What Are The Best Tailoring Scissors In The World - Potentially They Are Kai 7300 Series

In the Sydney Studio where I cut my silks I generally stock to rotary blades. The best rotary cutter in the world, in my opinion, is the well balanced and weighty Gingher rotary cutter - but I ordinarily switch out the Gingher blades for the titanium Fiskars blades which, depending on where you can source them, are a more economical and sharper blade (though the gingher looks more sexy). The other thing is I am left handed, and Gingher, which is made in Italy, is the only company that offers a left handed rotary cutter.

But when I am not using my rotary blade to cut silks, I am using my tailoring scissors to either cut fabrics or else to cut the patterns in the workroom that don't suit a rotary blade. For example, aspects of cutting ties, cutting rolls of fabrics and cutting the curved shapes of silk eye shades, require scissors. Over the years I have tried many varieties of scissors. There were the Schneider (German word for tailor) scissors from Zwilling, titanium ones from Fiskars (which are excellent), the classic red-handled ones from Mundial you find at fabric wholesalers and then, finally, the more upmarket Kai scissors with Japanese blades.

Of all of them, and it's now been eleven years that I have been applying myself to this craft, I recommend the Kai 7300 professonal tailoring scissors range. Made from Japanese steel they have not only a presence and feel in the hand that makes you feel more confident, but they blade is much much more smoother to the cut and it doesn't take much to splice the fabric without actually using the scissor mechanics. Despite their size (I use the 300mm version), it doesn't take long to get a grip on using them. The only problem I have encountered with scissors is that there is not enough information on how to sharpen them effectively and not enough information on how to maintain them over time. As is the case with many of my scissors, I am never quite sure if I am tightening the blades back correctly.

So if you are starting out for the first time cutting fabrics my suggestion is this. Start with a premium Fiskars rotary cutter and a self-restoring mat from Olfa or Fiskars. Concurrently start with the Fiskars titanium scissors. When you get a grip on it, buy yourself a Gingher rotary cutter for the balance and weight of it and concurrently move up your scissors to the Kai professional tailoring range.