How to sharpen scissors

How to sharpen scissors follow the same principle as for sharpening a knife or any blade : keep the sharpening angle constant!

Now this is easier said than done. You can use a sharpening machine for the task but nothing compares with sharpening by hand, and a sharpening machine actually grinds (removes) a lot of metal from the surface and a scissors' life is definitely shorter.

The difference between a knife and a scissors is the angle of the blade's edge which generally speaking is, for scissors, smaller (i.e. more "flat" edge angles for scissors, "steeper" edge angles for knives).

Check below this general scheme for angles of a blade's edge:

• 24° - Hunting, Pocket and Sporting knives (THICK BLADES)
• 21° - Hunting, Pocket and Sporting knives (THIN BLADES)
• 18° - Kitchen, Fish and Meat knives (THICK BLADES)
• 15° - Kitchen, Fish and Meat knives; SCISSORS (THIN BLADES)
• 10° - Serrated knives

Do NOT use oil with stones but water. I researched the subject and the experts all say sharpening with stones and WATER is by far the best method. Believe them.

Anyhow, the most important thing when sharpening is to concentrate on keeping the SAME angle over all the edge of the blade with each sharpening stroke.

There are tools helping you keeping the right angle while sharpening, and the best one around is generally considered by far the Edge Pro System, by Ben Dale

The secret for perfect sharpening is to create a "burr" along the whole length of the blade- this "burr" you can feel with your fingers passing across the blade, not along it! beware cutting yourself! -.

Then you MUST remove the burr - it's a weak point - either with a finer grit (e.g. a very fine, 600 grit) or polish tape or a ceramic finisher which all have the same purpose of reinforcing, strengthening the edge of the blade.

TIP!