I love shears and must have sharpened dozens if not hundreds over the
 years. Scissors are like 2 chisel edges coming together, only worse.
 You never, ever touch the long, hollow ground inside surfaces of the
 blades. Never. You aren't going to get the geometry right so leave em
 alone. In fact, this is what you look at when considering an old pair
 of shears. Many people get confused and run a file or stone to the
 inside edges and you'll have to grind all the way to the bottom of this
 to get the damage out. Shears that want to spread and not cut have many
 times been messed with in this way. The outside, chisel bevel edges are
 the only ones you work on. The pivot screw usually won't come out. Most
 are peined over. So, just open the scissors as wide as they'll go and
 grind or rough stone the bevel at approximately the same angle. If
 they've seen hard service you'll have to take off some meat. Enough to
 form a good burr. From there I go to a finer stone and work the same
 bevel only. Don't be tempted to "flatten the back" remember. You can
 keep going as far as you like or the job demands, right up to stropping
 on a hard surface. For chopping up sandpaper or trimming hedges or
 something, don't bother, they'll cut fine right off the roughest
 grinding. But for everyday, general purpose from hair to cloth I'll go
 to at least about 180 except I use a stone but sandpaper would do as
 well. The first time you close them, it shears off whatever is left of
 the burr you formed. Don't pull up the pivot too tight. Better too
 loose than too tight but obviously, super loose isn't in order either.
 Kind of medium loose, easy swinging is what you're after. Start with
 some old plain cast iron scissors for practice. Millions upon millions
 were made. Anything that was 1/2 decent with a goodly thickness of
 blades when made (Wiss, Kleen Cut etc etc. If they weren't proud enough
 of them to mark them, get a better pair. It's the same 25cents at the
 yard sale either way) These will be your favorite scissors once
 sharpened, until you move up the ladder to finer and finer pairs, but
 the cast iron ones will cut smooth and perfect and you haven't risked
 anything. I'm usually not a huge fan of stainless steel, but the first,
 original Fiskars were great shears. Made em famous. The hard smooth
 orange handles. Later ones with the pebble grained orange or blue can
 be made to work pretty good but you'll have to have an old pair to copy
 the grinding on and reshape the blades to match. Even then, they'd cut
 back the thickness of the steel so they'll never be as good. You'd
 think, if you made something so well it put your company at the top of
 a very old game and made you rich you'd be tempted to leave well enough
 alone. Bean counters, ugh. yours, Scott

*******************************
   Scott Grandstaff Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca 96039 scottg@s...
   http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html