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We use scissors every day: this tool has become an integral part of our everyday life. They come in tailoring, culinary, gardening, medical, etc. However, few people think about when the first scissors appeared and how their history developed.

Leonardo da Vinci or not?

There is a version that this instrument in its familiar form was invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Before this, they were actually two sharpened knives connected by a bridge made of a spring.

According to another version, the invention of scissors in their modern version occurred much earlier.

An object that looked very much like ordinary scissors and supposedly performed the same function was found by archaeologists during excavations at a site where Ancient Greece previously existed. Later, the same device was found during excavations in Ancient Egypt.

But they were not connected in the middle with a nail, but were two blades made of solid pieces of durable metal, which were united by a bridge. They appeared around the 16th century BC. Until this time, everything was cut with a knife. It turns out that this item is already at least 3.5 thousand years old. According to archaeologists, the first scissors were not created for hair or for cutting paper or fabric, but for shearing rams and sheep.

Ancient Greek legend

The history of the appearance of scissors in Ancient Greece associated with an interesting legend.

At a time when people and gods existed hand in hand, when nymphs splashed in ponds, and unicorns and other bizarre creatures ran through green, lush thickets, there lived a shepherd named Fersit. One day he saw a very high mountain the shine of an unknown object. When he went up there to see what this golden shine was, he saw a herd of unusual rams - their wool sparkled in the sun, as if it were made of pure gold. Fersit was amazed by what he saw, and he wanted to take one of the wonderful animals to show people. But he didn’t succeed - even the youngest animals were so strong and stubborn that the shepherd was unable to budge them.

When the man returned home, he told the people of his tribe about what he had seen, but they laughed at him, because the story seemed to them to be an absolute fiction. Fersit was very upset by this, and he decided to prove to his fellow tribesmen that he was not a liar. He connected the two knives with a flexible and rigid bracket and, returning to the top of the mountain, sheared a whole bag of wool from golden lambs.

When the shepherd showed the shorn hair to the people, they were very surprised, but still doubted Fersit’s honesty. When they went up to the place that the shepherd was talking about, they did not see anything unusual there, because all the sheep had fled from there. Everyone started calling the poor shepherd a liar. In a fit of anger, they began to question the already frightened man about how he managed to get the wool of these rams. And he showed the instrument he had made. At first people did not understand what it was and why it was needed, but when Fersit sheared a piece of wool from an ordinary sheep, everyone was delighted. Since then, the shepherd has gained fame, respect from others and wealth, and humanity has acquired such an irreplaceable item as scissors.

Real facts from the history of scissors

To date, experts have not yet come to a consensus regarding the country that is actually the birthplace of scissors. Some are sure that they appeared in China, while others believe that they appeared in one of the Mediterranean countries.

Starting around the 4th century BC, they were common in a huge number of countries - from Egypt to England. This device was used for a wide variety of purposes - animal husbandry, medicine, cutting and sewing things, and even manicure and hairdressing services.

Hairdressers (as they were previously called barbers) for a long time did not accept innovations and, in the old fashioned way, used two very sharp knives– this is evidenced by the images on the tombstones of representatives of this profession, which date back to the time when scissors already existed. In Ancient Rome the situation was similar.

Time passed, and the design of scissors was constantly improved. So, in the 8th century AD, one artisan in the Middle East had the idea to bend the handles of scissors into rings and, most importantly, connect the blades with a rivet. Unfortunately, history has not preserved the name of this innovator. There is a theory that Archimedes’ lever prompted him to make such changes.

Like most other tools and devices, scissors have gone through a number of transformations. Over time they began to be made different ways, from different materials, they began to differ from each other in shape and finish. Over the 3.5 thousand years of their existence, they managed to pass difficult path to real jewelry and technological masterpieces.

During this period, many other tools were invented to cut, cut, or pierce something, but none matched the simplicity and effectiveness of scissors.

For almost two centuries, spring and lever scissors existed in parallel and, to a certain extent, competed with each other. Evidence of this fact has been found in miniatures and paintings that date back to the 9th century.

Evolution of appearance and purpose

Over time, scissors began to be made from different materials- iron, silver, steel. Then the most expensive ones began to be covered with gold and decorated. Sometimes craftsmen were so keen on decorating the instrument that they could not use it direct purpose it was becoming impossible. Some resembled a bizarre bird whose beak cut paper, others had curved vines instead of the standard round finger rings, others were very similar to dragons from oriental tales etc. Many of these instruments, made of precious metals (silver and gold), became real luxury items.

