Wiki Loves Monuments: Photograph a monument, help Wikipedia and win!

Learn more

Page semi-protected

Scissors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Scissors" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2020) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

For other uses, see Scissors (disambiguation).

A pair of standard scissors

Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of metal blades
pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to
the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard,
metal foil, cloth, rope, and wire. A large variety of scissors and shears all exist for specialized
purposes. Hair-cutting shears and kitchen shears are functionally equivalent to scissors, but the
larger implements tend to be called shears. Hair-cutting shears have specific blade angles ideal for
cutting hair. Using the incorrect type of scissors to cut hair will result in increased damage or split
ends, or both, by breaking the hair. Kitchen shears, also known as kitchen scissors, are intended for
cutting and trimming foods such as meats.

Modern scissors are often designed ergonomically with composite thermoplastic and rubber handles
which enable the user to exert either a power grip or a precision grip.

Contents

1 Terminology

2 History

2.1 Early manufacture

3 Description and operation

4 Right-handed and left-handed scissors

5 Specialized scissors

5.1 Gardening, agriculture and animal husbandry

5.2 Food and drug

5.3 Grooming

5.4 Metalwork

5.5 Medical

5.6 Ceremonial

5.7 Sewing and clothes-making

6 Scissors gallery

7 Culture

7.1 Art

7.2 Film

7.3 Games

7.4 Literature

7.5 Music

7.6 Sport

7.7 Superstition

7.8 Science

7.9 Nature

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

Terminology

The noun scissors is treated as a plural noun, and therefore takes a plural verb (e.g., these scissors
are). Alternatively, the tool is referred to by the singular phrase a pair of scissors. The word shears is
used to describe similar instruments that are larger in size and for heavier cutting.

History
These shears are thought to date to the 2nd century A.D. and come from a Roman settlement in
Trabzon, Turkey. The style of the "Egyptianizing" metal inlay designs suggests that they were made
to imitate actual Egyptian art. When closed, the dog and cat figures at the tips come face to face.[1]

The earliest known scissors appeared in Mesopotamia 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. These were of the
'spring scissor' type comprising two bronze blades connected at the handles by a thin, flexible strip
of curved bronze which served to hold the blades in alignment, to allow them to be squeezed
together, and to pull them apart when released.

Spring scissors continued to be used in Europe until the 16th century. However, pivoted scissors of
bronze or iron, in which the blades were pivoted at a point between the tips and the handles, the
direct ancestor of modern scissors, were invented by the Romans around 100 AD.[2] They entered
common use in not only ancient Rome, but also China, Japan, and Korea, and the idea is still used in
almost all modern scissors.

Early manufacture

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, spring scissors were made by heating a bar of iron or steel,
then flattening and shaping its ends into blades on an anvil. The center of the bar was heated, bent
to form the spring, then cooled and reheated to make it flexible.

The Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Company in Hangzhou, China, has been manufacturing scissors since
1663.[3]

William Whiteley & Sons (Sheffield) Ltd. was producing scissors by 1760, although it is believed the
business began trading even earlier. The first trade-mark, 332, was granted in 1791.[4] The company
is still manufacturing scissors today, and is the oldest company in the West to do so.

Pivoted scissors were not manufactured in large numbers until 1761, when Robert Hinchliffe of
Sheffield produced the first pair of modern-day scissors made of hardened and polished cast steel.
His major challenge was to form the bows; first he made them solid, then drilled a hole, and then
filed away metal to make this large enough to admit the user's fingers. This process was laborious,
and apparently Hinchliffe improved upon it in order to increase production. Hinchliffe lived in
Cheney Square (now the site of Sheffield Town Hall), and set up a sign identifying himself as a "fine
scissor manufacturer". He achieved strong sales in London and elsewhere.[5]

During the 19th century, scissors were hand-forged with elaborately decorated handles. They were
made by hammering steel on indented surfaces known as 'bosses' to form the blades. The rings in
the handles, known as bows, were made by punching a hole in the steel and enlarging it with the
pointed end of an anvil.
In 1649, in Swedish-ruled Finland, an ironworks was founded in the village of Fiskars between
Helsinki and Turku. In 1830, a new owner started the first cutlery works in Finland, making, among
other items, scissors with the Fiskars trademark.

