Safety scissors are scissors designed for children, and used in other applications that have a rounded or blunt tip. This tip, as opposed to the pointed tip of many scissors, is considered “safer” since it can prevent accidental cuts that might be caused by the sharper points. Another consideration in choosing safety scissors for school use is that rounded tips cannot stab another person. An aggressive child or teen is not particularly dangerous with safety scissors.
You’ll often find child scissors in much smaller sizes. Longer and pointier scissors can be especially difficult to balance properly, especially for children who are just learning how to cut. Though these small sizes are great for little hands, kids in fifth or sixth grade who are still using small, 4-5 inch (10.16-12.7 cm) safety scissors can find them difficult to use and uncomfortable. Smaller openings for thumb and index finger may prove confining especially if a lot of cutting is required, and the child using them has large hands. Teachers may keep a few larger pairs of scissors, sometimes with purposefully blunted edges, for bigger kids in the classroom.
Another use for safety scissors is more adult-oriented. Small scissors with blunted edges, and usually just a tiny amount of actual cutting length can make it easy to trim ear or nose hairs without accidentally stabbing yourself with pointy-ended scissors. These may be found in drug stores, beauty supply stores, and sometimes in drug store sections of grocery stores.
These adult types can be a helpful and better alternative than pointier manicuring scissors. They’re often available in the same section where you’d buy manicuring scissors and supplies. Since these safety scissors don’t offer as much cutting blade, they’re not a good substitute for child scissors, and can be frustrating to use if you’re trying to cut a long length of paper evenly.
You’ll be able to find child safety scissors in various stores. A few varieties can be found at drug or grocery stores, and you’ll also find them at crafts stores, office supply retailers, teacher and education supply locations, and art supply stores. If you’re trying to supply a whole class with safety scissors they may be more cheaply purchased online in bulk packages. Average price ranges from a couple to four to five US Dollars (USD) for a single pair, to possibly less than a dollar when scissors are purchased in large quantities.