Sharpening Wiss Av snips?

[BWS]

I must have 3-4 complete sets of Wiss Av snips,Yell,Gr,Red........the Reds get the most use.I've had good sucess sharpening reg. (not Av style)snips.Have any of you HVAC guys had any luck sharpening the aviation style snips....any secrets?BW

 

[rickairmedic]

BWS throw those things away and go get some midwest aviation snips . WISS snips are not worth a **** anymore in my opinion ( they used to be fantastic but not anymore ) . I have started using midwest shears and have been real happy with how long they last ( I cut alot of sheetmetal with them and they keep a good edge no problems ) .


Rick

 

[BWS]

Rick,these are all over ten yo.......and 1 set is probably 20 yo.90% of my sheet metal work has been standing seam copper and tin.Total amt prolly not over 50 sq.Mostly historic stuff.Don't really use av snips all that much,which is why they're old.Now that you mention it though...some that I've seen on the job(other owners)recently do have that "china" homeboy look to them.BW

Will give it a try on sharpening/tune-up and report back in a few,thanks.

 

[RoofDude]

I've sharpened a few with varying size files.

 

[russlaferrera]

I took mine apart, then ran the cutters across 220 grit wet/dry . You can not just sharpen the blades without removing material from the whole blade as they have to be close together.

 

[BWS]

Yeah russ,take them apart........I have a cherry,'47 Norton Hyd. 6X18 surface grinder.....the 25 yo snips never made it past the belt grinder.Worked great,to the point that they're better/sharper than new.Thanks to all,BW

 

[Mattlt]

Years ago, didn't they always say to cut sandpaper with a scissors to sharpen it? Would that work in this case?

I've never tried.