books, making 20 odd years of clothing and equipment for myself and others and was great for all weights of fabric from canvas to silk, webbing to thin leather too.
Then I dropped the big shears onto concrete...
I still have the light sheers and embroidery snips - and the Scissor Tuner gadget
A great set.
I do not know if the set is still available but the Shears are now sold as Fiskars Dressmaking Scissors at around £17
I use steel ones as textile does not stay sharp long
For years I used a Wilkinson Sword dressmakers set - it took me through a Btec OND Fashion course, designing for a while for (amongst others) Craghoppers, producing multiple DIY clothing and gear books, making 20 odd years of clothing and equipment for myself and others and was great for all weights of fabric from canvas to silk, webbing to thin leather too.
Then I dropped the big shears onto concrete...
I still have the light sheers and embroidery snips - and the Scissor Tuner gadget
A great set.
I do not know if the set is still available but the Shears are now sold as Fiskars Dressmaking Scissors at around £17
Fabworks in Dewsbury have Wright's scissors. Worth a look, even if you don't buy scissors.
I have a pair of Wilkinson's which are good but need sharpening and a pair of Chinese stainless no-names that are very good indeed. I'll have to ask Mrs B. where she found them.
I have a pair of Wilkinson's which are good but need sharpening and a pair of Chinese stainless no-names that are very good indeed. I'll have to ask Mrs B. where she found them.
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I have old Wilkinson Sword's .....but the rest of the range kind of morphed into Fiskars ? 
They're very good anyway.
I also have Wrights and they are truly excellent My embroidery ones are a real mixed bag, depending on which etui or sewing box they belong in. Pinking shears are Wrights and WS's. Soft grip and rotary cutters are Fiskars.
Other than that; best advice...try to actually get a shot with a pair that you think you fancy. It's worth it; I've given away several really good pairs that just don't fit my hand, but leave me with pressure gouges across my thumb joint and aching hands. Not worth it if they're getting a lot of use and you're cutting kind of hefty stuff.
atb,
M
They're very good anyway.I also have Wrights and they are truly excellent
My embroidery ones are a real mixed bag, depending on which etui or sewing box they belong in. Pinking shears are Wrights and WS's. Soft grip and rotary cutters are Fiskars.Other than that; best advice...try to actually get a shot with a pair that you think you fancy. It's worth it; I've given away several really good pairs that just don't fit my hand, but leave me with pressure gouges across my thumb joint and aching hands. Not worth it if they're getting a lot of use and you're cutting kind of hefty stuff.
atb,
M
I've a lot of time for Whitelys and Wilkinsons ( they come out of the same factory)
http://www.whiteley1760.co.uk/
a bit dear but you get what you pays for.
ATB
Tom
http://www.whiteley1760.co.uk/
a bit dear but you get what you pays for.
ATB
Tom
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Hi. As a proffessional I can whole heartedly recommend whitely. The wilkonson shears (not scissors!) are among the best there is. Wilkonson shears are not the same brand as wilkinson sword. Very important! The difference between shears and scissors is that the sharp edges is offset from the edges in a shears which inhibits the tool from pushing the fabric along the edge as a scissors does (regardless of how sharp they are!).
Fiskars are fine and dandy for hobby folks but for serious cutting they are not good enough. They are also a bitch to sharpen (ask any sharpener, and no, I do not sharpen my shears my self, my antique 15" an 18" shears are irrerplaceable!).
Other brands that are good: Mundial (brazilian, good compared to price), Wiss (the older the better), Heinisch (where wiss started as an apprentice, there 15" heavy series are real belters), Kissner (solingen based germans, try ebay.de), shozaburo (japanese lightweight shears and scissors, mad sharp!), Zwillingen (another solingen based german), premax (italian small firm, does a good 13" cutter shears), Coricama (Italian, extremely good heavy weight series, but quite hard to get outside of italy), Dussaussay Gallier (French, from Nogent, makes really really good scissors but with a different approach to handles, I love them!), Fennek (italians, decent), Musa makas (turkish, really good).
The problem with shears are the blanks. There are only a certain number of companies providing blanks, mainly chinese, and the turkish musa makas which provides a lot of the italian firms with cutter shears over 12". So a lot of the time you don't see any differences between brands. Whitely has there own provider of blanks. And Dussaussay gallier too. The latter is more often known as Nogent as the town where they are made, a bit like sheffield, or solingen. Steel cities used to exist in every country.
Here are from top to bottom; Heinisch 15", Nogent 39 cm, Wilkinson 15", Kissner 14" (all of them bought from various ebays, note that the Nogent is a pair of scissors and the others are shears)
And here, top to bottom is Nogent (not dussassay gallier, but another brand) 46 cm (18"!!!), Nogent 39 cm, Wilkinson 13.5". That pair of wilkinson is the only pair I have bought new. And they were a bit too small for my hands...
Eeeerrrhh I have quite a few more. But I guess this is enough pics..
Fiskars are fine and dandy for hobby folks but for serious cutting they are not good enough. They are also a bitch to sharpen (ask any sharpener, and no, I do not sharpen my shears my self, my antique 15" an 18" shears are irrerplaceable!).
Other brands that are good: Mundial (brazilian, good compared to price), Wiss (the older the better), Heinisch (where wiss started as an apprentice, there 15" heavy series are real belters), Kissner (solingen based germans, try ebay.de), shozaburo (japanese lightweight shears and scissors, mad sharp!), Zwillingen (another solingen based german), premax (italian small firm, does a good 13" cutter shears), Coricama (Italian, extremely good heavy weight series, but quite hard to get outside of italy), Dussaussay Gallier (French, from Nogent, makes really really good scissors but with a different approach to handles, I love them!), Fennek (italians, decent), Musa makas (turkish, really good).
The problem with shears are the blanks. There are only a certain number of companies providing blanks, mainly chinese, and the turkish musa makas which provides a lot of the italian firms with cutter shears over 12". So a lot of the time you don't see any differences between brands. Whitely has there own provider of blanks. And Dussaussay gallier too. The latter is more often known as Nogent as the town where they are made, a bit like sheffield, or solingen. Steel cities used to exist in every country.
Here are from top to bottom; Heinisch 15", Nogent 39 cm, Wilkinson 15", Kissner 14" (all of them bought from various ebays, note that the Nogent is a pair of scissors and the others are shears)
And here, top to bottom is Nogent (not dussassay gallier, but another brand) 46 cm (18"!!!), Nogent 39 cm, Wilkinson 13.5". That pair of wilkinson is the only pair I have bought new. And they were a bit too small for my hands...
Eeeerrrhh I have quite a few more. But I guess this is enough pics..
Nice collection .
Thanks for all the Info guys...Gotta say though.... Big Swede and his his descriptions have sent me looking for Nogent scissors.... Its personal thing...... Sargey will get it
.Thanks for all the Info guys...Gotta say though.... Big Swede and his his descriptions have sent me looking for Nogent scissors.... Its personal thing...... Sargey will get it
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Hamon paris has Nogent. But you can find it a lot cheaper on ebay.fr. The golden search term is Ciseaux Tailleur (tailors shears).
This is a really good price for the size and the fact that they're new: http://www.ebay.it/itm/0244-200-FOR...Cura_del_corpo_e_Bellezza&hash=item233a4d7194
This is a really good price for the size and the fact that they're new: http://www.ebay.it/itm/0244-200-FOR...Cura_del_corpo_e_Bellezza&hash=item233a4d7194
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