For my first Random Review, I am going to take a look at my 3rd grade school scissors. Yes, I in fact still have the scissors that I used in 3rd grade. And considering  these are the only scissors that I currently own, this may actually be of interest to some. Especially if you were to be visiting my residence and you would suddenly happen to need to cut something.

Appearance-

While at first glance these scissors don’t look too appealing, they have an amazing ability to force the user to “double take”. The instant your eyes fall upon them, you know that the size, color, material, and overall shape makes them the definitive scissor of your childhood. I for one was instantly taken back to my elementary days, sitting at my desk “cluster” , working hard on a art project of some type. All the girls in the class were gathered around my desk in awe of the pure genius that was happening before their eyes. Most of the boys were ferociously trying to mimic what I was doing in the slight hope that a girl would take interest in them instead. The remaining few boys just gave up and attempted to stab themselves to end their misery, but undoubtedly failed as the dull tip would not penetrate their skin but instead leave a very noticeable bruise. And of course there was the teacher, sitting at her desk in the corner, chalking up another ‘A’ in the books under my name. While these scissors do remind me of the stressful times of my childhood, I still cannot help but want to pick them up and feel young again. They may not be the newest or the most attractive, but lets face it, they’re classic.

Performance-

While the scissors look somewhat appealing to use, the overall performance of the scissors is limiting. Being child’s scissors, positioning you hand in the handle can be a difficult task. I wasn’t really able to acheive any sort of comfortable grip as only two of my fingers would fit into the larger hole (before anyone else thinks it, “Thats what she said”). The main issue with this is a complete lack of cutting strength. Without the full grip, my “scissor action” is a mere pinch of my fingers rather than a full squeeze of my palm. This may be fine for a single piece of paper but forget about multiple layers or thicker material. Though the “finger pinch” grip decreases the overall strength of the cut, it also weighs in on the overall comfort of the cutting process. Once again, cutting a single piece of paper will work just fine but if you have a stack of 5 or more, hand cramps are at risk.

You will also notice the dulled tip of the scissors. Being children’s scissors, the obvious reason for this is so a stupid, ignorant child can’t accidentally stab himself while trying to re-create Winnie the Pooh using construction paper. However, the dulled tip can still serve a purpose in an adult world as well. For instance, lets say a group of people are sitting at a table playing some drinking games. Its a couple hours into the night and everyone is feeling good so you decide to play an innocent game of “cut your neighbors hair when they aren’t looking”. There couldn’t be a more perfect scissors for this situation. They will cut through hair with ease, yet when the victim jerks his/her head in surprise, their jugular goes without injury. Safety is imporatant at all stages of life.

Durability/Re-usability -

Now I don’t really picture scissors as a highly disposable item, but these scissors have been put to the test and passed with flying colors. I’ve had them since third grade which means they have survived 15 years. The blue handles have both my name and my sisters name handwritten onto them which means they have been through twice the amount of schooling than a typical pair. They have paint stains and a little dirt in the cracks, but yet here they sit as if it was still 1993. It really puts the mind at ease to know that when my kid needs his first pair of scissors for school, he will be set for life.

The Bottom Line –

Straight up, you’re looking at a durable, quick, easy to use pair of scissors.  If you’re looking at a full nights work of wrapping presents, you may want to look elsewhere. But if you’re ever at my place and the drinking games start, you’ll know exactly what to look for.

My Rating – 7/10

-Keal