Your Scissors' Journey - Finale (Part 3)
Have you ever wondered what your scissors have gone through to reach your hands? We have been using the same process to craft our scissors since 1990 and we pride ourselves on working with mastercraftspeople to make them. In the third part of this journey, we want to give you some insight into the last stages of making a scissor.
Disclaimer: all manufacturers are different and have their own specific methods and preferences, varying from the type of metal(s) they use, temperatures, and machines, for example. There are similarities across all methods, though they vary from business to business. The process we’ll be talking about through this series will be about our carbon steel scissors, which includes our Midnight Edition Fabric Shears, our Traditional Fabric Shears, and our other carbon steel products.
In part 2 of this blog series, your scissor went through the last steps needed to get ready for assembly: grinding, polishing, and sharpening. We also answered some frequently asked questions about sharpening scissors at home, including if we recommend any at-home devices, and whether using aluminum foil or sandpaper is okay. You can read our answers in part 2!
This is the finale of this blog series, and it’s finally the time for your scissors to be put together. Up until this point, your scissors have been worked on as two parts, and bringing these two pieces together to make one scissor requires the most amount of skill and work done by our mastercraftspeople (we also lovingly refer to them as “scissor masters”). This process is done entirely by hand.
This is the finale of this blog series, and it’s finally the time for your scissors to be put together. Up until this point, your scissors have been worked on as two parts, and bringing these two pieces together to make one scissor requires the most amount of skill and work done by our mastercraftspeople (we also lovingly refer to them as “scissor masters”). This process is done entirely by hand.
Too much or too little tension will render your scissor unusable.
Assembly - The Button
The two halves of your scissor are aligned and attached with a screw - or what we call the button. The amount of tension required to hold the two scissor halves together needs to be just right - too much or too little will create an unusable scissor, one that is either too tight to open, or one that is completely wobbly. A wrench is used to tighten the button to the perfect tension, and then your scissor is ready for its first test cut. If the tension is correct, the scissor master will move on to adjusting the handle. Two tools are used to adjust the handles: a straight metal bar and a hammer.
A metal bar and hammer are used to adjust the handles. A file smooths any remaining burrs.
Adjusting the Handle - Part 1
Throughout the assembly process, the scissor master is constantly checking how your scissor cuts, as well as the balance and the feel of your scissor. The biggest adjustment they make is to the handle. The handles on our carbon steel scissors are not straight, this is because they need to be curved to fit your thumb and palm. The metal bar and hammer are used for this adjustment. The scissor is put into a metal block to hold it in place while the metal bar is slid through the thumb handle. The bar is then pulled by the scissor master to create the curve. The scissor master will then check the shape of the curve on their hand, and adjust again if needed. They also uses a file to remove any burrs left behind on the handles.
Years of experience allow the scissor master to move quickly and precisely.
Adjusting the Handle - Part 2
The bottom part of the handle also needs to be adjusted, but this time with a hammer. This part of the handle is adjusted so that it is not perfectly circular or rectangular. Through years of experience, this process can be done quickly and precisely, as can be seen in the video above. The feel of the scissor in the hand, and the exact points where they need to be hammered down or pulled out cannot be replicated by machines. The inner curve of the blades are also adjusted at this time with the hammer to ensure the blades will be able to catch and cut fabric.
If you have any questions about the process that we use to craft your scissors, feel free to send us an email at info@ldhscissors.com and we’ll do our best to answer them!
Our carbon steel collection