Let’s be honest - there is nothing worse in sewing than having to rip a seam right? The whole process just brings a project to a screeching halt. Every time I have to do it all I can think is “Well that’s xxx minutes of my life I’ll never get back”. I really think the reason why we all hate doing this because seam rippers are very flawed tools in terms of design. I hate using them. They are either too small to hold comfortably, not sharp enough and/or there is no way to use them with any speed. However, this Christmas DH gave me the perfect replacement: Kai N5100C 4-inch curved needle craft scissors. Kai is famous for their amazing micro-serrated shears (which I also got for Christmas) in addition to those they make several types of specialty scissors. Let me tell you: this little thing is AWESOME. It can rip a seam in a fraction of the time of the time it takes to fiddle with a conventional seam ripper The curved tips are easy maneuver under a stitch to snip it and tips come together in a precise fine point that can get under the teeniest stitch length. Below you can see them in use on silk charmeuse with a stitch length of 20 per inch – pretty small – and the scissor tips easily get under the thread to cut it. If you like to rip using the open seam method these great little scissors work that way as well. I do recommend also getting the Kai lanyard for a cover because the tips are really sharp . My seam rippers are now consigned to a different use - cutting debris from the brushes of a Roomba – however when it comes to ripping stitches my Kai 4 inchers are the tool I’ll use from now on.
I’m jealous! Thanks for the great review. Since returning to garment sewing, discovering PatternReview.com and awesome blogs like yours, I’ve been slowly building a stash of notions and tools. Soon I hope to add some Kai shears and now I want these.
I’ve often wondered how folks feel about the seam rippers on the market these days. I rec’d awesomely sharp rippers with my Viking Husqvarna machines and tried to buy an extra one, but the dealer said the company doesn’t make them available separately. So…I took a chance on a Fons & Porter seam ergonomic ripper I saw in a quilt shop. Very sharp and the handle is fat and rubberized for good grip. So far so good but I notice that 2 reviews mention one problem each 1) the cap comes off (cap, I don’t have a cap for some reason) 2) the tip breaks off. It’s one of many different tools/methods I use for ripping.
Okay, I’m here to report that the tip broke off of the Fons & Porter seam ripper last night, March 8, ’13. It fell off the table and hit the laminate wood floor. It was so nice while it lasted with that extra big rubber grip but the reviews are true: it doesn’t stand up in the sewing room! Darn.