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Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of 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. Inexpensive, mass-produced modern scissors are often designed ergonomically with composite thermoplastic and rubber handles. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Modern manufacturing regions China The vast majority of global scissor manufacturing takes place in China. As of 2019, China was responsible for 64.3% of worldwide scissors exports. When combined with Chinese Taipei exports, this rises to 68.3%. The primary scissors producing region in China is in Guandong Province. The Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan Company, founded in 1663, is one of the oldest continuously operating scissor manufacturers in the world. The company was nationalized in 1958 and now employs 1500 people who annually mass-produce an estimated seven million pairs of inexpensive scissors that retail for an average of US$4 each. France In the late 14th century the English word "scissors" came into usage. It was derived from the Old French word cisoires, which referred to shears. There are several historically important scissor-producing regions in France: Haute-Marne in Nogent-en Bassigny, Châtellereault, Thiers and Rouen. These towns, like many other scissor-producing communities, began with sabre, sword and bayonet production, which transitioned to scissors and other blades in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thiers, in the Puy-de-Dôme department of Auvergne, remains an important centre of scissor and cutlery production. It is home to both the Musée de la Coutellerie, which showcases the town's 800-year history of blade-making, as well as Coutellia, an industry tradeshow that advertises itself as one of the largest annual gatherings of artisanal blade-makers in the world. Germany Germany was responsible for manufacturing just under 7% of global scissors exports in 2019. Often called "The City of Blades", Solingen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, has been a center for the manufacturing of scissors since medieval times. At the end of the 18th century it's estimated that there were over 300 scissorsmiths in Solingen. In 1995 the City of Solingen passed The Solingen Ordinance, an update to a 1930s law that decreed "Made in Solingen" stamps could only be applied to products almost entirely manufactured in the old industrial area of Solingen. In 2019 this applied to approximately 150 companies making high-quality blades of all kinds, including scissors. Friedrich Herder, founded in Solingen in 1727, is one of the oldest scissors manufacturers still operating in Germany. Italy Premana, in Lecco Province, has its origins in ironworks and knife manufacturing beginning in the 16th century. In 1900 there were ten scissor manufacturing workshops, 20 in 1952 and 48 by 1960. Today, Consorzio Premax, an industrial partnership, organizes over 60 local companies involved in the manufacture of scissors for global markets. In 2019 Italy exported 3.5% of scissors manufactured globally. One of the oldest Premanese scissor manufacturing firms still in operation is Sanelli Ambrogio, which was founded in 1869. Japan Scissormaking in Japan evolved from sword making in the 14th century. Seki, in Gifu Prefecture, was a renowned center of swordmaking beginning in the 1200s. After citizens were no longer permitted to .... Discover the Edwin Radford Mona A Radford popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Edwin Radford Mona A Radford books.