Many sharpening services won't take scissors. There's a good reason: scissors work fundamentally differently from a knife, and sharpening them like one ruins them.
Two edges, one cut
A knife cuts with a single keen edge. Scissors cut by shearing: two blades slide past each other, like a pair of edges working together. What matters is that both blades meet cleanly at the contact point. A sharp edge alone isn't enough.
The wrong angle ruins them
Each blade has a cutting bevel on the outside and a flat inner face. The inner face must not be touched when sharpening, otherwise the blades no longer close tightly and the scissors chew instead of cutting. The cutting angle also has to suit the blade. That's exactly why many services decline scissors. I sharpen them by hand, at the right angle for each blade.
Tailor's shears are for fabric only
A rule worth following: never cut paper with your fabric shears. Paper contains fine fillers that wear the edge faster than fabric does. Give your tailor's shears a place of their own and label them if you have to.
Signs your scissors need sharpening
- The fabric folds into the blades instead of being cut cleanly.
- The tips no longer cut, they only push.
- You need noticeably more force than you used to.
Price and drop-off
I sharpen household scissors and tailor's shears for €10–15. You can drop them at my market stall in Bleckede or Scharnebeck and collect them on the next market day.