Description and operation

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to
reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Scissors" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2020) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

A pair of scissors consists of two pivoted blades. In lower-quality scissors, the cutting edges are not
particularly sharp; it is primarily the shearing action between the two blades that cuts the material.
In high-quality scissors, the blades can be both extremely sharp, and tension sprung – to increase the
cutting and shearing tension only at the exact point where the blades meet. The hand movement
(pushing with the thumb, pulling with the fingers) can add to this tension. An ideal example is in
high-quality tailor's scissors or shears, which need to be able to perfectly cut (and not simply tear
apart) delicate cloths such as chiffon and silk.

Children's scissors are usually not particularly sharp, and the tips of the blades are often blunted or
'rounded' for safety.

Mechanically, scissors are a first-class double-lever with the pivot acting as the fulcrum. For cutting
thick or heavy material, the mechanical advantage of a lever can be exploited by placing the material
to be cut as close to the fulcrum as possible. For example, if the applied force (at the handles) is
twice as far away from the fulcrum as the cutting location (i.e., the point of contact between the
blades), the force at the cutting location is twice that of the applied force at the handles. Scissors cut
material by applying at the cutting location a local shear stress which exceeds the material's shear
strength.

Some scissors have an appendage, called a finger brace or finger tang, below the index finger hole
for the middle finger to rest on to provide for better control and more power in precision cutting. A
finger tang can be found on many quality scissors (including inexpensive ones) and especially on
scissors for cutting hair (see hair scissors pictured below). In hair cutting, some claim the ring finger
is inserted where some place their index finger, and the little finger rests on the finger tang.

For people who do not have the use of their hands, there are specially designed foot-operated
scissors. Some quadriplegics can use a motorized mouth-operated style of scissor.

Right-handed and left-handed scissors

Left-handed (left) and right-handed (right) scissors

Most scissors are best suited for use with the right hand, but left-handed scissors are designed for
use with the left hand. Because scissors have overlapping blades, they are not symmetric. This
asymmetry is true regardless of the orientation and shape of the handles: the blade that is on top
always forms the same diagonal regardless of orientation. Human hands are also asymmetric, and
when closing, the thumb and fingers do not close vertically, but have a lateral component to the
motion. Specifically, the thumb pushes out from the palm and the fingers pull inwards. For right-
handed scissors held in the right hand, the thumb blade is closer to the user's body, so that the
natural tendency of the right hand is to force the cutting blades together. Conversely, if right-handed
scissors are held in the left hand, the natural tendency of the left hand would be to force the cutting
blades laterally apart. Furthermore, with right-handed scissors held by the right hand, the shearing
edge is visible, but when they are used with the left hand, the cutting edge of the scissors is behind
the top blade, and one cannot see what is being cut.

Some scissors are marketed as ambidextrous. These have symmetric handles so there is no
distinction between the thumb and finger handles, and have very strong pivots so that the blades
simply rotate and do not have any lateral give. However, most "ambidextrous" scissors are in fact
still right-handed in that the upper blade is on the right, and hence is on the outside when held in
the right hand. Even if they cut successfully, the blade orientation will block the view of the cutting
line for a left-handed person. True ambidextrous scissors are possible if the blades are double-edged
and one handle is swung all the way around (to almost 360 degrees) so that the back of the blades
become the new cutting edges. U.S. Patent 3,978,584 has been awarded for true ambidextrous
scissors.

