Snooze2978

I gave my pinking shears still in their original box to my sister. I have a pinking blade for my rotary cutter that works great for me. Think I got it on Nancy's Notions a number of years ago. I don't use it much but when I do, it works great especially for those fabrics that fray so badly.

Chasing Hawk

I own two pairs of pinking shears. My first pair was a larger pair that were cumbersome for my small hands. I fellow board member her gifted me a smaller pair which I use all the time. I keep the larger pair in the box they came in since they were a gift from my Aunt who has since passed.

I do like the look of the edge it leaves when doing raw edge applique.

Endora

Love, love, love everyone's stories and entries!

bearisgray

I remember that we used pinking shears to cut apart our school pictures to trade them with friends.
(1946-1959)

Also for cutting aup Christmas cards to turn them into gift tags.

Really not impressed with using pinking shears to "finish" seams any more. I think it gives clothing a very "home-made" look. Plus, after many washes the seam allowances fray eventually.

French seams, flat felled, bound, serged - all look nicer to me.

My Mom's pinking shears were pretty much off limits to me.

And how did one get them sharpehed?

Endora

I remember as a young child, sitting at the kitchen table cutting paper with my moms pinking shears. Spent hours at a time messing around with them.

We had a wonderful scissor and knife sharpening place in town for years, and the ownder did a wonderful job with sharpening, however, he closed up a number of years and no one has since replaced him or filled the niche.

audsgirl

I still have my mother's Wiss pinking shears from the 1950s. They still work very well.

Leslie

quiltsfor

I just purchased a pair of pinking shears - stainless steel. But man, they are so hard to use, I can't even open them or close them with one hand, like you would cut with a pair of scissors. How do you loosen them up. I can't think of the brands that they are, but I had purchased a pair a few months ago as well, and they are the same way. They are both supposed to be good brands.

I used to have a pair that was my mom's and they worked fine. Easy to use, sharp. I lost track of them years ago. Have today's brands changed that much! I can't even use either pair I have with them this way.

Looking forward to some suggestions.

Endora

Lovely additions to this conversation!

The ones I have were my moms, and were made to last forever. So heavy and still sharp.

To Quiltsfor: Have you tried easing the srew that holds the blades together and adding a drop of mineral oil where the screw sits?

My husband did that to a pair of scissors I have and what a difference it made. They cut with the greatest of ease now.