Scissors? Kai?
 

Just wondering if anybody has purchased kai scissors and whether or not you have been pleased with your purchase. I would like to purchase some to use for quilting only but they have sooo many different kinds hard to decide. 5000 series, 7000 series?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. or other suggestions?
THanks

They are good scissors. Scissor manufacturing has changed a lot. Excellent scissors can be made much more efficiently and cheaper now. Use to be a pair of heavy metal Ginghers would be a sought after and much cherished item. Now they are very affordable as are many just as good brands. I saw a pair of dressmaker heavy metal scissors at Tuesday Mornings for $19.99

I have no experience with Kai brand, but it looks like they're on par with Karen Kay Buckley.

My go-to scissors are the 7" dressmakers shears (Gingher) and the KKB applique scissors (around 4"--small, for tight corners, trimming "dog ears," slicing through small HSTs and such). I might use longer dressmakers, but I have small hands and the larger scissors aren't as comfortable.

I have 2 pair of applique scissors (they call them “Patchwork scissors”) by Kai, and I love them. The N3120 4-1/2” and N3160 6” scissors with the purple handles. They have serrated edges and are fantastic for cutting out applique because they really grab the curves. My friend Peggi introduced me to them, and she has several pair. I’m sure she’ll be chiming in here with her thoughts!

I bought Kai scissors when I started quilting and love them.

I have a pair of small Kai embroidery scissors and I love them. They've got tiny, very sharp points and I like them much better than my seam rippers for frogging a seam.

I just bought two pair of Karen Kay Buckley scissors and I love those too. They've got those micro-serrated blades that really grab the fabric.

I own 7 pairs of Kai scissors because I can. :D They are awesome. Like the Karen Kay Buckley scissors, they also are micro-serrated and grip the fabric as you cut.

Kai has the same sharpening program as Gingher - you send them the scissors and $5 for postage and they'll sharpen them for you for free.

I have two pairs of Kai scissors, and I love them. I tried Ginger's, and I much prefer Kai. I also have a Kai rotary cutter and fingernail clippers, which are also great. They're a high quality product.

As for which version, I can't give you much guidance. I think my small scissors are 5000 series, but they were all that was available when I bought them. If you are near a store that carries both lines, ask to try them both out, and see if one feels better in your hands.

Like Peckish, I have 8 pairs of Kai scissors - they were at the Road to CA Quilt show one year and I bought the show set of three special. Loved them so much I went back the next year and bought another set for my travel sewing kit. Then I found them again and bought the curved embroidery scissors (small and larger ones). This year they had seam rippers that worked so well I bought 2, one for home and one for travel.
They look to be in a 5000 series. A friend liked my set so much, she ended up buying a set for herself.

Everyone that I know of loves theirs. They even have serrated scissors, I'd love a pair of them.

I have the Berry set and a light purple one. I love them. Have some snippers that are ok and a rotary cutter that I must be holding wrong as it doesn’t work great. I just need to spend some time with it I am sure! But I really like the Kia brand. I also have Ginghers and FIskers. I love scissors and rotary cutters! Always happy to grab another pair to try out!

Thank you all for your informative insight! This site and the individual members are so very responsive and generous in their sharing of info.! So appreciated!

Most of my scissors are serrated. I like Havel and Heritage brand, they are made to last. I like Karen Buckley's scissors but they have rather fragile thin blades. I have broken the blades on them before.

I love them, best scissors I ever had, I have bought several over the years, including the serrated. Great scissors.

I have used Ginghers for many years, but just purchased a pair of Kai's. Love them!

I have a small lavendar pair too. Love them! Unfortunately I used them once as a screwdriver because I was too lazy to go upstairs and get a screwdriver. So now they don’t clip all the way out to the point. So that wasn’t a good idea....!

Same here. Use them on everything (except paper). :-) Bought them at a quilt show several years ago and they still cut like butter.

Have Gingers I never use.

I have one small pair, use for applique,
they were very expensive. I paid 50.00 for that one pair
and found a little purple scissors from connecting
threads had a sharper point and were under 5.00! Oh well
not sure how long that little purple scissors will last,
i know the other will last my lifetime..

I have two pair, and don't know what I ever did without them! Hands down the sharpest scissors I've ever had.

I have two of each (1 for home and 1 for class/workshop) and I absolutely love them: Kai 5627: 7-inch Shears $21.99 and the Kai 5100c: 4-inch Needle Craft (Curved Tip) Scissors $14.99 - which I keep right next to the sewing machine to clip threads. If I lost one of these, I would replace it in an instant!

They are sharp, light weight, and balanced.

I purchased the 9 or 10 inch shears which seemed too long for me and ended up donating them to my church quilt group.

I recently bought a mid century sewing box from Craigslist, and I was amazed to find a pair of Kai pinking shears as well as Gingher pinking shears and yet another pair, Fiskar pinking shears. I wish at least a couple of them were regular sewing shears, but wow! How did that happen? I don't know how old the Kais are, but they say only "Kai Japan" - no number on the blade. They are definitely not as old as the sewing kit they were in, but may be 20 years or more. Kai has been in business for over 100 years according to their website. The Kai pinkers cut beautifully. I don't think you can go wrong with Kais.

Love my Kai scissors.

Thanks so much for your input, Peckish. I have Gingher scissors, but I have always wanted dome Kai scissors, but I did not know if they were as good as Ginghers. I am ready to buy now.

I find the Kai handles a lot more comfortable than the Ginghers. :thumbup:

I agree w/above...I have both Kai and Buckley for applique cutting with serrated edges and I like them better then the Kay Buckley pair...

I ordered the Kia serrated blade scissors - am looking forward to using them. I have a Kia curved blade scissors I really like, and several Gingher scissors that I also really like. And I have several Fiscar snips I really like. Most of what I have for specific use, so they are hard to compare.

I also have quite a collection of other scissors obtained while collecting vintage sewing machines - It's always fun when you get a nice pair in a collection of vintage stuff, but that does not happen very often.