Shears for Sewing

[Nomad]

I was in Hobbycraft earlier, mooching around the sewing stuff, and saw these Hemline brand all-metal dressmaking shears for 20 quid...

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hemline-black-dressmaking-scissors-28cm/637980-1000

Couldn't get them out of the packet for a proper look, but they seemed to feel pretty good from the amount of movement that was available. I've not been able to find them online from anywhere else.

Has anybody used these? Are they any good?

 

[leaky5]

I was in Hobbycraft earlier, mooching around the sewing stuff, and saw these Hemline brand all-metal dressmaking shears for 20 quid...

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hemline-black-dressmaking-scissors-28cm/637980-1000

Couldn't get them out of the packet for a proper look, but they seemed to feel pretty good from the amount of movement that was available. I've not been able to find them online from anywhere else.

Has anybody used these? Are they any good?

I can’t say for this pair. But a good pair of shears are so much better than normal scissors. I have a pair like this from a haberdashery shop, they were not cheap, but well worth the money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mesquite]

Personally I'd either get a vintage set by a Sheffield maker off of Ebay or speak to Tombear of this parish as he turns them up regularly in his tool hunts.

Doing either would mean you get a superior steel and quality pair of shears to ones made today.

 

[Toddy]

......and if that fails, buy Fiskars.
Much better than Hemline, and widely available, even on eBay.
The most useful pair that I have of theirs for fabric cutting are these ones
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiskars-Dressmaking-Scissors-25cm/dp/B005BE5TM4/ref=sr_1_16?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1541943116&sr=1-16&keywords=fiskars,+dressmaking+scissors

These are the longer ones, more of the size you chose
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiskars-Dressmaking-Scissors-restorer-Sharpener/dp/B01HPT0O04/ref=sr_1_14?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1541943116&sr=1-14&keywords=fiskars,+dressmaking+scissors

cheaper by a fair bit on eBay though
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FISKARS-...h=item4b340f6aa2:g:wrYAAOSwBWJbV4SH:rk:2:pf:0

I have Wright's scissors and they are excellent, but they're hard to use for long, they're just a bit hard work. Some of the Fiskars ones I've been using for over thirty years now, and they're still excellent tools.

I don't have the biggest ones, I still have an old Sheffield set that belonged to my Great Aunt. Frankly, they're too big, too heavy. If I did need a bigger pair though I think I'd go for the Fiskars tailor's ones.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiskars-...h=item3d78e1cf06:g:PSQAAOSwPPpb3WN3:rk:1:pf:0
but I sew constantly, everything from heavy wool and velvets, to upholstery fabrics to fine silks, and I've never needed bigger than the ones I linked to at the start.

 

[John Fenna]

I use the same ones - Fiskars Sewing Scissors - and swear by them!
I have tried others but they have all been relegated to "general purpose" cutting... bigger shears are unwieldy and heavy, cheaper ones do not cut as well or have less comfortable handles.
I went to college to study Fashion with a pair of Wilkinson Sword Dressmakers shears and was very sad when, after many years of use, I broke the handle.
The Fiskars are almost identical to the Wilkinsons - I think Fiskars took over the scissor side of WS some years back.....

 

[Nice65]

Don’t really need an excuse to post this up again, it’s a lovely video of The Putter, the man who puts together scissors.

 

[Toddy]

I use the same ones - Fiskars Sewing Scissors - and swear by them!
I have tried others but they have all been relegated to "general purpose" cutting... bigger shears are unwieldy and heavy, cheaper ones do not cut as well or have less comfortable handles.
I went to college to study Fashion with a pair of Wilkinson Sword Dressmakers shears and was very sad when, after many years of use, I broke the handle.
The Fiskars are almost identical to the Wilkinsons - I think Fiskars took over the scissor side of WS some years back.....

Funny you should mention that, I've just looked at my oldest "Fiskar" embroidery scissors, and they say Wilkinson Sword on the blades and so do the next size up ones that I use for general cutting.

 

[Nomad]

Thanks all. I went with the 25cm Fiskars. (No particular need for the longer length that I can see - the Hemline ones just happened to be 28cm.)

 

[spandit]

I have some vintage scissors, marked "Russ Lok" - can't find any information online about them but I'll look up the patent later. Had to drill out the pivot as they were a bit loose and there was no discernable means of tightening them as it was completely chewed up. Tapped for an M4 screw which was cut and ground flat - looks pretty good. Unfortunately, they aren't as sharp as they could be - for cutting thin upholstery leather they're fine but for fabric they just don't cut it, pardon the pun. Hopefully I can sharpen them a bit and use them as the great tool they should be

 

[Robson Valley]

Best trick I ever learned for sharpening and honing anything =
paint the bevels with black felt marker so you can follow the progress of your tune-up.
My old eyes need a little help from a 10X magnifier, too.

 

[spandit]

That's a good tip. From watching some videos and reading up, it seems that scissors benefit from being a bit rough - like micro serrations. Spent the last 20 minutes or so with my Lansky puck and some spit and they're already 10x better than they were (inasmuch that they actually cut fabric now!)

Edit: looking up the model number (907166) it appears they are Sheffield made Russell scissors. There's a pair on eBay at the moment for £15 so not going to pay off the mortgage but satisfying to get them cutting again