Keeping Things Sharp - Your Weekly Report from SewingArtistry

Published: Fri, 10/04/19

October 4, 2019

So this is a really quick and fast email this morning. I was teaching my second part of the French quilted jacket the first of the week, and one of my students had some scissors that weren't that sharp. And although they need to be sharpened periodically by a professional, sometimes, we need an in between sharpening and that isn't all that hard to do, and it keeps the tips really nice a sharp for nipping, trimming and marking.

This video shows exactly how to do that.

But after you do the sharpening with your whetstone, sharpening stone or even this small stone that Ginger makes, you will need to clean your stone. The amazing thing is that the best thing to clean it with is oil. I us an old bottle of oil I had from one of my old Berninas. The oil may not be good enough for using in the machine again, but it's perfect for keeping your sharpening stone clean. Simply put a few drops on and with preferably, non-lint cloth, rub it across the stone and it's a clean as a whistle.

Keeping your scissors in good sharp condition not only makes for easier cutting but also makes for safer scissors. Keeping your sharpening stone clean makes for easier sharpening. The serrated blade on the Kai scissors (with the lavender handles) don't sharpen well, and I have only found that sending them back to the Kai company is the best way to have them sharpened. I don't recommend sharpening your rotary blades or Exacto knife blades. Both of these can be obtained from hobby stores at an excellent price and aren't worth the time, trouble, and especially the danger of cutting yourself, to try and sharpen yourself. And always be careful of disposing of them.

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