Your Favorite Seam Ripper?
 

We all have them.
We HAVE to have them.
Seam rippers.
I have four.
Not crazy about any of them. Not sharp enough, long enough or smooth enough in the hand.

They do the job, sooner or later... but I'm thinking there must be some better ones.

Please tell me your favorite seam ripper and why? Where can I buy one and for about how much?

CLOVER brown handled flat seam ripper. I have them on every surface!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Rip Tweezer. http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/rip+tweezer.do

At first I thought, why do I need both in one? I have each separately. Well, it is an excellent small tipped ripper - very easy to insert in small stitches and the tweezers are well made and easy to use. When I need to thread my sewing machine, the tweezers do an excellent job. I have 3 and am going to order a couple more while I can get them. FYI.... I just cannot use the galloping horse theory for my piecing. If I can see it clearly from a couple of feet away, then it has to be fixed.

clover white handle #482/w

I use Clover......for no particular reason. The first one I bought was Clover, and it worked well, so when it comes time to replace, I just get another Clover. There are probably other good ones as well.

The one that I can find.
sandy

The small white ones that come with Brother and Janome machines are my picks. They seem to be sharper and cut through the threads more easily than other big name brands. I found prices a little different here - a Janome labelled one cost $6.50 at one lqs, and another had an identical no-name brand one for $2.50, worked just as well. Have ordered half a dozen of the latter.

My fav is the red and white handled Fons and Porter ripper. I have at least 5 of those, all over the house. Occasionally I use one which is lighted and has a magnifying glass attached. I got that one at Joann's fabrics and I forget the manufacturer.

These were my all time favorites until I tried the Rip Tweezer. FYI...you can buy these Brother-type at Hobby Lobby. They had the sharpest, smallest point to go through the small stitches and I really like that. I have at least 5 or 6 of those in all my travel kits. I never knew they could go dull. Evidently I haven't ripped with a single one enough to dull it. lol And I was sure I had, as much as I rip or unsew, the popular term these days.

I was so surprised that the Rip Tweezer has the same small sharp point and the surgical precision Tweezers on the other end. After using the larger in-the-hand Rip Tweezer, I am hooked!

I have more seam rippers then needles. I like any brand as long as the blade is thin and sharp. If I have to tug on a thread for it to break then I toss the ripper, it's dull. Seam rippers get dull the more it's used so don't think it's a one time purchase. Most of my rippers are Clover and Fons and Porter. I have a few Gingher ones. I have the electric one and I use it for long seams.

I like the one that came with my machine I bought a set from nancy notions came 3 in a pack one was a seam ripper and forget what the other 2 were they have a light, ugh! the light wasn't bad but the point on the ripper was thick had to struggle to get it under the stitch I sent them back.

I like thread snips w/ sharp points. Spring-loaded and i can quickly cut threads and pull apart. I learned this trick when i worked in a factory that made firemen's uniforms.

this is similar: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...32P5FP0Z9K5RZA

Dritz purple Ergonomic (believe me - I've tried them all!). They come in two sizes and I prefer the Large.

My preference is for the ones with a long, curved blade rather than a pointy pokey tip. Yeah, that description is clear... This is my favorite: http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...seam+ripper.do

I've tried the ones that say "surgical blade" but prefer a bit more handle than most of those had. Also tried Gingher's; loved the blade, but it was just too cumbersome.

Cripes, I sound like the Princess from Princess and a Pea...

Anyhow, I can no longer find my fav's locally/in LQS, so order them through Nancy's and when I can't find any of them any more, order 3 more.

My favorite is the Combicut http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/prod...ripper-tweezer

I've had three of them that I have used for years.

Colleen

Straight edge razor blades! They slice through stitches, and then when you gently 'comb' them over the thread fragments they pull them out of the fabric. Couldn't sew without them.

My favorite is the one that came with my Viking Optima 150E in 1989. The blade is still sharp as I almost never use that part of it. I 'rip' seams by lifting stitches from the top side and then cutting the thread with embroidery scissors. I have two others, one came with my Bernina and one was a gift, but I don't use those.

