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50-397: Fiskars is best known for its orange-handled scissors , created in 1967. The company operates as an integrated consumer goods company and has two strategic business units: SBU Living and SBU Functional. Fiskars Corporation was formed in 1649, when a Dutch merchant named Peter Thorwöste was given a charter by Christina, Queen of Sweden to establish a blast furnace and forging operation in

100-643: 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. Premana, in Lecco Province, has its origins in ironworks and knife manufacturing beginning in

150-495: A documentary that featured a pair of his bonsai snips which retailed for US$ 35,000. In Solsona, Spain, scissor manufacturing began in the 16th century. At the industry's peak in the 18th century there were 24 workshops, organized as the Guild of Saint Eligius, the patron saint of knife makers. By the mid-1980s there were only two, and by 2021, Pallarès Solsona, founded in 1917 by Lluìs and Carles Pallarès Canal, and still family-operated,

200-542: A downward trend and the company had not had a clear growth strategy. At the end of 2021, a new strategy was announced, focusing on five brands: Fiskars, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Gerber and Moomin Arabia. The company's main channel was its own channels: shops and online stores. In 2022, the divestment of the company's American watering business, in other words the Gilmour and Nelson brands, was finished. Fiskars Group's new head office

250-406: 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

300-670: A new owner started the first cutlery works in Finland, making, among other items, scissors with the Fiskars trademark. 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,

350-429: 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

400-468: A scissors factory in the United States to provide a basis for international trade and further expansion. In 2007, Fiskars acquired both Iittala and Leborgne which strengthened the company's position in the kitchenware and table top categories as well as the garden tools business. The acquisition of Royal Copenhagen in 2013 complemented Fiskars tableware offering with hand-painted porcelain and strengthened

450-575: 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. Scissors have been used in the sciences for various purposes, including descriptions of animals or natural features. Animals named after scissors include: Gerber Legendary Blades Gerber Legendary Blades is an American maker of knives , multitools , and other tools for outdoors and military headquartered in Portland, Oregon . Gerber

500-959: 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. 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

550-513: Is owned by the Finnish outdoors products company Fiskars . Gerber was established in 1939 by Pete Gerber. Gerber is the "largest maker of knives and multi-tools for the United States armed forces ." The LMF II Infantry Knife, features a partial tang blade instead of a full tang blade, ostensibly to avoid electric shocks because the knife was designed to free pilots from downed aircraft. Gerber

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600-445: Is perhaps best known for its scissors and their distinct orange colored handles. The first pair was manufactured in 1967 and had prototypes with handles in black, red, green and orange. After an internal vote at Fiskars, the orange color was chosen. That same orange color, Fiskars Orange, was officially registered as a trademark in Finland in 2003 and in the US in 2007. In 1977, Fiskars founded

650-507: 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. 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

700-624: The Portland area. Designers who have since designed knives for Gerber include: Bob Loveless , Paul Poehlmann, Blackie Collins , William Harsey Jr. , Fred Carter, Rick Hinderer, Brad Parrish, Ernest Emerson and Matt Larsen. Former Gerber employees who have started their own successful knife companies include Al Mar and Pete Kershaw . Gerber built a line of folding knives based on designs of Rex Applegate . Models of Gerber fixed blade knives include: Models of Gerber folding knives include: Models of Gerber multi tools include: Gerber recently announced several new knives and one multi tool at

750-754: 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. 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.

800-416: 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

850-490: 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,

900-549: The Arabianranta district of Helsinki. In 2015, Fiskars recorded net sales of 1,105 million euros and an adjusted operating profit of 65.1 million euros. Cash flow from operating activities was 47.6 million euros. In 2016, Fiskars recorded net sales of 1,204.6 million euros and an adjusted operating profit of 93.8 million euros. Cash flow from operating activities was 83.8 million euros. Scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of

950-492: The British Heritage Crafts Association. 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

1000-486: The Gerber family started an advertising firm in Portland, Oregon . While working for the family business, Joseph Gerber mailed twenty four sets of kitchen knives to clients during the holidays. These handmade knives were very popular, with then catalog retailer Abercrombie & Fitch requesting more of these knives from Gerber to sell in their catalog in 1939. Gerber started Gerber Legendary Blades that same year. In 1966,

1050-556: The Thumb-Sucker") in which a child continues to suck his thumbs despite his mother's warnings about The Great Tall Scissorman. 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. Proverbs about scissors are found in many language communities. The term 'scissor kick' may be found in several sports, including: Scissors have

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1100-509: The United States in 1854. The Sasuke workshop in Sakai City south of Osaka is run by Yasuhiro Hirakawa, a 5th generation scissorsmith. The company has been in operation since 1867. Yasuhiro Hirakawa is the last traditional scissormaker in Japan, making scissors in the traditional style where the blades are believed to be thinner, lighter and sharper than European scissors. In 2018 he was profiled in

1150-421: The blades apart as they are cutting. This can be challenging for craftspeople as the blades still obscure the cut. "True" left-handed scissors have both reversed finger grips and reversed blade layout, like mirror images of right-handed scissors. A left-handed person accustomed to using semi-left handed scissors may find using true left-handed scissors difficult at first, as they may have learned to rely heavily on

1200-443: 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

1250-577: The company in the Nordic countries and in Asia. In 2015, Fiskars acquired the Waterford Wedgwood group of companies (WWRD) and its portfolio of luxury home and lifestyle brands. In April 2020, Fiskars Group President and CEO Jaana Tuominen stepped down from her position with CFO Sari Pohjonen appointed interim CEO. Nathalie Ahlström started as the new President and CEO. The company's net sales had been on

