Pinking shears have been on my wishlist for years, for no particular reason other than I just love the ricracish edges they create.
Recently, I found a use for them that I could reasonable stretch into a need for pinking shears. When they went on sale for 50% off, I could have sqealed! Obviously, this was a sign it was time to treat myself to a pair :)
In the picture up there are {left to right} my Gingher shears, my Fiskars shears, and the new Gingher pinking shears.
Now, my Fiskars are nice and I love them because those orange handles remind me of the ones my mother always sewed with when I was growing up {the ones we were never allowed to touch, under penalty of death} but my Ginghers are my favorites. The Fiskars have a slight grinding resistance during use. The Ginghers on the other hand have a wonderfully smooth and effortless action, and cut crisply and easily.
I have tendonitis problems in my right hand, and that smooth & easy action means I can do more cutting and hit the pain meds and ice packs less. I was expecting that same perfomance from my Gingher pinking shears.
Far from it. There is enough resitance that even when I'm not actually cutting fabric, the action is difficult and slightly jerky. My wrist hurt with the very first cut into fabric. I was so disappointed :(
To those of you in the know, is this tougher action typical of pinking shears? Is there a brand you would recommend?
I'm considering bringing these back and asking to try out a different pair. Perhaps this pair is just a fluke.
I would really appreciate any thoughts/advice you could share on pinking shears. Thanks for putting up with a more dreary post. I promise to be back soon with pretty fabric pictures :)
6 comments:
I wish I had a suggestion for you, but I too have been putting off buying a pair of pinking shears. I am curious to any educated, first hand responses you might get. Sorry to hear these are so difficult to use, however. I did try out a pair at a used store that looked like yours and they too were very stiff and difficult to use.
I have a set of Fiskars pinking shears and I can only make two or three cuts with them before my hands start to ache. I have currently given them to my husband to see if he can make any adjustments to them. I'll let you know what he says.
Can't help sorry, but will be interested to see the responses you get.
I've never met a pair that wasn't awful to work with. And they get dull so quickly! I say return them and get a pinking rotary blade instead.
I agree, I haven't met a pair that hasn't fought me...but I am not a huge fan of the pinking rotary blade either. I have to put a lot of pressure on the blade so I don't get the bits that stick together.
I think pinking shears are hard to use. They tend to chew the fabric and shred it more than pink the edges. I suppose it depends on what you want to pink and why, whether you should buy a pinking rotary blade or not. Perhaps using a serger (if you have one) would be better. Or if your machine has an overlock stitch and foot, this works to keep the edges from unraveling. If you wanted a pinked edge for decorative reasons then there are several rotary blades available, but you really can't use your ruler with them, so keep you fingers out of the way when cutting.
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