Specialized scissors

Among specialized scissors and shears used for different purposes are:

Gardening, agriculture and animal husbandry

Type Image Description/purpose

Hedge trimmers Taille haie.jpg for trimming hedges

Grass shears Gardena-Grasschere klassisch.jpg for trimming grass

Averruncators Averruncator.png for trimming high branches

Pruning shears or secateurs Secateur ouvert.jpg for trimming small branches

LoppersAstschere.jpg for cutting through large branches

Blade shears BladeShears.jpgfor cutting an animal's fleece to harvest wool

Food and drug

Type Image Description/purpose

Kitchen scissors or kitchen shears Kitchen-Scissors.jpg For food preparation, but often
used for a variety of other purposes. Today, kitchen scissors are usually made from stainless steel for
food hygiene and oxidization-resistance reasons. They often have kitchen functionality (other than
cutting) incorporated, such as bottle-cap, to fish scale, to crack nuts and bottle-openers built into the
handles.

Poultry shears Gefligelschéier.jpg to cut poultry

Cigar cutter Cigar cutter.JPG specialized scissors with concave blade edges to cut cigars

Grooming

Type Image Description/purpose

Hair-cutting shears Hair Cutting Scissors.jpg for trimming hair

Thinning shears Modellierschere.jpg for thinning thick hair to avoid a bushy look

Hair clippers Manual hair clippers.JPG for cutting hair by barbers, hairdressers, and pet
groomers

Nail scissors Nagelschere.jpgfor cutting finger- and toenails

Moustache scissors for trimming moustaches

Nose scissors small scissors for nostril hair, blunt-ended to protect the sensitive interior of
the nose

Metalwork

Type Image Description/purpose

Snips Combination snips.png for cutting through sheet metal.

Tin, or tinner, snips

Compound action snips

Pipe and duct snips

Hydraulic cutters Extrication cutter 1.jpg for cutting heavy sheet metal, often in traffic
collisions. Sometimes referred to by the genericized trademark "Jaws of Life".

Throatless shears ThroatlessShear.jpg for cutting complex shapes in sheet metal

Medical

Type Image Description/purpose

Trauma shears, or "tuff cuts" Aa trauma shears.jpg for use in emergency medical response and
rescue should it be necessary to cut off clothing. The rounded tips are designed to slide across the
patient's skin without causing injury.

Dissection scissors for cutting flesh in dissection

Surgical scissorsSurgical instruments3.JPG for cutting flesh in surgery

Iris scissors for ophthalmic surgery

Metzenbaum scissors Metzenbaum scissors.jpg for delicate surgery

Tenotomy scissors Tenotomy scissors.jpg for delicate surgery

Mayo scissors often for cutting fascia

Bandage scissors Bandage Scissors.JPG for cutting bandages

Ceremonial

Type Image Description/purpose

Ceremonial scissors Joshua Kent, with the help of Col. Jay Silveria cut the ribbon and Carlos
Mencia Kid Rock and Jessie James cut the ribbon to open new fitness stations at RAF Lakenheath.jpg
giant scissors used for ceremonial ribbon-cutting events

Sewing and clothes-making

Type Image Description/purpose

All purpose, or Crafting scissors Lerche 4007 scissors.jpgWith long blades and pointy tips, designed
to cut long, straight, smooth cuts in a variety of materials, as well as to get into small areas with the
tips. In sewing applications they are primarily used for non-fabric cutting applications, such as cutting
out paper patterns.

Applique scissors An offset handle and paddle-shaped blade pushes away the bottom
layer of fabric, for controlled cuts close the stitching. Designed to cut/trim close to the fabric while
protecting it from damage, and used for applique work and rug-making.

Button hole scissors Forbici da occhielli.jpg Adjustable, short-bladed, heavy-duty scissors for
opening button holes.

Dress-maker's shears Dressmaker's shears have a long blade (typically 7–10"), to facilitate
cutting out fabric. Blades are tapered, with one pointed and one rounded tip; the blunt tip prevents
fabric from snagging on seams and threads. Blades have a "knife edge": the top blade is set at an
acute angle which allows them to cut through fabric easier than scissors. More heavy-duty than
general scissors, the bottom blade sits flush on the table – making it easier to cut accurately through
fabric.

