Fuck Kelly.

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A cardinal sin.

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It can vary from thicker and heavier to lighter, and there are lots of different finishes as well so it can be quite stiff or supple. The cloth is made from polyester, or Dacron as it’s also known. We also use ripstop nylon for spinnakers. And then you have the laminate sails which can be made with Mylar and different fibers like carbon, Kevlar or dyneema.

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Mind if I bug you with questions about sail making? That sounds like a super interesting job!

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Consumer grade whetstones are completely unsuitable for maintaining fabric shears. Maintaining a consistent bevel on stones that coarse is damn near impossible, and you’re most likely going to ruin the mate between the cutting faces beyond repair.

(“well I sharpened mine with an unoiled chunk of arkansas asphalt and they cut even better now”: no you didnt, you’re cutting with the burr, it won’t last, I hate you.)

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Any disruption of the interference fit between the contact or cutting faces can ruin scissors - it’s a lot like grinding a straight razor, but where you have incredibly strict angle requirements across a compound surface. You’re absolutely right though that the #1 mistake people make is to mess up the hollows by flat sharpening them like knives.

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You’re highly wrong, then. Go get a straight razor and drag it through some paper, then see how nice it is to shave with. Fabric shears have surfaces honed to the same degree.

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That extends to all tools in my opinion.

Don’t borrow someone’s tools without their express permission, and don’t lend someone a tool unless you either know what they’re doing with it or you don’t care if it gets damaged.

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Interesting, thanks for the information! In exchange I will give you information about my workplace.

At the grocery store when you have something you don’t want to buy just give it to the cashier, we have a dedicated system for someone to go put it back. don’t leave raw chicken sitting next to the candy, we can’t sell raw warm chicken.

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It’s a single bevel.

Sharpen the angled side at the proper angle, and remove the burr by flattening the smooth side of the blade on a decent diamond stone.

I have my great grandfathers barber’s shears, and that’s how they’ve been sharpened for going on 100 years now. You need a stone wide enough for the whole blade, so that its uniformly flat, but other than that it’s pretty logical how they need to be sharpened.

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This is one of my favorite comments of all time. I have sent a screen shot to three different people that get pissed when I won’t let them use my shears.

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Oh man, that drives me nuts when I see that! I always try to find someone to give it to, you can’t put that back, you never know how long it’s been sitting there! Some people are so dense.

I’ve not worked in a grocery store but I did work at a butcher/deli. It was really fun, lovely people. Luckily it was small enough we didn’t have to deal with that!

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Yup. I hired an apprentice once, and the first few days every time I’d come into the shop my pouch would be either missing or emptied and I’d have to run around finding my tools. Did that twice and was like your first job is to make your own pouch and then got him his own tools. My fault really, I should have done that right off the bat.

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For sure! Though I apologize if I don’t answer right away! I will answer though.

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How do you get into a job like that? I figured they would mostly be made by machines nowadays.

What’s the biggest sail you’ve worked on?

Best/worst material to work with?

What kind of equipment does your job require?

You mentioned a knife but I’m guessing it’s not a common knife. I’m imagining more of a hook shaped blade to pull easier, but would love to know if I was wrong

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I’d like to tag on and ask if op plays Enya - Orinoco Flow every time a sail is completed.

macrocarpa

Hey did you follow the americas cup this year?

What did you think of the wingsails / twin skins / no boom configuration?

Flying Squid

THEY DAMN WELL BETTER!

Flying Squid

I was totally ignorant to the world of fiber crafts the first- and last- time my wife found me cutting up something with her sewing scissors.

Of course, that was before she became addicted to every fiber craft under the sun. Now I live in a house with several spinning wheels and a tapestry loom. This could be you too if you start crocheting. Take heed.

(I’m actually fine with it because she’s making me an Ernie sweater. I saw an Ernie costume on Halloween and I suddenly realized how much I wanted an Ernie sweater. So I asked and she immediately said okay. Yay!)

Flying Squid

Well don’t leave them where they are accessible in cutting things that aren’t fabric.

You have so never had a little girl Kelly in your life.

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It’s a shame more fabric enthusiastics don’t do this, we’d have an army of skilled blade sharpeners and weapon/fabric enthusiastics could join forces and reign supreme