How to Sharpen Dull Scissors

Dull scissors are one of home keeping’s little annoyances. Even if you just bought them, scissors can become dull before you realize it. Knowing how to sharpen your scissors will be one of the best tips in your arsenal. You’ll never need to put up with dull scissors again!

The best way to sharpen your scissors is to use a sharpening stone. You’ll find the one pictured above at Amazon for a great price. Notice that it has two different grits, one for sharpening really dull blades, and the other for light sharpening and fine-tuning the blade post-sharpening. Here’s what to do:

1. Start by lubricating the stone. This can be done with either water or special honing oil, but water works just fine.
2. Take the scissors apart by removing the screw that holds the blades together. This makes it a lot easier to sharpen really dull blades.
3. First sharpen the inner edge of the scissors {the flat side}. Place the inner edge of one blade against the stone and pull the blade toward you in short bursts. It should take anywhere from 10-20 pulls against the stone to sharpen the blade. Repeat with the other scissor blade. Note: practice keeping a sharp angle between the blade of the scissors and the stone for best results.
4. Now sharpen the cutting edge of each scissor blade. Do this by placing the beveled edge of the scissor blade against the sharpening stone. Keep the beveled edge flat against the stone while you pull the blade toward you for another 10-20 pulls, just like you did with the inner edge.
5. If you started with courser side of the stone, finish off your blades by pulling them against the other side to give the blades a smooth finish. Now you can put the scissor blades back together.
6. Look at your scissor blades and you’ll see some little burrs of metal along the blades. These are leftover from the sharpening process. Remove them by cutting something meant for those scissors, such as paper or fabric. If the scissors are sharp enough for you, you’re done! If you’re not satisfied, just repeat the sharpening process.
7. Once the scissors are sharp, use a damp paper towel to wipe down the blades and remove sharpening dust.

Here’s a great tip to help you know how much to sand your scissor blades. Before sharpening dull scissors, use a permanent marker to run a mark along the edge of the blades. Once the mark is removed by the stone, you have probably removed enough of the dull edge to have sharp blades once again.