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Author Topic: Hobbies: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?  (Read 5306 times)

Sefiru

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Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« on: August 18, 2014, 08:21:17 pm »
A bit of background, here: I'm left-handed, and when I saw a book about parenting left-handed children, I decided to give it a look.

What struck me was that throughout the book, the writers insisted on the importance of left-handed scissors - that is, not just with handles comfortable with either hand, but with the blades reversed, too. Their arguments for the necessity of left-handed scissors was as follows:

- That when right-handed scissors are held in the left hand, the upper blade of the scissors blocks the view of the cutting line, and bends the paper. My response: huh, this is actually true. When I do precision cutting with scissors, I hold up the paper vertically so I can see the inside edge of the blade; I also hold the handles under the paper. That said, I don't do much cutting that needs this much precision.

- That when right-handed scissors are used with the left hand, closing the scissors pushes the blades apart, rather than together. I suspect this is only an issue in cheap scissors with loose hinges; none of the ones I own do this, that I can tell.

- And that a left-handed child using right-handed scissors may believe they are uncoordinated or "bad at cutting out", rather than noticing a problem with their tools.

Now this one was an interesting one. Now, I've always had pretty good hand coordination; the scissors at my school were obvious crap whether right- or left-handed, and I don't remember cutting things out to be a major part of the curriculum.

So part of me is wondering if this insistence on left-handed implements is because the authors of said book also run a store selling left-handed implements. Another part of me is thinking that if I didn't have as good coordination as I do, maybe left-handed scissors would make a difference.

Fellow lefties, what do you think? Have you got left-handed scissors? Would you like left-handed scissors? Do you think it's worth investing in a left-handed corkscrew, bread knife, or fountain pen?
« Last Edit: May 07, 2019, 02:06:34 pm by RandallS »
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2014, 08:59:31 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;156354
- And that a left-handed child using right-handed scissors may believe they are uncoordinated or "bad at cutting out", rather than noticing a problem with their tools.

...

Fellow lefties, what do you think? Have you got left-handed scissors? Would you like left-handed scissors? Do you think it's worth investing in a left-handed corkscrew, bread knife, or fountain pen?

 
I am not left-handed, but I asked my left-handed spouse, and she specifically remembers feeling less clumsy as a child when she had access to left-handed scissors. She says that as an adult she has adapted to sub-optimal tools, but it's important to remember that as an adult she has better fine motor control in general, and also is used to adapting to a world that assumes right-handedness, neither of which was true when she was using left-handed safety scissors in elementary school.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2014, 11:45:08 pm »
Quote from: Jack;156359
I am not left-handed, but I asked my left-handed spouse, and she specifically remembers feeling less clumsy as a child when she had access to left-handed scissors. She says that as an adult she has adapted to sub-optimal tools, but it's important to remember that as an adult she has better fine motor control in general, and also is used to adapting to a world that assumes right-handedness, neither of which was true when she was using left-handed safety scissors in elementary school.


Seconded. Most of the other tools I've learned to make do with, but even today I treasure my left-handed scissors.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2014, 12:56:05 am »
Quote from: Sefiru;156354

Fellow lefties, what do you think? Have you got left-handed scissors? Would you like left-handed scissors? Do you think it's worth investing in a left-handed corkscrew, bread knife, or fountain pen?

 
I'm a lefty, and I've used both left-handed scissors and scissors that are ergonomically neutral (e.g., the handles are shaped to be comfortable regardless of which hand you use). Either is much easier for me to use than regular (right-handed) scissors.

I have left-handed scissors for general purposes. If they made left-handed crafting scissors (like the E.K. Success Cutter Bee, which have blades that are really good for detail cutting), I'd buy them in a heartbeat.

Of course, YMMV.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2014, 12:35:04 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;156354



Fellow lefties, what do you think? Have you got left-handed scissors? Would you like left-handed scissors? Do you think it's worth investing in a left-handed corkscrew, bread knife, or fountain pen?

 
I'm dyspraxic as well as left-handed. My coordination is shockingly bad.
Scissors are ok because usually I'll switch them over into my right hand to cut things. I do have a left handed pair for precision cutting though.

