Hi, Doug, This is a great example of how the word spreads! I took a
week-long Masters’ workshop with Marne Ryan at Revere
summer-before-last. A few of us in the group had brought our Joyce
Chens with us. Marne had never seen them, nor Had anyone else at
Revere, as I remember it. Everybody went nuts, and at lunch,
everybody at Revere descended on the upscale department stores in
the immediate area like a swarm of locusts, and depleted everybody’s
inventory of Joyce Chen scissors. The retailers must have been
scratching their heads! I have two pairs, and use them quite a bit.
But one caveat-- don’t be tempted by the knock-offs that look like
them. Not the same! I made that mistake, and the cheaper ones’ joint
loosened rapidly. They are riveted, so there’s really no good way to
fix them. Have fun,
Is there only one type of Joyce Chen scissors? I looked online, and
the prices vary so widely from site to site that I’m not sure if all
the sites are selling the same thing, even though the photos looked
similar (but not identical). If there is more than one type, which is
the one that works well to cut metal? Is there a company-assigned
product number? I could use some good metal shears, and want to make
sure I get the right thing. Thanks!
I’m not sure now who said they used Joyce Chen scissors to cut sheet
(assuming it was silver), but…
What is the heaviest gauge of silver sheet that can be cut
successfully with them? I’ve used a jeweler’s saw to cut out a
1/2-1" wide strip to make a couple bracelets, but would sure like to
find a BETTER way to cut one from a sheet. That 5-6" long straight
cut is one heck of a long way to go without getting off track a
teensy here & there. What other equipment do the pros use to do
that?
Thanks in advance as always for your sage advice, Carol
I'm not sure now who said they used Joyce Chen scissors to cut
sheet (assuming it was silver), but....
I used to use scissors to cut my sheet silver. Thought I was saving
a lot of time, too, cutting my bezel cups from the sheet with
scissors instead of a jeweler’s saw. I frequently noticed, though,
that the stone did not fit the bezel cups when all was done. The
scissors were bending the sheet enough that my bezels were being
deformed.
I have gone back to the jeweler’s saw for this, and although it
takes me a bit longer to make the cuts, the time is more than made
up for by reduced aggravation and reduced finishing required.
I would cut sheet with a scissors only if it did not matter that the
strip being cut was curled up somewhat rather than laying flat.
Admittedly, the scissors which I used were not Joyce Chen scissors,
but I would be surprised if they cut sheet silver with zero
deformation.
I'm not sure now who said they used Joyce Chen scissors to cut
sheet (assuming it was silver), but.... What is the heaviest gauge
of silver sheet that can be cut successfully with them?
I usually make my bracelets out of 16 GA. For the lighter thin ones
or 10 GA. for the heavy ones, I have found it difficult to cut the
16GA. With any type shears including 12 inch sheet metal shears, For
lighter gauges I have used the Bonsai scissors, and also a pair of
Weiss. Kitchen scissors both worked quite well on material under 20
GA. But as Lee noted you can get some deformity and curling. The nice
part about the Weiss kitchen scissors is that they come apart easily
for re-sharpening, the pair I stole I mean borrowed from my wife have
lasted me nearly 10 years and have only had to be sharpened about 3
or 4 times. But at the end of the day, Nothing beats a good Jewelers
Saw and quality blades, If you are going to be making a lot of
straight or slightly angled but still straight cuts, then just buy a
bench shear, they are available for about 200.00 and are well worth
it , Just don’t try cutting 10 or 8 GA. Sheet. Those bench shears are
about 1700.00 Saws are cheaper. Kenneth Ferrell www.shadras.com
In wonderful Cold Wet Tennessee, where there is no elegant charm,
just too much work
n scissors I believe Doug Turet ( HI Doug!) mentioned several days
ago I just saw an ad in the new Lapidary Journal magazine for
Allcraft in NYC saying that they carry them. I don’t know how much
they are but I would contact Tefel and ask him. Wishing all a very
Happy Holiday and a New Year full of prosperity and joy!!! Mark
Sanne Aurea Jewels 16 McGuirk St. East Hampton, NY 11937 msan40@aol.com