Tormek Community Forum

In the Shop => Scissors Sharpening => Topic started by: tim on February 08, 2022, 08:38:30 PM

Title: scissor sharpening business
Post by: tim on February 08, 2022, 08:38:30 PM
This may have been covered before but I have a question. Have cheap throwaway scissors killed the sharpening market?
Title: Re: scissor sharpening business
Post by: BeSharp on February 09, 2022, 12:52:32 AM
That's hard to say, because then they would never show up  ;).

However, I do a surprising amount of kitchen scissors - usually Henckels or Wusthof; the occasional pair of Kai or Cutco. I find that if you're already doing a customer's knives - they tend to bring the scissors too - convenience is a good reason.

Sewing scissors - most sewers have good scissors; many are inherited from their mothers or grandmothers. Mostly Fiskar, Kai, Gingher, and Wiss.

I keep a record of the blade angles for reference.
Title: Re: scissor sharpening business
Post by: tim on February 10, 2022, 05:46:34 PM
Make sense to me, never asked anyone. Thanks.
Title: Re: scissor sharpening business
Post by: John_B on February 10, 2022, 08:52:49 PM
I get a few scissors but I think people will live with dull scissors for a long time unless they have a specific need like sewing. Hairdressers have very expensive scissors that they most often return to the manufacturer for periodic sharpening.
Title: Re: scissor sharpening business
Post by: BeSharp on February 10, 2022, 10:54:04 PM
Yes, scissors usually are brought along with kitchen knives. I refer hairdresser scissors to someone else (and he reiprocates).
Title: Re: scissor sharpening business
Post by: John ~ LolliPop Farm on August 24, 2022, 01:46:46 AM
Quote from: tim on February 08, 2022, 08:38:30 PM
This may have been covered before but I have a question. Have cheap throwaway scissors killed the sharpening market?

I've found an enclave of fiber artists, usually my age or higher, who are delighted to have someone who can do the family heirloom scissors, and I love hearing the stories about them, which is the only way I can really tolerate doing hem entirely "by hand" with the EdgePro, for now. They scare me. My mom was a hair stylist her whole life, I don't touch beautician shears, they are big magic.

Funny story, how the following started... One of my customers cut themselves with their scissors, twice before they noticed the blood, and went to get it stitched and even the ER Dr. complimented me on the sharpening job, and asked here where she brought her scissors.  And apparently she posted the story on some online fiber arts chat group, so since then every weekend there have been one or two new people with some janky old scissors looking specifically for me.

I also look after 16 pairs of poultry shears, during season, working with local processors to be onsite an hour before, on processing day to get ahead sharpening while they are working, and they love it so much they altered their processing schedules to be able to "share" me and not wear me out.  They each process about 400  birds every week.

I like to take a pair of "dollar store scissors" and sharpen them up and leave them out on the bench for folks to use to get them to go "oh, wow!" I got them next week!