Nail scissors, which every woman has in her arsenal today, were invented in the Middle East. They were created by a jeweler for the beloved wife of a very rich Shah, for which he was awarded the title of the first sage.

In parallel with this, scissors began to be invented for specific purposes and specialties. Some were used in medicine, others in barbers, and others for cattle breeding. In France, there were special devices that were used for cutting poultry. In Germany there are tools that are used for cutting metal in cases of traffic accidents - they can be used to cut a door that cannot be opened or to open the body of a car.

Lawn shears were invented in England.

Scissors appeared in Rus' in the 10th century; they were found in the village of Gnezdovo (12 km from Smolensk).

In ancient times in Russia, the production of scissors was carried out by artisans, mainly in the provinces where knives were made. Only the blades were hardened. An important point the process involved processing two blades at the same time so that they were exactly the same. Only elite instruments had rings that were hardened to make the polishing process easier.

Progress did not stand still, and over time they began to make ceramic scissors, which were much stronger and stronger than steel ones, had a longer service life and cut an order of magnitude thinner.

But this turned out to be not enough, and instruments were invented that, in their own way, appearance absolutely not similar to their “original version”, but more reminiscent of a meat grinder knife - such a knife easily cuts rubber, linoleum, plastic or thick leather, at a speed of about 20 m/s.

Another modern substitute for steel scissors are laser scissors. They are able to cut the material according to the pattern specified by the program, and immediately process the edges to avoid fraying. The operating speed of such a device is about 1 m/s.

Types of modern scissors

Modern scissors can be divided into the following categories:

• Household. These are the universal scissors familiar to everyone. They can have absolutely different shapes, size, sharpening shape and material of manufacture. When purchasing, you should pay special attention to the metal from which the tool is made - stainless steel products will last longer.
• Kitchen. In turn, they are divided into: universal (regular scissors that are used in the kitchen), multifunctional (have wide handles and various additions, for example, for chopping nuts, opening bottles, etc.) and specialized (tools with a special device designed for cutting poultry and meat or cutting herbs).
• Hair salons. There are:
  • straight (for cutting and thinning);
  • thinning;
  • flag;
  • hot (similar to universal scissors, but their blades heat up to a certain temperature).
• Manicure. Used to perform hygienic, trim manicures and cuticle removal.
• For cutting and sewing. Different tools are used for different processes: for cutting, for cutting threads, for embroidery, zigzag, for processing silk, with rounded ends, folding scissors.
• For cutting metal. There are many varieties of such scissors, but they can be classified according to several characteristics:
  • by type of cutting: knife and notching;
  • on mechanization: electric and manual.
• Electrical. These scissors come in corded and corded versions:
  • sheet (for metal 3-5 mm thick);
  • splined (for materials with a maximum thickness of 2 mm);
  • cutting (work with any type of profile).
• Press scissors. Used for working with sheet metal:
  • manual;
  • hydraulic;
  • container

This list can be continued for a long time, in addition to all of the above, there are also scissors for cutting cigars, for lawns, for medical purposes, and stationery. This is probably not the limit yet. What is amazing is that over its history of 3.5 thousand years, this device not only has not lost its relevance, but has become so necessary in all spheres of life that it is very difficult to imagine how the most familiar things would happen if not the enterprise and ingenuity of our ancestors.

How often do we use them during the day: open the package, cut a thread or tag, cut out a part, cut a hole, remove a burr, etc.

The history of scissors goes back to ancient times. The very first scissors appeared in man’s possession not at all because he needed to somehow serve himself, but because he needed to somehow shear sheep. This happened three and a half thousand years ago; scissors then consisted of two blades connected like tweezers.

This invention, although it functioned, was not particularly successful (after all, the blades of the “sheep” shears, which first appeared in Ancient Rome, did not rotate relative to the center, but were simply squeezed by hand, like a large grip for a piece of cake), and therefore our great-grandfathers used them only before the “warming wool season”, and I think the nails on my hands were simply chewed for convenience. But even despite the fact that the design was very inconvenient, it existed for more than two thousand years without fundamental changes.

