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Self-opening scissors differ from standard scissors because of their cutting action. Traditional scissor design requires the user to first open the blades by spreading the handles apart with the thumb and one or all of the fingers. Then, to make the cut, the opposite action squeezes the blades back together. This kind of action is suitable to many cutting tasks, but some situations call for a different motion.

Thread snips are open by default. To make the cut, the user squeezes the blades together. There’s no action required to reopen the blades, as an internal spring resets the blades to open once you stop squeezing. The squeezing motion takes place between the thumb and the forefinger, leaving the rest of the fingers out of the equation.

While this may not seem like a large difference, self-opening scissors require different and fewer muscles to operate them, which makes them ideal for repetitive cutting and those who have challenges with their dexterity.

So who might prefer thread snips? Scissors like the 10595 are intended for anyone who makes repeated cuts, therefore putting themself at risk for repetitive strain injuries. Industrial seamstresses, assembly line workers, and retail workers often fall into this category, with jobs that require regular snipping. Home sewers, knitters, and crafters will also enjoy quick, easy cutting with sewing snips.

Another group of people that benefits from snips for sewing is anyone who has dexterity challenges. This includes children, who are just developing their fine motor skills. It also includes anyone whose mobility is reduced through an acute injury or a chronic condition, such as arthritis, that makes the double action of opening and closing standard scissors too difficult or painful.

There are many names for this type of scissors, most of them suggesting its primary use: cutting thread, yarn, or very thin rope. The Slice^® 10595 scissors are ideal as embroidery thread snips or a quick tools to snip off merchandise tags. While they may handle very thin gauge crafting wire, they’re not recommended for hard materials like wire, or anything that’s hard, stiff, or thick. That’s because, with this design, the blades tend to separate when they encounter a material that’s too hard.

While this tool could certainly handle cutting paper or thin card stock, the blades, at less than one inch long, are quite short, which makes them impractical for longer cuts.

While other companies make similar tools, we humbly submit that we make the best thread snips for safety. This comes down to our finger-friendly^® blade edge. Most traditional blades are made with metals that dull quickly. Even steel is a relatively soft material that dulls over time. To counteract this, manufacturers grind blade edges to excessively sharp levels. This workaround extends the life of the blade, but it sacrifices user safety.

Traditional ceramic blades, although they are much harder than steel, are made with the same dangerously sharp grind. This puts the user at risk, especially when dexterity and fine motor control are at issue.

Slice developed a proprietary method of grinding blade edges that shortens the initial cutting zone and disperses the cutting force over materials such as skin. Our blades, including all our ceramic scissors, start at an effective and safe sharpness, and stay there up to 11 times longer than metal blades.

We don’t recommend it, and here’s why. Slice uses 100 percent zirconium oxide, an advanced ceramic, for its blades. This extremely hard material must be hand ground on diamond sharpening wheels to create our proprietary cutting edge. The only way to grind our blades is with a diamond sharpening wheel, and even then, you won’t be able to mimic our patent-pending safety grind. The good news is that our blades last up to 11 times longer than steel blades, so it’s unlikely that you’ll need to sharpen them any time soon.

The best thread clippers are the ones you have on hand. Slice makes it easy to keep your 10595 Self-Opening Scissors close by with a built-in lanyard hole and a sleek shape that’s easier to handle and store than traditional scissors.