I think that if the seam ripper is used as designed, with the ball between the layers of fabric, and the sharp point outside of the fabric, and pushed along the stitch line to cut the threads between the fabric layers, the threads can end up with one thread being cut at every stitch, while the other thread remains in one piece for a distance. The sharp point can be used to slip under the longer thread to loosen it for removal by pulling on it by hand. The “rake” is then used like a brush to scrub the remaining short pieces of cut thread to pop them out of the fabric.
They're making one now with a rubber-like ball on the end to rub the short threads out of the fabric so that they don't have to be picked out one by one.
CD in Oklahoma