Embroidery snips Small scissors without loopholes for the fingers, which have a fine
pointy tip, designed to get close to the fabric without damaging it. These snips feature a curved
blade, to facilitate getting as close as possible to the base of a thread without damaging the
garment.

Pinking shears Zackenschere.jpg for cutting cloth and producing a serrated edge so that the
fabric does not fray.

Sewing chatelaine scissors Chatelaine is a French term meaning 'mistress of a castle,

chateau or stately home' that dates back to the Middle Ages. It refers to an ornamental clasp or
hook from which chains were hung from the waist, holding perhaps, a purse, watch, keys, scissors or
thimble case. The sewing chatelaine became a popular ornamental appendage worn by Victorian
ladies at their waist, but disappeared when fashion changed and skirts were no longer full and long.
Sewing chatelaines are now produced and worn as pendants around the neck.
Tailor's scissors Schere 18-19 Jh.jpg Designed to cut through heavy-duty materials like leather or
multiple layers of fabric. Generally shorter in length (5″ blades are typical), with thicker blades that
feature precision-ground knife-edges which cut all the way to the tip.

Scissors gallery

Chinese scissors, early to mid-Tang dynasty

A pair of iron scissors dating from the Han Dynasty

Fiskars scissors 1967

embroidery scissors in the form of a crane

A pair of shears

Scissors for cutting carpet

These scissors are used in Japan to cut threads in sewing.

Culture
Due to their ubiquity across cultures and classes, scissors have numerous representations across
world culture.

Art

Numerous art forms worldwide enlist scissors as a tool/material with which to accomplish the art.
For cases where scissors appear in or are represented by the final art product, see
Commons:Category:Scissors in art.

Film

Dead Again is a 1991 film starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson in a thriller revolving
around repressed memories of scissors.

Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 film starring Johnny Depp as a young man who has hands made of
multiple pairs of scissors.

Running with Scissors is a 2006 film based on the memoir of the same title.

Us is a 2019 psychological horror film directed by Jordan Peele about a family confronted by their
scissor-wielding doppelgängers.

Games

The game Rock paper scissors involves two or more players making shapes with their hands to
determine the outcome of the game. One of the three shapes, 'scissors', is made by extending the
index and middle fingers to mimic the shape of most scissors.

In the horror video game franchise, Clock Tower, there is a character called Scissorman. Although
the identity is usually taken by multiple individuals throughout the series, Scissorman is usually
portrayed as a demonic serial killer with a giant pair of scissors, and kills anyone without showing
any signs of mercy or remorse.

Literature

Augusten Burroughs' 2002 memoir Running with Scissors spent eight weeks on the New York Times
best seller list. The book was later adapted into a film.

Music

Running with Scissors is the title of a 1999 album by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

The song "The Tailor Shop on Enbizaka (円尾坂の仕立屋 Enbizaka no Shitateya)" from Vocaloid
producer Akuno-P tells a story about a tailor that kills a man and his family, whom she mistakes for
her unfaithful lover and his three mistresses, using her sewing scissors.

The XTC song "Scissor Man", later covered by Primus.

"Save Your Scissors" – song by City and Colour.

The song "Scissors" by American Rock Band "Slipknot"

Sport

The term 'scissor kick' may be found in several sports, including:

Scissor kick (strike), a generic martial arts term for any of a number of moves that may resemble the
appearance or action of a pair of scissors.

Bicycle kicks in football are sometimes known as 'scissor kicks'.

Swimming strokes including the sidestroke incorporate a leg movement often known as a 'scissor
kick'.

Superstition

Scissors have a widespread place in cultural superstitions. In many cases, the details of the
superstition may be specific to a given country, region, tribe, religion or even situation.

