I actually saw a professional say that cutting paper/fabric doesn't matter. I tend to disagree, however, my Mom would tell me to cut aluminum foil/sandpaper to sharpen scissors. I might be all wet, but it has worked for me in the past as I don't have access to any professional way to sharpen my scissors. I have 2 Fiskars scissors that only but fabric, then I have other scissors (usually the $1 scissors-mainly because I keep misplacing them) to cut anything else. I guess my comments probably aren't very helpful, but I'll put in my 2 cents as the sandpaper/aluminum foil has worked for me. Until my kids left home, the 2nd or 3rd time, I marked my good scissors and threatened with death or other suitable torture (LOL-really I'm sort of kidding here), if they used them for any reason other than cutting fabric, although I strongly suggested that they do not touch.