So a friend of mine was telling me about this one strange thing his wife does.
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@futurebird @epicdemiologist
As far as I knew, there was only one pair of scissors ever in the house I grew up in. Finding them when they were needed a frequent source of drama, sturm, und drang.It remains a thing of family legend how my sister, who was really into sewing, assiduously saved up her babysitting money until she could buy herself a pair of proper dressmaker's shears - and then my father, unable to locate the communal family scissors, took the dressmaker's shears out of my sister's sewing box and used them to cut fiberglass cloth.
I have a pair of scissors in every room of my house, two in the kitchen, three (each for a different purpose) in my own sewing box, and one more that lives in the box of gift wrap.
Shower your kids with scissors, folks.
I suddenly have the urge to send texts to my family of me holding like five scissors fanned out like a wad of cash with more scissors scattered around like some kind of scissors drug lord.
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@futurebird @epicdemiologist
As far as I knew, there was only one pair of scissors ever in the house I grew up in. Finding them when they were needed a frequent source of drama, sturm, und drang.It remains a thing of family legend how my sister, who was really into sewing, assiduously saved up her babysitting money until she could buy herself a pair of proper dressmaker's shears - and then my father, unable to locate the communal family scissors, took the dressmaker's shears out of my sister's sewing box and used them to cut fiberglass cloth.
I have a pair of scissors in every room of my house, two in the kitchen, three (each for a different purpose) in my own sewing box, and one more that lives in the box of gift wrap.
Shower your kids with scissors, folks.
@Gorfram @futurebird @epicdemiologist Now that you point it out I realize that yes, scissors were often the source of conflict/search/despair/hope in my family too!
We need more studies on this.
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Yeah. My parents would only let me use like two of the scissors and hid the nice ones and wouldn't buy the scissors I wanted as a gift because "you have scissors" (even told other people not to get them for me since I had them already)
They came over one day and noticed that I have a big vase and it's full of every kind of scissor, every color and size...
"so, that really was a big deal I guess" my mom said ... I hadn't even really noticed the connection. But it WAS.
@futurebird Western multi-tools have doubtful scissors and people question Swiss Army Knives because their scissors are functional. East Asian multi-tools have more variety, larger, and much more effective scissor setups including on-the-same-scale-as-the-pliers scissors.
I can only conclude that scissors are femme-coded and that it is thus wrong to treat them like they're important.
Which is supported by the use of "shears" for anything in a trade; tailor's, pattern, etc.
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@Gorfram @futurebird @epicdemiologist Now that you point it out I realize that yes, scissors were often the source of conflict/search/despair/hope in my family too!
We need more studies on this.@aSweetGentleman @futurebird @epicdemiologist
I was thinking about scissors-related folklore.There's a Chinese superstition that dropping a pair of scissors brings bad luck. In "The Joy Luck Club," someone knocks over a whole table stacked with scissors; and her luck promptly goes straight to hell.
An Irish superstition holds that, if someone gives you a blade as a gift, you must give them a coin (at least a small one); or else the friendship might be cut short. (That's just a blade, though - I suppose for scissors, you'd have to give them two coins.)
In Greek/Roman mythology, the third of The Three Sisters of Fate cuts the thread representing a person's life - with, of course, scissors.
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Let your kid use scissors or they may grow up with a scissors scarcity mentality.
it has been a very long time since i last saw a pair of those scissors with extra finger loops. i'm not sure i ever knew what the purpose was.
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it has been a very long time since i last saw a pair of those scissors with extra finger loops. i'm not sure i ever knew what the purpose was.
They are "teaching scissors" where you are supposed to help a kid by holding the outer loops?
I don't know how effective they are, but I like them for being freaky.
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it has been a very long time since i last saw a pair of those scissors with extra finger loops. i'm not sure i ever knew what the purpose was.
They still make and sell them so they must be useful to some teachers.
Dual Control Teaching Scissors: Innovative double-loop design allows adults and children to simultaneously control cutting, enhancing skill development and confidence. Ideal for therapists, parents, and teachers.
(www.therapro.com)
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@futurebird Western multi-tools have doubtful scissors and people question Swiss Army Knives because their scissors are functional. East Asian multi-tools have more variety, larger, and much more effective scissor setups including on-the-same-scale-as-the-pliers scissors.
I can only conclude that scissors are femme-coded and that it is thus wrong to treat them like they're important.
Which is supported by the use of "shears" for anything in a trade; tailor's, pattern, etc.
@graydon @futurebird @epicdemiologist The femme-coded scissors comment stuck with me, hadn't thought much about it before, nor in a multi-tool context.