Africa

In parts of North Africa, it was held that scissors could be used to curse a bridegroom. When the
bridegroom was on horseback, the person enacting the curse would stand behind him with the
scissors open and call his name. If the bridegroom answered to his name being called, the scissors
would then be snapped shut and the bridegroom would be unable to consummate his marriage with
his bride.[6]

Asia

In Pakistan, some believe that scissors should never be idly opened and closed without purpose; this
is believed to cause bad luck.[7]

Western Europe

As iron was believed to ward off fairies, British parents traditionally hung a pair of iron scissors over
cradles to keep fairies away. Sometimes the scissors were kept open to make the shape of a cross for
extra protection.[8]

North America

United States

In New Orleans, some believed that putting an open pair of scissors underneath your pillow at night
was a sound method for sleeping well, even if one is cursed.[9]

Eastern Europe

In some Eastern European countries, it is believed that leaving scissors open causes fights and
disagreements within a household.[citation needed]

China

In China, it is believed that to give scissors to a friend or loved one is to be cutting ties with them.
[citation needed]

Science
Scissors have been used in the sciences for various purposes, including descriptions of animals or
natural features.

Nature

Animals named after scissors include:

Birds

The scissor-tailed flycatcher of North and Central America.

The scissor-tailed hummingbird

The scissor-tailed kite, a bird that is widespread throughout Africa.

The scissor-tailed nightjar of South America.

Fish

The scissor-tail rasbora, several species of fish that are commonly used for freshwater aquariums.
[10][11]

See also

Hemostat resembles a pair of scissors, but is used as a clamp in surgery and does not cut at all.

Nippers cut (break) small pieces out of tile.

Pliers used for holding and crimping metal or wire.

References

"Shears: Roman Period". Metropolitan Museum. n.d. Retrieved 2018-07-18.

Zoom Inventors and Inventions. Enchanted Learning. Retrieved 2010-11-05.

Sudworth, John (2013-04-22). "The scissor-maker that has cut through Chinese history". BBC News.

"History". William Whiteley & Sons. Archived from the original on 2014-12-08. Retrieved 2015-01-
20.

Leader, Robert Eadon (1901). [Reminiscences of] Sheffield in the Eighteenth Century. Sheffield: The
Sheffield Independent Press Limited. pp. 69–70.

Encyclopedia of Superstitions 1949 – Edwin Radford, Mona A. Radford – Google Boeken.

Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-02-28.

DJPianz (2011-05-04). "Superstitions around the world: Pakistan – Scissors".

Worldsuperstitions.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-02-28.

Fairies and Elves By Shannon Knudsen p.27

"NEW ORLEANS SUPERSTITIONS (1886) by Lafcadio Hearn". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2012-02-

28.
Aquaticcommunity. "Scissortail – Rasbora trilineata". Aquaticcommunity.com. Retrieved 2012-02-
28.

"Scissor Tail Rasbora – Rasbora trilineata". Fishlore.com. Retrieved 2012-02-28.

External links

Media related to Scissors at Wikimedia Commons

vte

Cutting and abrasive tools

vte

Crochet

vte

Embroidery

vte

Knitting

vte

Sewing

Authority control Edit this at Wikidata

GND: 4179496-5NDL: 00562986

Categories: ScissorsCutting toolsEmbroidery equipmentMechanical hand toolsSewing equipment

Navigation menu

Not logged inTalkContributionsCreate accountLog in

ArticleTalk

ReadView sourceView historySearch

Search Wikipedia

Main page

Contents

Current events

Random article

About Wikipedia

Contact us

Donate

Contribute
Help

Community portal

Recent changes

Upload file

Tools

What links here

Related changes

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Cite this page

Wikidata item

Print/export

Download as PDF

Printable version

In other projects

Wikimedia Commons

Languages

‫العربية‬

Español

हिन्दी

Jawa

മലയാളം

Bahasa Melayu
தமிழ்

‫اردو‬
中文
101 more

Edit links

This page was last edited on 8 July 2020, at 04:55 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaMobile viewDevelopersStatisticsCookie

statementWikimedia FoundationPowered by MediaWiki