1300-502: The company relocated to new headquarters in Tigard, Oregon . Finnish company Fiskars purchased the private company in 1987. Chad Vincent was hired as chief executive officer in July 2001. By October 2003, the company employed three hundred people, and had revenues near $ 100 million and was the second leading seller of multitools in the United States, after Leatherman , another company based in

1350-590: 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

1400-548: The end of 2026. Fiskars Corporation is made up of two strategic business units: SBU Living and SBU Functional. Fiskars' three primary reporting segments are Living, Functional and Other. Fiskars' Other-segment contains the Group's investment portfolio, the real estate unit, corporate headquarters and shared services. In addition, Fiskars reports group-level net sales for three secondary reporting segments: Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. SBU Functional creates tools for use in and around

1450-483: 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

1500-482: The house and outdoors under brands such as Fiskars and Gerber . SBU Living offers a wide range of products for tabletop, giftware and interior décor under brands such as Iittala , Wedgwood , Waterford , Royal Copenhagen , Arabia , Rörstrand and Royal Doulton . Fiskars' products are available in more than 100 countries and after the acquisition of WWRD, the company employs around 8,600 people in over 30 countries. Fiskars headquarters are located at Fiskars Campus in

1550-638: The ironworks were actively developed and production focused on processing iron. In 1832, the first cutlery mill in Finland was founded in Fiskars, with the production range increasing from knives to include forks and scissors . In 1915, Fiskars was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange . In September 2015, Fiskars celebrated 100 years of being listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange, along with Nokia , Wärtsilä and UPM . Fiskars

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1600-510: 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. The noun scissors

1650-506: 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

1700-417: 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 and blades: the blade that is on top always forms the same diagonal regardless of orientation. Human hands are asymmetric, and when closing the scissors the thumb and fingers do not close vertically, but have a lateral component to the motion. Specifically,

1750-437: 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 the cutter cannot see what is being cut. There are two varieties of left-handed scissors. Many common left-handed scissors (often called "semi"-left-handed scissors) simply have reversed finger grips. The blades open and close as with right-handed scissors, so that users tend to pull

1800-404: 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. Most scissors are best suited for use with the right hand, but left-handed scissors are designed for use with

1850-401: The small village of Fiskars ; however, he was not permitted to produce cannons. This makes it the oldest privately owned company in Finland. The furnace produced pig iron that was shingled to wrought iron in the finery forges powered by water wheels . In the early years, Fiskars made nails, wire, hoes, and metal-reinforced wheels from wrought iron. In the late eighteenth century, copper

1900-401: The strength of their thumb to pull the blades apart vs. pushing the blades together in order to 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 rotate without any lateral give. However, most "ambidextrous" scissors are in fact still right-handed in that

1950-441: 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 push 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 push the cutting blades apart. Furthermore, with right-handed scissors held by

2000-446: 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 what were the backs of the blades become the new cutting edges. U.S. patent 3,978,584

2050-539: The world. 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

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2100-541: Was awarded for true ambidextrous scissors. Specialized scissors and shears include: Due to their ubiquity across cultures and classes, scissors have numerous representations across world culture. 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 . Heinrich Hoffmann 's 1845 children's book Struwwelpeter includes Die Geschichte vom Daumenlutscher ("The Story of

2150-663: Was completed in spring in Espoo, between the Keilaniemi metro station and the Jokeri Light Rail terminal. In October, Fiskars Group announced that it would make 10 million euros energy investment at the Iittala glass factory. As a result, the factory's existing, natural gas powered furnaces will be replaced with electricity-powered furnaces. With this investment, the glass factory will reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by 74 per cent by

2200-457: Was discovered in nearby Orijärvi, and thus the focus of production shifted to processing copper from the Orijärvi mine. For almost 80 years, Fiskars main source of business came from copper, however by the nineteenth century, there was little copper left in Orijärvi. In 1822, the apothecary Johan Jacob Julin (later, von Julin) from Turku acquired the Fiskars ironworks and village. During this time,

2250-449: Was established in 1902. Both now focus on high-end/niche crafting of "products for life" rather than mass production. Between these two firms it is estimated that there are no more than ten "putter-togetherers" or "putters" who are the master-trained craftspeople responsible for high quality Sheffield scissor assembly. In 2020, Ernest Wright was recognized with the Award for Endangered Crafts by

2300-490: Was founded in 1869. 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 carry swords, the city's blacksmiths turned to making scissors and knives. There are many specialized types of Japanese scissors, but sewing scissors were introduced by American Commodore Matthew Perry from

2350-512: 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

2400-448: Was the first knife company to collaborate with a custom knife maker when it collaborated with World War II knife maker David Murphy . In 2010 Bear Grylls designed a line of Gerber survival knives, including the best selling Ultimate knife. The Bear Grylls range from Gerber progressed to including items such as a water bottle, survival kit and tinder grinder. By 2019 the cooperation between Bear Grylls and Gerber ended. In 1910,

2450-661: Was the town's sole remaining artisanal scissor manufacturer. Sheffield was home to the first mass production of scissors beginning in 1761. By the 19th century there were an estimated 60 steel scissor companies in Sheffield. However, since the 1980s, industry globalization and a shift towards cheaper, mass-produced scissors created price deflation that many artisanal manufacturers could not compete with. The Sheffield scissor industry consisted of just two local companies in 2021. The two remaining Sheffield scissor manufacturers are William Whiteley, founded in 1760, and Ernest Wright , which

2500-566: 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

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