Why is it difficult as a right-hander to cut with left-handed scissors and vice versa?

Answer

Dear Marguerite,

I am not an expert but a left-handed experience expert who has already cut a lot with right-handed scissors. Otherwise, you will not soon encounter. There are two things that complicate this. On the one hand you have the ergonomics or the shape of the handle. They are often adapted in such a way that the scissors lie well in your hand and that you can easily get your thumb and other fingers into the openings provided. This is only the case for the right hand. Because of this, you can hardly even use some scissors with the other hand than foreseen. On the other hand, you have the mechanical effect. When you cut you make a pushing movement with your thumb, scissors are mounted in such a way that you push the legs of a scissors together when cutting, which improves the cutting (cutting). However, if you use scissors with the wrong hand, you push the legs of a pair of scissors apart, making it difficult to cut. You can solve this by pulling on your thumb which is an unnatural movement but which works quite well once you get the hang of it.

Regards,

Kristof