Ken Parker Archtoppery - Riff 018 Scissors and Shears

[@dongkhamet1351]

I love this video. Your enthusiasm for these fine bladed implements is infectious.

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Thanks! They really do more important cutting than people think!

[@chrispile3878]

Ken could make any subject fascinating.

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Isn't everything fascinating? My old philosophy professor... "EVERYthing is relevant!"

[@chrispile3878]

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 And everything is raw materials for me to use.

[@ThumpandtheGroove]

What an incredible video! Can't wait to see the breakdown of that spherical hand plane you have.

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Wanna help make them? anyone?? I don't have time, and need an ally for this project.

[@jipes]

I will never look at scissors the same way again following your vidéo Quite fascinating

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

It turns out that all tools have a deep end of the pool! Glad you enjoyed the clip!

[@bigoldgrizzly]

My preference for sharpening, is to draw file and finish with a fine diamond plate. Where possible I will dissemble the shears first, though this is purely for convenience. Having a rotating and tilting vise helps. I have the vise set so I am looking down the length of the blade and then tilt it so the bevel is horizontal. This makes consistent filing easier. After filing I go to a fine diamond plate. For lubrication, PTFE spray is another good option. If quality drapers shears are set up and kept right, and are not abused, I think the pressure between the blades, albeit light, makes them self sharpening to a degree. Thoroughly enjoyed the video ... thank you

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

That sounds like a great method! Sharpening is often a stylistic decision, there are so many ways to get the result.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

My fascination also started with pinking shears, in my case, my Grandmother's. I remember she used to 'sharpen' her ordinary scissors by working them back and forth with a ground glass decanter stopper held between the blades. I would add a word of warning to keep your fingers clear when using a guillotine. I saw my teacher cut a substantial lump off his finger end using one when I was about 8 years old. Modern machines come with 'guards' which are impractical to use and you can't see what you are doing - mine have been long discarded. Don't overlook the myriad of designs of surgical scissors and clamps that are available. I bought a large box of these at a sale for next to nothing, and they have proved most useful over the years.

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

I guess I don't talk enough about safety; and you're right that things can go badly in a hurry. I suspect that I have all my digits partly due to my vivid imagination, as in I can "see" the tragic injury which could result from misjudging cutting forces or losing control due to slipping or fumbling. There is a low level of terror present in the background every time I use a tool that could harm me. I've been doing these things for so long that this no longer seems distinct, but it's always there with me. Taking care of yourself in the shop is always job 1.

[@TyphonKrazilec]

I would never have thought that there is complications in scissors!

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Every worthy subject has history and plents of depth!

[@Dejoblue]

Great info, thank you so much! I have a question about the fowl shears; why are they crescent shaped; simply to get into odd places to separate bone and cartilage or is there a blade edge mechanical reason? Cheers!

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Not being too familiar with dressing/cutting birds, I’m not sure I’ll be much help, except that it seems that the curved blades and serrations probably conspire to help keep the raw flesh and slippery bones in the cutting zone, and not squirting out as the blades close? I think you’ve answered your own question, but you could always try and test a regular set of shears against these, no? Happy dinner time!

[@volesrock]

What is the sound of Two Knives Cutting?

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Good one, I’d say sharpness, size and material dependent. Good nickname, also!

[@dalepiwek]

Killer I've been waiting màn😂

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

Lots more to come....

[@crocutus]

Are fret tang nippers shears?

[@wrstew1272]

Yep. I have been known to take a pair ( why are they singular but called a pair?) of diagonal cutting pliers (dykes in the electrical trades) to the grinder and customize them for specific tasks. Not from the Snap On truck ($$$) but channel lock or equivalent. Instant DIY fret/tang nippers! Growing up poor has its advantages…? 😊

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

What a great question! I would say that scissors and shears, whether with or without a pivot, or axle, are tools designed to control two blades in an constantly changing angular wiping motion, so that the intersection of the two cutting edges where the material is being cut "travels" from the root to the tip, away from the operator as the cutting takes place. In an "end nipper or end cutter", which is what I think you're describing, the two wedge shaped edges close in a parallel motion, so that the material isn't sheared in a linear action, but "bursts" all at once when the cutting forces overcome the strength of the material being pinched and cut. I'm having trouble putting this distinction into words in what feels like a direct way, but there really is a difference. For the most difficult example of trying to analyze and explain this, let's think about diagonal cutting pliers, often called "dikes", "dykes", take your pick. This is a particularly complex combination of forces and actions, and I'll leave it to you to fill in what you'd like to call the cutting action which combines the behaviors of shears and nippers, Oof!

[@robinfawcett7973]

Handedness is an interesting topic... do you get southpaw fiddle players?

[@wrstew1272]

They would be the ones on the extreme left 😂. Some guitar players learned to play on right hand guitars and never switched, some string backwards to conventional. Don’t know why fiddles would be different. The wife for some reason has a left hand scissor…..now that feels and works awkward. The good thing is that she hasn’t lost them. The bad thing is that she hasn’t lost them.

[@kenparkerarchtoppery9440]

As I hear it, they are as scarce as hen's teeth, but there's always an exception!

[@robinfawcett7973]

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 Don't think they make left-handed chainsaws...