Friday, May 16, 2008

TESTING LEFT- HANDED SHEARS


I may have mentioned this before, if I have, please forgive me; but I recently had a run of true left-hand shears come in that were sharpened improperly and that got me thinking about testing them.

Whether you're testing a fabric shear or a beauty shear, if it's a true lefty, you should test it with your left hand. This is because of the blade orientation. If you try to test a lefty with your right hand, you are actually separating the blades as you squeeze the shear closed. You can recognize a true left by looking over the top of a shear. If the finger blade is on the left-hand side of the pivot, it's a true left. If it's on the right, it's a right handed shear. Don't go by the handle! There are many right-handed shears with left-handed handles on the market!

Many people don't believe me when I tell them this, but it's true. In fact, if a left-handed person has always cut with right-handed shears and switches to a true left, they often can't cut with it. This is because they've gotten used to pulling with their thumb when they cut, but that's another story.

Image: Wolff Website

1 comment:

  1. Concur fully. I try and demonstrate a slightly different method to identify true left handers. Close your fists and point your index finger parrallel and away from you. By placing the right finger ontop of the left in an 'x' form, you have right handed scissors. Left over right, and you have left handed. Having previously laid the scissor down and open, points away from you.

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