And so this disgrace would have continued if the mathematician and mechanic Archimedes had not been born in Ancient Syracuse. The great Greek said: “Give me a point of support, and I will turn the whole world around!” - and invented the lever.

Around the 8th century AD in the Middle East, some artisan came up with the idea to connect two knives with a nail, and bend their handles into rings. Then the handles of the scissors began to be decorated with artistic forging and “autographs” of the blacksmiths - brands. Perhaps in those days a simple children's riddle arose: “Two rings, two ends, and in the middle there are carnations”...

Scissors came to Europe a little later, around the 10th century. The oldest scissors found in Russia date back to the same period of time. This happened during archaeological excavations of the Gnezdovo burial mounds, 12 kilometers from Smolensk near the village of Gnezdovo.

Unfortunately, history has not preserved the name of the person who came up with the idea of ​​connecting two separate blades with a nail and bending the handles into a ring. After all, it is in this form that scissors for paper, for manicure, for haircuts and for many other purposes are presented today.

The instrument was given its final form by none other than Leonardo da Vinci. A drawing of a tool similar to modern scissors was found in his manuscripts.

And then, as always, the invention began to live its own life. own life: at times to improve (turning into the working tools of hairdressers and healers), and at times becoming a luxury item made of gold and silver.

Scissors were made from steel and iron (steel blades were welded onto an iron base), silver, covered with gold, and richly decorated. The imagination of the craftsmen had no limits - either a strange bird came out, its beak cutting fabric, then rings for fingers entwined vines with bunches of grapes, then suddenly they turned out not scissors, but a fairy-tale dragon, all in such intricate decorations that they interfered with its use functional device.

Gradually, more and more, in both the Eastern and Western worlds, there is a greater interest in the shape and quality of scissors. Models with thin, smooth outlines, blades, decorated with engraving and inlays are beginning to appear. This was especially facilitated by the art of calligraphy, which spread throughout the Islamic world.

Scissors are becoming more and more attractive from an aesthetic point of view. They received a variety of forms within general idea, were decorated with openwork carvings. At the same time, they remained functional and brought a bit of aesthetics to the routine.

In the Middle Ages, scissors became evidence of men's attention to the fair sex. Thus, in the fourteenth century, a suitor sending a gift to his lady often included a pair of scissors in a leather case. It was in this century that scissors became a truly feminine accessory, which, with rare exceptions, they remain to this day.

And then the ideal prim Englishmen invented scissors for the ideal prim English lawns, and then the French began to cut up geese carcasses with them (conjuring their famous “froi gras”) and cut loops in “prêt-à-porter”, and then the Germans came up with giant steel scissors for helping in case of accidents on the roads (with this device you can also break glass in a car, open a jammed door, cut seat belts).

And then man began to think even more broadly and produced scissors from special ceramics, which turned out to be three times stronger than steel ones and more wear-resistant, and cut much thinner.
And then they came up with scissors, which completely ceased to look like their ancestor analogue and rather began to resemble a knife from a meat grinder (a disk with three teeth is attached to an ordinary electric drill - you can cut rubber, thick leather, linoleum and plastics at a speed of 20 meters per minute).

And then the inventor broke through “to the stars” and designed the most modern scissors, adding to them an electronic machine that reproduced on the screen clothing patterns of any style invented by fashion designers. Cutting speed - meter per second! Moreover, during this operation, the edges of the fabric burn and do not unravel - as if they had already been hemmed.

Egyptian theory

True, there is another theory of the origin of this wonderful object - the Egyptian one. They say that in the 16th century BC, the Egyptians were already using scissors with all their might. And there is confirmation of this - archaeological find. A specimen made of whole piece metal (not crossed blades) that served its masters in the 16th century BC.

There is a theory in both China and Eastern Europe. So, the geography of this subject is unusually wide. We will no longer be able to find out the truth. Only one fact remains interesting: be it sooner or later, but people in different corners The lands eventually came to the understanding that they could not do without scissors.

History is rich in facts, when in some area it seems that nothing more can be invented here! - but no! There will always be a person who, either by chance or with some intention, brings something new into the world. Therefore, we will not put an end to the history of scissors...

