Thread: dumb question from a woody

Actually i have no idea.... If the are aviator style snips i would say no, just make sure that the pivot nut is done up nicely. If they are the old style, like gilbows etc then i would say they could be sharpened.

Just remember, Its better to say nothing and look stupid than open your mouth and remove all doubt! (Hmmm didn't i just open my mouth...)

Ewan

Sure you can. Give em a lick with a pocket stone, on the, erm, not on the faces that rub together. Clean the grit off, lube & adjust the pivot. It will be easier if you take them apart first. Might be able to use a bench stone then.

No such thing as a dumb question, although there may be dumb answers I guess. They would not be too common around here though. https://www.woodworkforums.com/images...ndard/wink.gif
In answer to your question, I would say that it is possible to sharpen aviation snips, because after all they are made from worked steel, and had to be sharpened in the first instance. It may not be practical without suitable machinery though.
I am no expert on sharpening, but in general a cutter working in the shear mode, needs to have the alignment of the two blades held to close tolerances, (which for your snips will be minimal), and the cutting edges will need to be free of chips or fretting.
If the pivot hole and the pivot bolt are both true and a close fit, and the sliding faces clamped by the pivot bolt are not worn unevenly, then there will be no excess slop in the handles and the alignment will be good. If these areas do need attention, my expertise will be found wanting I would say, but I expect that you would need to make up a jig to hold the separate blades at the correct angle, and then grind them to correct the fault, (or ream the hole, if that was where the problem lay), and I would think that it would not be economically feasible, except if they had sentimental value, being a favourite too of your grandfathers for example.
Finally if you are cutting a soft material, or very thin flexible material, you may need to snug up the bolt to stop that material just folding over the blades rather than cutting, while if the workpiece is of stiffer material, you may be able to loosen off the pivot slightly to ease the effort required.
Apologies for the excess verbiage, I hope it is of some help, but in any case more experienced hands are bound to chime in and make corrections and fill in the gaps if needed. Regards,
Rob

There you go, Bryan was quicker, more to the point and filled in the gaps
Rob

Thanks for the input guys. I had worked out that the snips didn't need sharpening like a pair of scissors but wasn't sure if they could be ground or filed. But seeing as it is 40 degrees today in Perth I am not going into the shed just yet.