Quickly Sharpen A Pair Of Scissors With An Item You Likely Already Have At Home

Positioning your scissors at the right angle to cut smoothly through the wrapping paper or fabric only to struggle to get a decent cut can be frustrating. Alas, your sharp pair will get dull over time due to the traction between the blades and the items you use them on. Certain things, like hair, speed up the dulling process, causing your once-efficient scissors to lose their edge (literally!). But instead of buying a new pair of scissors, an easy hack will make your old pair good as new. All you have to do is glide the dull blades between a used glass bottle to restore your scissor's edge.

Dull blades don't just make it difficult to achieve a clean cut, but they can also lead to unwarranted accidents since you might have to resort to brute force to get them to cut through the intended target. Besides, imagine dealing with uneven cuts on something as simple as craft paper and trying to hide from discerning eyes. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, grab a glass bottle to sharpen your dull scissors in a jiffy.

For this hack, you'll need an empty glass bottle, a dull pair of scissors, and two microfiber cloths — one dry and the other slightly damp. If possible, use an old bottle since the sharpening motion might damage it. So, if you've set aside empty milk or alcohol bottles to repurpose them in your home, take one out to sharpen your scissors. Once you have everything, wipe the blades with the dry microfiber cloth to remove any lingering residue. Now, angle the bottle away from you and steady it with one hand. Loop in the scissors between your fingers as you normally would.

Start moving the blades in a cutting motion around the neck of the bottle to regain their sharpness. Don't be hasty or apply force, or you could end up hurting yourself or the blades. Be gentle, keep checking the scissors' sharpness every few glides, and stop after the blades are sufficiently sharp. In case you don't have bottles lying around, reuse your old glass jars. Follow a similar process if your scissors can open wide enough to accommodate the jar's thickness. If not, place one blade inside the opening and the other outside and "cut" the jar vertically to sharpen the scissors. When the scissors are sharp enough for your liking, wipe the blades and the bottle (or jar) with the wet microfiber cloth to pick up cut glass pieces.

The answer is yes and no. The hack has been around for quite some time, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it works. On the other hand, some people have complained that the hack seems to work initially but worsens the quality of their scissors in the long run. This is because it effectively damages the blades and creates a microscopic tearing between the opposing sides, making you believe the hack actually works and helps sharpen your dull pair of scissors.

YouTube creator @Random agrees and mentions that the glass bottle hack should be used when you're out of options and need a sharp pair of scissors immediately. He adds that the hack works because "glass is harder than steel," but it isn't a long-term solution and shouldn't be used too often. Moreover, it won't make your scissors incredibly sharp, it'll just give them enough edge to cut through thin materials, like paper and plastic. He even notes that the pivot screw — the screw joining the two blades — should be in tip-top shape or the hack wouldn't work at all.