Tailor's scissors

Initially, all types of clothing were sewn at home, but gradually it became the work of specialists - tailors. The name "tailor's" scissors comes from the name of the profession - a tailor - a person who sews ports. The word “ports” in Russia originally meant clothing in general. Only in the 16th century did the word “dress” appear, displacing the old designation from use. Not all clothes began to be called “tails,” but only one element of men’s clothing, and the profession itself was divided into several specializations - specialists of a narrow profile appeared - fur coats, caftans, mittens, hatmakers and even pickpockets... Of course, not everyone could afford to use tailor services. They tried to sew simple clothes at home. “It’s hard to get a caftan, but you can sew a shirt at home,” says the proverb.

In many ways, the quality of the products you sew will depend on the right choice scissors There are several types of scissors; they differ in sharpening angle, design, size and purpose. You should not use the same scissors at different stages of sewing - if you cut tracing paper with your magnificent tailor's scissors, they will become dull very quickly. For cutting loops and other small jobs, it is better to use small sewing scissors. It is useful to have a seam ripper and a knife for cutting loops on hand.

Thinning scissors

It turns out that thinning scissors as we know them today appeared relatively recently. And if the history of ordinary hairdressing scissors goes back almost a millennium (after all, back in Ancient Egypt Queen Cleopatra had her hair cut with quite a decent tool), then the task of thinning hair for centuries was solved only with the help of a razor.

Only in the 30s of the twentieth century (just eighty years ago) the first prototypes of thinning scissors appeared in the USA, that is, scissors where one blade is cutting and the second has teeth. But by and large, these were not thinning scissors, but a “blader”. The fact is that the Americans came to the need to sharpen not only the edge of the cutting blade, but also the tops of the teeth. As a result, the master received a tool for thinning hair, but the final effect was quite difficult to predict. The fact is that when cutting, hairs could easily slide off the sharpened teeth, and it was impossible to guess how many of them would be cut at a given moment.

Only in the 50s, but already in Europe, one of the engineers proposed applying a micro-notch to the top of the teeth. Now, the master could already clearly know how much volume would be removed during the cut. And this depended on the width of the teeth and the width of the interdental space. Then a V-shaped cutout appeared at the top of the tooth. This means that all the hair that needed to be cut clearly went into such a “pocket” and was definitely cut off.

The cigar scissors shown in the picture have become a symbol, as if an integral part of the prim aristocracy.

The Industrial Revolution has now returned scissors to their original status as a purely functional object. Decoration has completely faded away, abandoned in favor of the linear clarity of steel. Today, scissors have been created for everyone and everything. They, like centuries ago, are irreplaceable. How simple is genius!

How often do we use them during the day: open the package, cut a thread or tag, cut out a part, cut a hole, remove a burr, etc. Scissors allow us to easily cut paper, cardboard, plastic, rubber, and metal. In our house we have more than one scissors: manicure, tailoring, culinary, gardening (the list expands depending on the main type of activity of the owner). When did man think of creating such a necessary item in everyday life?

The history of scissors goes back to ancient times. The very first scissors appeared in man’s possession not at all because he needed to somehow serve himself, but because he needed to somehow shear sheep. This happened three and a half thousand years ago; scissors then consisted of two blades connected like tweezers.

This invention, although it functioned, was not particularly successful (after all, the blades of the “sheep” shears, which first appeared in Ancient Rome, did not rotate relative to the center, but were simply squeezed by hand, like a large grip for a piece of cake), and therefore our great-grandfathers used them only before the “warming wool season”, and I think the nails on my hands were simply chewed for convenience. But even despite the fact that the design was very inconvenient, it existed for more than two thousand years without fundamental changes.

And so this disgrace would have continued if the mathematician and mechanic Archimedes had not been born in Ancient Syracuse. The great Greek said: “Give me a point of support, and I will turn the whole world around!” - and invented the lever.

Around the 8th century AD in the Middle East, some artisan came up with the idea to connect two knives with a nail, and bend their handles into rings. Then the handles of the scissors began to be decorated with artistic forging and “autographs” of the blacksmiths - brands. Perhaps in those days a simple children's riddle arose: “Two rings, two ends, and in the middle there are carnations”...

Scissors came to Europe a little later, around the 10th century. The oldest scissors found in Russia date back to the same period of time. This happened during archaeological excavations of the Gnezdovo burial mounds, 12 kilometers from Smolensk near the village of Gnezdovo.

Unfortunately, history has not preserved the name of the person who came up with the idea of ​​connecting two separate blades with a nail and bending the handles into a ring. After all, it is in this form that scissors for paper, for manicure, for haircuts and for many other purposes are presented today.

