pinking shears!

Look what I found in my mail box!



My grandmother used to have a pair, but I wasn't allowed to cut colour paper with it - which, looking back, is a perfically reasonable restriction.   These are going nowhere near paper!

My task for this evening is to read all those pages I skipped over in the sewing book to see how to use and maintain these sheers.  I had no idea they came in different sizes.  This is going to be fun!

Any tips or tricks for using these?

Someone must really like you, if you weren't expecting that! Lol - I have one 20yr old pair, that I've not been kind to - other than not using them on paper, occasionally oiling the hinge, and once having them professionally sharpened. I'm thinking of adding a couple more to my collection, because sometimes, the width of the zigzag is too much. I think mine look like they cut similarly to the widest ones, in your pic? But, I've never really seen enough that I felt like it would be worth it, to me. You may have changed my mind! Thank you for sharing them! Ha - maybe I should check my mailbox more often, too!😜🤣

How do I know which ones to use on which fabric?  The book didn't say they came in different sizes.

I think the most obvious factor would be the weight of the fabric. The heavier the fabric, the broader the 'pink'...? Something silky will need a finer pink?

I'm so jealous.  All of my pinking shears are dull as chopsticks. I've tried sharpening them and also the widely touted trick about cutting aluminum foil to sharpen them.  Ive come to the conclusion that cutting foil is like stroping a razor or using a sharpener on kitchen knives.  It helps hone an edge, but cannot actually sharpen it.  

I have a pair that belonged to my great-grandmother, I also probably should see if I can get them sharpened (not even sure where to look-- I have a lot of antique scissors and the humidity here has not been kind to them). I'm looking forward to hearing more about care.