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270992 Thomas Conroy 2020‑05‑24 Subject: Re: Scissors---re-establishing the geometry of the flats, in theory.
Paul Honore wrote: "Speaking of working with scissors all day....Note only one 
side has a point.? Is that usual?"


The scissors traditionally used in England for cutting out bookbinding leather
have one squared point; binding leather is light as leather goes, but it is
thick by other standards, and I believe the squared point must have been used
generally for tough materials. I never found any advantage to it myself, and
have generally used heavy trimmers, specifically my mother's and grandmothers'
dressmaking shears. Of course, part of my rejection of the squared-off point
might be because my teacher never sharpened the ones she kept for students and
used herself. Not in fifty, maybe seventy, years.


Tom ConroyBerkeley

Recent Bios FAQ