Scissors Bites the Dust

‘Way back in 1982, the family took a trip to Japan as part of a son’s band concert trip.

One of my fondest souvenirs was a stainless steel scissors purchased for something like ¥150 (equivalent at the time to maybe 10¢ American). It cut perfectly, very smoothly, and was extremely lightweight.

Used with care, it lasted until just after the New Year before I stupidly cut through a staple and gave it a nick. The poor thing wasn’t the same after that.

Old Scissors on Right,
New Scissors on Left

I could have gone on using it, but that nick always put a snag in the cutting and made me very, very uncomfortable (not to mention feeling guilty for my stupidity).

So when I got a 40%-off coupon for any single item priced at $10 or more at Long’s (CVS) Pharmacy, I looked for a good pair of scissors and purchased it.

My new Westcott titanium scissors was priced at $10.59, and with my $4.24 discount, I only paid $6.35 plus 30¢ general excise tax (a euphemism for “sales tax"), 3.2¢ of which went to help pay for Honolulu's Boondoggle Rail construction.

The titanium, the packaging said, is three times harder than stainless steel. Great! But … the machining isn’t as accurate as the Japanese scissors; the shearing is not as smooth.

Can’t win ‘em all, but at least the Japanese cutter lasted me 30+ years.