"Western" would be the small scissors on Leatherman? Compared with some of the offerings by Roxon or Nextool?
I have a couple of pairs of electrical scissors, they are sold as KEVLAR SHEARS, which always amused me, and feeds into what you are saying. (I've never cut Kevlar with them.)
Or the adjective TACTICAL being sprinkled gaily and joyfully over decidedly mundane items to make them hard and manly.
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@graydon @futurebird @epicdemiologist The femme-coded scissors comment stuck with me, hadn't thought much about it before, nor in a multi-tool context.
"Western" would be the small scissors on Leatherman? Compared with some of the offerings by Roxon or Nextool?
I have a couple of pairs of electrical scissors, they are sold as KEVLAR SHEARS, which always amused me, and feeds into what you are saying. (I've never cut Kevlar with them.)
Or the adjective TACTICAL being sprinkled gaily and joyfully over decidedly mundane items to make them hard and manly.
@mediaevalfishsandwich Western would indeed be the scissors on a Leatherman (or SOG) where by default, there aren't any. (RAPTOR or PARASHEARS if you insist), and yes, compared to Roxon or Nextool where the scissors are the same scale as the pliers or if they're not they're a main secondary tool on the same scale as the knife blades.
So far as I can tell this is broadly general; better things are expected of default general purpose scissors in East Asia.
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@mediaevalfishsandwich Western would indeed be the scissors on a Leatherman (or SOG) where by default, there aren't any. (RAPTOR or PARASHEARS if you insist), and yes, compared to Roxon or Nextool where the scissors are the same scale as the pliers or if they're not they're a main secondary tool on the same scale as the knife blades.
So far as I can tell this is broadly general; better things are expected of default general purpose scissors in East Asia.
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@futurebird @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist If you want made-in-the-USA good scissors, they won't be called scissors.
There are excellent trauma shears (presumably for EMTs though the better companies admit nurses might want some and produce a range of handle colours broader than red and black) and odd corners of trades (e.g., pattern shears) but just in general scissors are a lot worse made and worse designed than they ought to be given the prevailing constraints of technology.
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@futurebird @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist If you want made-in-the-USA good scissors, they won't be called scissors.
There are excellent trauma shears (presumably for EMTs though the better companies admit nurses might want some and produce a range of handle colours broader than red and black) and odd corners of trades (e.g., pattern shears) but just in general scissors are a lot worse made and worse designed than they ought to be given the prevailing constraints of technology.
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@futurebird @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist If you want made-in-the-USA good scissors, they won't be called scissors.
There are excellent trauma shears (presumably for EMTs though the better companies admit nurses might want some and produce a range of handle colours broader than red and black) and odd corners of trades (e.g., pattern shears) but just in general scissors are a lot worse made and worse designed than they ought to be given the prevailing constraints of technology.
@graydon @futurebird @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist Sewing scissors, especially cloth shears, are both femme-coded and VERY IMPORTANT. Exercise extreme caution when expressing other opinions.
Some are even made in the USA:
Scissors Still Made in The USA: 2025's Top Quality Picks & Guide
Discover premium scissors still made in the USA with superior craftsmanship. Top American-made options from Wolff, Klein Tools & Fiskars for lasting quality.
Sewing Trip (sewingtrip.com)
(sorry about replying to an old comment, I keep thinking about this and can't not point it out)
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@graydon @futurebird @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist Sewing scissors, especially cloth shears, are both femme-coded and VERY IMPORTANT. Exercise extreme caution when expressing other opinions.
Some are even made in the USA:
Scissors Still Made in The USA: 2025's Top Quality Picks & Guide
Discover premium scissors still made in the USA with superior craftsmanship. Top American-made options from Wolff, Klein Tools & Fiskars for lasting quality.
Sewing Trip (sewingtrip.com)
(sorry about replying to an old comment, I keep thinking about this and can't not point it out)
@moz @graydon @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist
"sorry about replying to an old comment"
One of the things I like about the fedi is that old conversations can comeback and feed into each other and build.
I never understood the hate for "necro threads" in some online communities.
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@moz @graydon @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist
"sorry about replying to an old comment"
One of the things I like about the fedi is that old conversations can comeback and feed into each other and build.
I never understood the hate for "necro threads" in some online communities.
@moz @graydon @mediaevalfishsandwich @epicdemiologist
The only kind of "necro thread" I find annoying is when something gets boosted and the author isn't around to respond or even seemingly notice the replies.
Then it just feels like an attention mill tactic.
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