Um, I don't use a seam ripper. I realise that isn't the 'standard', but I've never been able to find one I could make friends with. I find it much easier to use small embroidery scissors, and have countless pairs all over the place.

Clover here but I have also used the eye brow shaver, trimmer from Japan purchased at the $$$ store.

I thought I had too many having three of them in my small apt. They really are comfortable in these old hands.

I love the battery powered one best of all...next is Clover brown handle.

I haven't used a seam ripper in years, not that I don't need to rip but ever since I discovered this little snips, that what I use. Here is where I get mine at: http://www.mygoodscissors.com/ThreadNippers.htm. They have great customer services and prices, WaWak also has them but I haven't ordered from them, YET. LOL

I use a scalpel with a curved blade. It's really fast.

Me too works great.

I like the green Dritz ergonomic one in the large size--my hand doesn't cramp when using it.

I use the Fons & Porter larger grip ones (ergonomic) as I have arthritis and cannot easily use the tiny ones.

Clover, white handled. Wish it had a plastic doo-hickey on the top.

I've had the same no brand seam ripper for 40 yrs. when it gets dull I use my little curved file to sharpen it.
Also use a surgical scalpel when there's a lot of rippin to do. when it gets dull I get the whetstone out and sharpen it.

I was in the middle of a project and had to run to the local King Soopers to grab a seam ripper. It has a long pointed handle that I can use to rip and to turn corners with. It is definitely a "two in one" tool. I make a lot of small projects now for craft fairs and am always needing to rip and turn corners. It was cheap and easy to use.

My favorite seam ripper is a size 24 tapestry needle.

Clover with a fatter handle...you do need to replace these sometime...dull ones sure make it harder to do!

Same one that I use!

I also like the very thin tipped curved cuticle manicure scissors.

Haha--yes, indeed, the one that I can find!

Thanks for your input, everyone. I guess I had never realized how many choices there are . Choice is good. Unless of course, you're stuck in the quagmire of indecision because there are good reasons to like different ones, but I don't HAVE to have a new one just yet.

I'm kind of drawn to the larger, wood-handled style and I like a tweezer-ended one as well. None of mine have that and I guess I really hadn't really thought that tweezers might do a faster job than my chubby fingers. :O)

I have grandma's but it is getting dull. I have a blue handle one from Joann's as well as a tiny travel one ( about 3 inches ) that works well

The one with the teensiest tip on it, to get under one of those teensy stitches I had to go and sew.

My favorite seam rippers are made by my husband. he buys the materials to make them from Woodworker's Warehouse. I have them is several beautiful colors. Most if my friends have them too now. They make great gifts.

I don't have a favorite; I just need to keep them in every room!

Well, the other day I had to remove a border that I had applied wrong. Since I have arthritis in my hands, I was trying to find something easy to use, and quick. I then remembered something I had just bought to shave the belly of my Great Dane...It is basically a mustache trimmer, but made for shaving dog's little faces. It was $20 at the pet store, fits in the palm of your hand, takes 1 AA battery and is the quickest seam ripper I have ever used, and I didn't have to worry about cutting the fabric. You can also use it to remove embroidery stitches when using the embroidery machine. I think I know what my quilting friends will be getting for Christmas.

I discovered my favorite seam ripper at an LQS. It is made in Germany and sold by Kathy Rudy in WA. I am not affiliated with the US source other than as a customer.

This ripper is at the same sharpness level as the blades for roller cutters. It is a single, metal blade. The first 1/2 inch is shaped like a sickle. The last 4+ inches are the blade. When I bought the first one at the LQS I wondered if it would be hard to handle it. It wasn't.

They do not last forever but are relatively inexpensive. Lately I have been thinking of getting in touch with Kathy and ordering some more. My "closest friend" has discovered the occasional use for my old ones in his workshop. The pointy end of the dull ones is useful in the house. Grooming African Violets, for one. A while back I bought 25 of them and have been using them as gift box/bag decorations for my quilting and sewing friends.

There, you have all the information I can give you about a seam ripper you may have never seen. I enjoy mine as much as one CAN enjoy a seam ripper.

Pat

One with a flat handle (so it doesn't roll away) would be a favorite.