Rigging Scissors, Options Please?

[Davos522]

Hi all, I've been reading Przemysław's wonderful rigging guide, and am wondering what folks use for trimming the loose ends of doubled monofilament where it comes out of the "turnbuckle" (and fine rigging tasks in general, for that matter)... I don't think I have anything precise enough to nip a single strand like that. My Xuron shears are 30 years old and the tips are pretty blunt, and my fly-tying scissors I doubt can get that close either. Some sort of surgical scissors, maybe...?

All advice gratefully accepted, and thanks in advance.

Dutch

[Dave Brewer]

I just use a fresh scalpel blade.

[FAf]

I use my normal sprue cutter - in my case a cutter from Model Craft (https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/modelcraft-side-cutters/). Works fine with monofilament.
/F

[Rookie]

I use this "snipper". Works great for me.
Don't know where I bought it though.

Hope this helps

Cheers,
Willem

[davec]

I use an iris scissor (very sharp, curved, short blades) when I'm OK with a very short stub coming out of the tubing and a new #11 scalpel blade when I want to cut more flush.

[DaddyO]

I go through the wing and only work in the smaller scale at the moment so a brand new scalpel blade works fine for me, but have you considered trying a pair of nail clippers? I've got a couple of pairs and use the larger ones for cutting thin brass wire and the smaller ones for all sorts of cutting jobs where a scalpel is not suitable.

Paul

[Davos522]

Many thanks, Dave, Dave, Fredrik, and Paul, all useful info. And Willem, I'm a bit of a tool junkie, so I had to do a search on those awesome tweezer/scissors of yours... in so doing I stumbled across a wonderful company called Widget Supply, and ended up ordering not only a pair of something very much like them, but also a scalpel & blades, iris scissors, small hemostats, and a pair of those goofy right-angle forcep-things that they used to advertise in Fine Scale Modeler as the "Crocodile Ear Polypus", and which I will probably never find a use for (but have always wanted).

So thanks to you all I'll have a lot of options to explore. And a bunch of cool new tools :-)

Dutch

[AlbertD]

I use my Tamiya decal scissors. They seem to work well.

[Rookie]

Glad to hear you found what you wanted.

Sorry to hear it left such a dent in your wallet.

I'm a tool junky too. I have tons of handtools, all within arm's reach.

But the things I value most are the ledlight-loupe, the precision ruler and the little juwelers vice.

Cheers,
Willem