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47 points

So I am definitely the odd person in the sewing world who cuts everything with my scissors. I’ve been a sailmaker for 30 years and we cut paper, Mylar, Kevlar, carbon fiber, fabric (of course), rope, tape, adhesives, you name it. I’ve been using the same pair for 20 of those 30 years as well. We do get them sharpened but not all the time.

Dyneema is the one thing that will mess up your scissors though. My buddy at work had a dull spot on his that wouldn’t sharpen from dyneema webbing. We ended up getting a special pair for that and Kevlar, with micro serrated teeth.

I will say though that a person’s scissors are sacred, you don’t touch another sailmakers pouch and tools. What they do with them is their business, use your own tools.

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21 points

That extends to all tools in my opinion.

Don’t borrow someone’s tools without their express permission, and don’t lend someone a tool unless you either know what they’re doing with it or you don’t care if it gets damaged.

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6 points

Yup. I hired an apprentice once, and the first few days every time I’d come into the shop my pouch would be either missing or emptied and I’d have to run around finding my tools. Did that twice and was like your first job is to make your own pouch and then got him his own tools. My fault really, I should have done that right off the bat.

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10 points

Mind if I bug you with questions about sail making? That sounds like a super interesting job!

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6 points

For sure! Though I apologize if I don’t answer right away! I will answer though.

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3 points

Hey did you follow the americas cup this year?

What did you think of the wingsails / twin skins / no boom configuration?

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9 points

How do you get into a job like that? I figured they would mostly be made by machines nowadays.

What’s the biggest sail you’ve worked on?

Best/worst material to work with?

What kind of equipment does your job require?

You mentioned a knife but I’m guessing it’s not a common knife. I’m imagining more of a hook shaped blade to pull easier, but would love to know if I was wrong

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8 points
*

Interesting, is sail fabric thicker or easier to cut than like clothing fabric?

Also it’s interesting to see so many people who do different jobs online, I met someone the other month who lived in a boat during the FL hurricanes.

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6 points

It can vary from thicker and heavier to lighter, and there are lots of different finishes as well so it can be quite stiff or supple. The cloth is made from polyester, or Dacron as it’s also known. We also use ripstop nylon for spinnakers. And then you have the laminate sails which can be made with Mylar and different fibers like carbon, Kevlar or dyneema.

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8 points

Interesting, thanks for the information! In exchange I will give you information about my workplace.

At the grocery store when you have something you don’t want to buy just give it to the cashier, we have a dedicated system for someone to go put it back. don’t leave raw chicken sitting next to the candy, we can’t sell raw warm chicken.🙃

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