Knife edge, or blunt edge shears for ripstop and silnylon?

[Irishjihad]

I'm trying to put together a tool kit for sewing some hammocks, tarps, etc. I've been looking at Gingher shears, and am trying to decide between knife edge and blunt, bent shears. Either way I'd go for 8" as I don't think my hands are big enough for the 10" or 12". Are the blunt edge the safer bet for dealing with the thin, easily punctured ripstop and silnylon?

[gmcttr]

For clarity, can we assume you mean 'blunt tip' and not blunt edge?

[Osulagh]

I just use regular ol' kitchen scissors. Cuts fine.

[Irishjihad]

For clarity, can we assume you mean 'blunt tip' and not blunt edge?

Yes. I'd hate to try it with those "safety" scissors from grammar school. I'd probably get stuck with the left-handed ones AGAIN . .

[stalker42]

The stuff is so slick you would have to work to accidentally pole a hole with the too of a pair of scissors though I'm sure it could happen.

[Ramblinrev]

If you want to be able to make fine snip cuts without changing shears I would go with the knife edge. BUT 8" bent shears are major piece of cutlery. You would be better off and more accurate with a pair of 5-6" straight scissors for the fine snips. Personally I would avoid anything larger than 8" bents. They are big enough and heavy enough to know you are using something as it is. Anything else is going to put a toll on your hand and wrists. When I was a kid we had a pair of 12" straight library shears. Called them toadstabbers. After any length of time with those puppies my hand needed a rest. Bent shears are really useful for table cutting and outline pieces. You can easily cut while keeping the fabric reasonable flat on the table. Straight scissors are good for trimming and utility cuts when the fabric can be picked up and handled without disrupting the outlines. The other basic set piece are 3" snipping scissors. They are good for snipping threads and clipping notches and other small detail cuts.

Ginghers are amazing tools. Excellent excellent choice. Many professional cutters use Ginghers.

[Irishjihad]

If you want to be able to make fine snip cuts without changing shears I would go with the knife edge. BUT 8" bent shears are major piece of cutlery. You would be better off and more accurate with a pair of 5-6" straight scissors for the fine snips. Personally I would avoid anything larger than 8" bents. They are big enough and heavy enough to know you are using something as it is. Anything else is going to put a toll on your hand and wrists. When I was a kid we had a pair of 12" straight library shears. Called them toadstabbers. After any length of time with those puppies my hand needed a rest. Bent shears are really useful for table cutting and outline pieces. You can easily cut while keeping the fabric reasonable flat on the table. Straight scissors are good for trimming and utility cuts when the fabric can be picked up and handled without disrupting the outlines. The other basic set piece are 3" snipping scissors. They are good for snipping threads and clipping notches and other small detail cuts.

Ginghers are amazing tools. Excellent excellent choice. Many professional cutters use Ginghers.

I have a pair knife edge thread nippers, and an Olfa rotary cutter that a friend loaned me, but it seems like there are plenty of times that a pair of scissors/shears would be handy in between. The Olfa is great if I have time/room to layout a cutting surfaces, etc., but I'm not sure I want to do that every time I want to cut some fabric.

[MAD777]

I use a rotary cutter for all of my fabric cuts.

[gunner76]

I use a rotary cutter for most of my cuts.

[Irishjihad]

Living in NYC my apartment space is limited. So I intend to do a good bit of my work after hours in a conference room at my office. So I want to minimize my set-up/breakdown time.