The Anatomy of a Scissor – Inside a Solingen Manufactory

The days when the whole of Solingen shook to the beat of heavy forging hammers are long gone. The Kotten too – the small workshops along the river Wupper and its streams – mostly serve other purposes today.

They were once the workplaces of the grinders. In one of the rainiest regions of Germany, the water drove the grinding wheels. Without the Wupper there would be no Solingen grind.

In one of these Kotten, grinding still goes on to this day. And on a water mill at that.

A workshop where time stands still

The Dreiturm workshop was founded in 1829 – on the site of an old farmstead that already belonged to the great-great-great-grandfather of today's owning family. Scissors have been made here ever since.

Today the sixth generation runs the business. A few years ago the daughter of the house decided to carry the company on – which in everyday life turned J. A. Schmidt & Söhne (sons) into J. A. Schmidt & Tochter (daughter), even if that is not what the commercial register says.

The company holds on to the techniques handed down to it, maintains the historic machines and still works with an effort that hardly anyone would go to today. You will find the complete Dreiturm range in our shop.

A trade nobody learns any more

Quality is watched over by a scissors inspector. This trade is no longer taught today – the few who still master it are the last of their kind.

Even in a manufactory not everything is made under one roof. Specialised trades supply their part: the smith the scissor blanks, the hardener the hardened parts, the Augenpließter the grinding of the handles. Solingen was always a network of specialists – and that is exactly what still defines the town today.

The anatomy of a pair of scissors

Anyone who wants to understand why a good pair of scissors is good should know the terms. The workshop language is old and very precise:

• Becke – the two halves of the scissors. A distinction is made between Oberbeck (upper half) and Unterbeck (lower half).
• Auge (eye) – what most of us call the handle.
• Augenbord – the rim around the eye.
• Halm (shank) – the slim transition between the eye and the blade.
• Gewerbe – the area around the pivot where the two halves are joined.
• Wate – the upper cutting edge. This is the only place where the halves may touch.
• Nagel (nail) – the connecting screw. In Solingen it is still called a nail to this day.
• Gangstelle – the point where the two halves run towards each other. It decides how the scissors move.
• Rücken (back) – the outer side of the blade.

Why the eyes are made before hardening

It all begins with a good rustproof steel. The smith splits six-metre bars, cuts them into pieces to match the particular scissor format and brings them into their first shape in the die. The steel is heated and literally punched out under the heavy forging hammer.

The eyes are made in this step too – and before hardening. Afterwards it would be too late: only in its raw state can the steel be cut and bent.

The hardener: the right twist and „Flügeln“

The hardener gives the scissors their shape before hardening. The two halves are later supposed to meet only at the Wate.

To that end he bends the scissors so that the tips of the upper and lower half flügeln („wing“) – they stand slightly above the tip and keep some room, so that they can still be ground at all later on.

He then places very precise holes in both halves and cuts the thread for the nail.

Only then does hardening in the oil bath follow. This multi-stage process is a balancing act: if the scissors become too hard, they shatter into a thousand pieces under the hammer at the preliminary check. That is why they then go into the tempering furnace – a heat treatment draws the tension back out of the steel.

What the machine can do – and what only the hand can do

The inside and outside of the blades can be ground by machine. Everything else is handwork: the eyes and their rims, the shank, the Gewerbe and the back.

The highest art is the fine grinding of the Gangstelle. Anyone who has held a really good pair of scissors may have noticed a small crescent there. That is exactly what the Pließter – the fine grinder – sets by hand. He decides how the scissors run.

Stone bath, nickel plating, stamping

The initially rough, sharp-edged halves are now ground fine, long and very smooth – in a bath of stones.

After that the parts leave the house for nickel plating. Back in the workshop the company mark is stamped on. That too: handwork.

The moment of truth

On the crank the upper and lower halves are carefully screwed in and the nails inserted. Now it becomes clear whether everything fits together:

• Are the scissors too straight or too curved?
• Do the halves wing correctly?
• Does the tip sit right?

Only then do the scissors get their cutting edges. The Wate is ground on the grinding wheel, then the steel swarf is drawn off. Then comes the test: a piece of gauze, one cut. If it goes through cleanly, the work is right.

And finally: the straightening

The most important step comes right at the end. During straightening every single pair of scissors is made to move smoothly. A copper hammer is used to tap them, every twist is corrected until the action is right.

Whether nail scissors, cuticle scissors or household scissors – at the end there is always this precision work by hand.

What that means for you

Around 80 work steps, several specialised trades, every pair of scissors straightened individually: that is the reason why genuine Solingen scissors cost more than a mass-produced item.

And it is also the reason why they can be resharpened and last for decades, instead of jamming in a drawer after two years.

In our shop you will find:

• Nail scissors from Solingen
• Cuticle scissors for cuticles and fine work
• Beard scissors for beard care
• The complete Dreiturm range

Read also: How a pair of Solingen scissors is made – and how to recognise a good one (with 5 quick tests for buying).

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