Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/08/08/how-to-fix-broken-scissor-hand.html
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I think priority should definitely be on reusing or refurbishing items rather than throw them away. If i had a 3D printer and the know how i might’ve been inclined to do the same 
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Sure, it can fix my scissors, but what about my rock? My paper? Lizard? Spock?
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So, just buy a 1000 dollar 3d printer? Rather than a 2 dollar pair of scissors?
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3D printer, for those savvy enough to use it, can pay for itself. This would just be one of many projects one could do
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This calls for the judicious application of polycaprolactone!
I might have hoped modelling had progressed to the point where you could just put something in front of one kind of lens or another and not have to muck about too much with CAD, but I suppose we’re not quite there yet.
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I just used araldite and sellotape.
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There’s some 3D scanning tech out there that is affordable, as well as photogrametry software. But yeah as far as i understand it still requires quite a bit of clean up and fussing around to make something usable.
This was my thought also. And the words “savvy enough” (@Grey_Devil) hide a multitude of skills, let alone the availability of time (also disregarding capital cost funding costs). I wonder how many projects before break-even is achieved and how much time they would consume. I doubt that represents a break-even other than rarely, once time is factored in.
No doubt if I had a 3D printer and the software and user interface skills to design stuff, I’d have made my own handle too. (Actually I solved my broken scissor handle problem with a lump of Sugru. Worked for a while.)
I fear a more general tendency in some quarters to revert to artisan self-sufficiency that ultimately leads to people having to knit their own food, grow their own bicycles, and so on, and have no time to do anything else. Still, after the Trumpocalypse we’ll all need to revert to this. Better get started. 
Sugru would’ve made a simple fix of that plus feels nicer on the tactile side of things.
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I think in this gentleman’s case it was more for his own pleasure. Its like carving your own spoon, i presume that takes a good bit of skill and time and one could just as easily go to a dollar store and buy a spoon for practically nothing. For this guy he already had the 3D printer so why not use it even if there are other alternatives?
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Oh, I know - and agree. But some 3D evangelists are a bit too - well, evangelical - about day-to-day use. One day, perhaps - but by then it may look more like a Star Trek replicator rather than something that currently often looks like the equivalent of producing this reply using only Assembler (Assembly Language).
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Wouldn’t it just be easier not to buy a crap pair of scissors to begin? High quality vintage black handled steel scissors are one of the tools that I hoard on any visit to a thrift store.
For what it’s worth, a decent 3D printer is more like $5-700 now, and you can get an ok one for about $200.
Personally for me I enjoy the measure/model/print/swear/repeat process, it’s all part of the fun of making.
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FYI I saw one on sale at monoprice the other day for $127, so you only need to repair 63.5 scissors to break even. Assuming you have scored a free source of plastic filament, and your time is also free.
You were totally pessimistic!
(also if you score free filament, hook me up, it’ll bring me closer to breaking even by printing raspberry pi cases…)
I keep a ziplock full of this stuff with me when I travel; it is surprisingly handy for emergency repairs. It is dirt cheap if you buy generic from China.
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