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Are scissors sharper than secateurs?

quwa475quwa475 Posts: 20
in Tools and techniques
Hi everyone,

Is it true that the majority of secateurs have a rounded tip and thus aren't particularly sharp? I'm from the UK and it seems you don't have to be 18 to buy secateurs unlike some scissors? I'm just curious.

Cheers
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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 26,951
    I cut myself on a pair of secateurs once. I've never cut myself on scissors. I think it's probably the pointiness that makes scissors a potential weapon. 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,260
    The blade on secateurs is razor sharp (or should be!).  But the blade is short, and because they don't open very wide, it's protected by the non-sharp side.  Perfectly possible to cut yourself when using them but not really a dangerous weapon...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 8,707
    Secateurs don't generally have a sharp point, so can't be used to stab people as some scissors can, but the blades are as sharp as scissors if properly maintained.
  • quwa475quwa475 Posts: 20
    So you guys are saying that it's easier to stab with scissors due to the sharper point? I understand that secateurs can have just as sharp blade right?
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,260
    I guess so... but why is it important??
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • quwa475quwa475 Posts: 20
    I dropped secateurs on my foot and I didn't even need to have a steri strips. I always thought secateurs were sharper than scissors but it'd appear otherwise?
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,260
    Maybe it depends how recently you sharpened them.  Plus the angle they landed on your foot...   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • quwa475quwa475 Posts: 20
    Liriodendron said:
    Maybe it depends how recently you sharpened them.  Plus the angle they landed on your foot...   :)
    They landed point down so surely whether they were sharpened or not doesn't matter? The general consensus appears to be that secateurs are less pointy than scissors.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,818
    Define scissors!  I have some small, very pointy embroidery scissors which I could use to do me or someone else a damage just by poking and stabbing.  I have large scissors, very sharp, used for cutting fabric which don't have such pointy ends and would need considerable force to stab someone.

    I have kitchen scissors for jointing poultry which are sharp but have blunt points and the main thing there is strength of the blade and mechanism.

    Generally speaking, well maintained secateurs have a very sharp blade but are best used for cutting stems so would be dangerous if a person's digit got in the way but wouldn't be useful for stabbing whether deliberately or accidentally.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,260
    Maybe... though my kitchen scissors don't have points...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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