It's tin openers that are the bane of my life. Luckily, ambidextrous ones are fairly easy to find and quite cheap. When I was younger my family ended up buying an electric tin opener because they were fed up with me asking them to open tins for me.
Not fun at work when there's a tin of dog food that doesn't have a ring pull on it. I usually have to go find my boss and ask her to open it for me as I cannot use the tin opener at work. Pretty much all the tins have ring pulls on them so I haven't bothered to go buy a tin opener for work but I do feel like a useless idiot when I have to ask somebody else to do it for me. (Which probably stems from my family going "really? Again? Can't you do it by yourself?" nearly every time I asked for help)

 As for fountain pens, I don't bother with them as I tend to smear ink all over the page with my hand. However, I do have a left-handed calligraphy ink pen set for my magical journals. I write in mirror writing in those so ink smears don't happen. Actually, normally ballpoint for the everyday journals. My nice one that only I copy the important stuff into is the one I use the ink pen for.
(The mirror writing isn't for any magical or whatever reason. Just that when I handwrite I find it so much easier to write like that. Don't know if it's because I'm dyslexic or if I'm just strange. Probably because I'm strange)

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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2014, 06:43:46 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;156354

Fellow lefties, what do you think? Have you got left-handed scissors? Would you like left-handed scissors? Do you think it's worth investing in a left-handed corkscrew, bread knife, or fountain pen?

 
The only left-handed anything I've used was a toothbrush -- but it didn't work, because while I am primarily left-handed there are some things I have to do with my right hand. Such as brushing my teeth, or using a mouse on the computer.

When it comes to scissors I just use my right hand for those, but now I'm wondering if I'm missing out by not having tried left-handed scissors with my dominant hand instead.

I know nail scissors have always bothered me because I can't use them comfortably with my left hand, so I have to use nail clippers to trim my nails instead.

hmmm. Now I'm thinking I should get some left-handed scissors to see if they work better for me.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2014, 06:39:54 pm »
Quote from: Aranel;156432

(The mirror writing isn't for any magical or whatever reason. Just that when I handwrite I find it so much easier to write like that. Don't know if it's because I'm dyslexic or if I'm just strange. Probably because I'm strange)

 
Hey, you're in good company: Leonardo Da Vinci wrote in mirror writing too :) I always end up turning the paper sideways.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2014, 06:41:52 pm »
Quote from: Morag;156498
The only left-handed anything I've used was a toothbrush --


How does a left-handed toothbrush differ from a right-handed toothbrush? All the ones I've ever seen are symmetrical.

There seems to be quite a diversity on what kind of scissors people use, how, and why.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2014, 10:44:21 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;156678
How does a left-handed toothbrush differ from a right-handed toothbrush? All the ones I've ever seen are symmetrical.




I know, it's weird. My mom came home with it one day, not realizing that though I'm a South Paw I use my right hand for brushing my teeth. She got herself a right-handed one. They're more comfortable and easier to use if you get the right one, but hurt like hell if you use the other hand. I just stick to the ambidextrous ones now.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #9 on: August 21, 2014, 07:02:03 pm »
Quote from: Morag;156726

I know, it's weird. My mom came home with it one day, not realizing that though I'm a South Paw I use my right hand for brushing my teeth. She got herself a right-handed one. They're more comfortable and easier to use if you get the right one, but hurt like hell if you use the other hand. I just stick to the ambidextrous ones now.

 
Bizarre. Kind of reminds me of the spoon my parents used to own, which had the bowl bent at a right angle to the left, so it could only be used in the right hand. Apparently it was a gift from someone (I don't know who) who thought that leftie kids should be trained to be right handed. Thankfully they never made me use it.
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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2014, 08:29:07 pm »
Quote from: Morag;156726


I know, it's weird. My mom came home with it one day, not realizing that though I'm a South Paw I use my right hand for brushing my teeth. She got herself a right-handed one. They're more comfortable and easier to use if you get the right one, but hurt like hell if you use the other hand. I just stick to the ambidextrous ones now.

 
I did not know such a thing existed in the world. Huh.

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Re: Left Handed Scissors: Are they useful?
« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2014, 09:57:42 pm »
Quote from: Sefiru;156880
Bizarre. Kind of reminds me of the spoon my parents used to own, which had the bowl bent at a right angle to the left, so it could only be used in the right hand.


Weird.

Quote from: Sefiru;156880
Apparently it was a gift from someone (I don't know who) who thought that leftie kids should be trained to be right handed. Thankfully they never made me use it.

 
Ugh, I hate the whole "forcing leftie kids to be righties" thing. Glad they never made you use it.
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