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 – the small workshops along the 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, water drove the grinding wheels. No Wupper, no Solingen edge.

In one of these Kotten, grinding still goes on today. On a water mill.

A workshop where time stands still

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

The sixth generation runs the business today. A few years ago the daughter of the house decided to carry the company forward – which turned J. A. Schmidt & Söhne into J. A. Schmidt & Tochter in everyday use, even if the commercial register still says otherwise.

The workshop sticks to the handed-down techniques, maintains its historic machines and still works with an effort hardly anyone would put in today. You will find the complete Dreiturm range in our shop.

A trade nobody trains for any more

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

Even in a workshop like this, not everything is made under one roof. Specialised trades supply the parts: the smith the scissor blanks, the hardener the hardened parts, the eye grinder the finish on the handles. Solingen has always been a network of specialists – and that is exactly what still defines the town.

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

Why the eyes are made before hardening

It all starts with good stainless steel. The smith splits six-metre bars, cuts them into pieces matching the scissor format and gives them their first shape in the die. The steel is heated and literally punched out under the heavy forging hammer.

The eyes are formed 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 the "winging"

The hardener gives the scissors their shape before hardening. Later on, the two halves should meet only at the Wate.

To achieve this he bends the scissors so that the tips of the upper and lower half wing – they stand slightly above the point and keep enough leeway to be ground at all later on.

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

Only then comes hardening in an oil bath. This multi-stage process is a balancing act: if the scissors turn out too hard, they shatter into a thousand pieces under the hammer during the first check. That is why they go into the tempering furnace afterwards – a heat treatment that draws the stress back out of the steel.

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

The inner and outer faces of the blades can be ground by machine. Everything else is handwork: eyes and eye rims, Halm, Gewerbe and back.

The greatest skill lies in fine-grinding the Gangstelle. Anyone who has held a really good pair of scissors may have noticed a small crescent there. That is set by hand by the Pließter – the fine grinder. He decides how the scissors run.

Stone bath, nickel plating, maker's stamp

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

The parts then leave the house for nickel plating. Back in the workshop the maker's mark is stamped on. That, too, is done by hand.

The moment of truth

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

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

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

Finally: the setting

The most important step comes right at the end. During setting, every single pair of scissors is made to run smoothly. The copper hammer is used to tap them into shape, every turn corrected until the action is right.

Whether nail scissors, cuticle scissors or household scissors – this precise handwork always comes last.

What this means for you

Around 80 work steps, several specialised trades, every pair set by hand: that is why a genuine pair of Solingen scissors costs more than a mass-produced one.

And it is also why they can be re-sharpened 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 Solingen pair of scissors is made – and how to spot a good one (with 5 quick tests for buying).