How to Sharpen Scissors and Knives
There’s nothing more annoying that dull scissors and knives, especially when you need them most. Here are some really easy ways to sharpen your knives and scissors.
Sharpening Scissors
One method is to take your pair of dull scissors, and a glass cup that you do not want to use anymore. Cut the scissors into the edges of the glass cup repeatedly, and you will end with sharper scissors. You can also use used glass bottles for the same results.
Make seven layers of aluminum foil and use your dull scissors to cut through them. Cutting through sandpaper will also help bring the sharpness back to your scissors
To use a whetstone to sharpen your scissors, you first need a lightly oiled whetstone. If you just bought a new whetstone, the first thing to do is to soak it overnight in a pan of machine oil.
Open your scissors wide and set the finger grips against the table. Scissors have only one cutting edge, located inside each arm. Take the whetstone and position it to match the angle of the cutting edge.
A whetstone has a fine and a coarse side, but for sharpening scissors, you use the fine side only. With a firm but mild pressure in your had, push the whetstone against the cutting edge in one direction. As soon as you get to the tip of the cutting edge, go back to the top and sharpen from the same direction. Keep count of how many strokes you make on the cutting edge.
Repeat the same action on the other cutting edge. You should also use the same number of strokes that you made with the first one.
Snap close very quickly or wipe with a soft cloth to get rid of any burrs. Check the pivot if it is too tightly or too loosely screwed together. Adjust accordingly.
Sharpening Knives
Purchase a whetstone that has a coarse side and a fine side. Soak overnight in a pan with mineral oil. Wipe the whetstone with a towel soaked in mineral spirits to get rid of debris.
When sharpening a dull knife, you will use both the coarse and the fine side of the whetstone. If the knife is not that dull, you can just use the fine side of the whetstone.
Locate the bevel angle (the angle where the cutting edge of the knife begins), and follow that angle when positioning your knife against the whetstone. If you cannot locate the bevel angle, 30 degrees is the standard angle to use.
Firmly but gently push the knife diagonally against the whetstone, making sure that the whole knife is making a pass and that you are exerting equal force. Once you’ve reached the far end of the whetstone, lift the knife, turn it over and bring it back to the starting point. Push the knife again. Make sure that both sides of your knife receive an equal amount of strokes.
When sharpening fine stainless steel blades, use fine-grit silicone carbide slipstone instead of the typical whetstone. The slipstone usually comes with a handle, and what you do is whet the cutting edge of the knife by following the bevel angle in small, tight motions. Repeat in the other side, and make the number of circular strokes for each side the same number.
You can also use a cutting steel to sharpen your knives. To do this, you must have your knife pointed away from you while pulling the cutting edge against the cutting steel from the top of the blade to the bottom. Repeat on the other side.