The instrument was given its final form by none other than Leonardo da Vinci. A drawing of a tool similar to modern scissors was found in his manuscripts.

And then, as always, the invention began to live its own life: at times improving (turning into working tools for hairdressers and doctors), and at times becoming a luxury item made of gold and silver.

Scissors were made from steel and iron (steel blades were welded onto an iron base), silver, covered with gold, and richly decorated. The imagination of the craftsmen had no limits - either a strange bird came out, its beak cutting fabric, then rings for fingers entwined vines with bunches of grapes, then suddenly they turned out not scissors, but a fairy-tale dragon, all in such intricate decorations that they interfered with its use functional device.

Gradually, more and more, in both the Eastern and Western worlds, there is a greater interest in the shape and quality of scissors. Models with thin, smooth outlines, blades, decorated with engraving and inlays are beginning to appear. This was especially facilitated by the art of calligraphy, which spread throughout the Islamic world.

Scissors are becoming more and more attractive from an aesthetic point of view. They received various forms within the framework of the general idea and were decorated with openwork carvings. At the same time, they remained functional and brought a bit of aesthetics to the routine.

In the Middle Ages, scissors became evidence of men's attention to the fair sex.

Thus, in the fourteenth century, a suitor sending a gift to his lady often included a pair of scissors in a leather case. It was in this century that scissors became a truly feminine accessory, which, with rare exceptions, they remain to this day.

And then the ideal prim Englishmen invented scissors for the ideal prim English lawns, and then the French began to cut up geese carcasses with them (conjuring their famous “froi gras”) and cut loops in “prêt-à-porter”, and then the Germans came up with giant steel scissors for helping in case of accidents on the roads (with this device you can also break glass in a car, open a jammed door, cut seat belts).

And then man began to think even more broadly and produced scissors from special ceramics, which turned out to be three times stronger than steel ones and more wear-resistant, and cut much thinner.

And then they came up with scissors, which completely ceased to look like their ancestor analogue and rather began to resemble a knife from a meat grinder (a disk with three teeth is attached to an ordinary electric drill - you can cut rubber, thick leather, linoleum and plastics at a speed of 20 meters per minute).

And then the inventor broke through “to the stars” and designed the most modern scissors, adding to them an electronic machine that reproduced on the screen clothing patterns of any style invented by fashion designers. Cutting speed - meter per second! Moreover, during this operation, the edges of the fabric burn and do not unravel - as if they had already been hemmed.

Egyptian theory

True, there is another theory of the origin of this wonderful object - the Egyptian one. They say that in the 16th century BC, the Egyptians were already using scissors with all their might. And there is confirmation of this - an archaeological find. An example was found in Egypt, made from a single piece of metal (and not from crossed blades), which served its masters in the 16th century BC.

There is a theory in both China and Eastern Europe. So, the geography of this subject is unusually wide. We will no longer be able to find out the truth. Only one fact remains interesting: be it sooner or later, but people in different parts of the world eventually came to the understanding that they could not do without scissors.

History is rich in facts, when in some area it seems that nothing more can be invented here! - but no! There will always be a person who, either by chance or with some intention, brings something new into the world. Therefore, we will not put an end to the history of scissors...

Tailor's scissors

Initially, all types of clothing were sewn at home, but gradually it became the work of specialists - tailors. The name "tailor's" scissors comes from the name of the profession - a tailor - a person who sews ports. The word “ports” in Russia originally meant clothing in general. Only in the 16th century did the word “dress” appear, displacing the old designation from use. Not all clothes began to be called “tails,” but only one element of men’s clothing, and the profession itself was divided into several specializations - specialists of a narrow profile appeared - fur coats, caftans, mittens, hatmakers and even pickpockets... Of course, not everyone could afford to use tailor services. They tried to sew simple clothes at home. “It’s hard to get a caftan, but you can sew a shirt at home,” says the proverb.

In many ways, the quality of the products you sew will depend on the correct choice of scissors. There are several types of scissors; they differ in sharpening angle, design, size and purpose. You should not use the same scissors at different stages of sewing - if you cut tracing paper with your magnificent tailor's scissors, they will become dull very quickly. For cutting loops and other small jobs, it is better to use small sewing scissors. It is useful to have a seam ripper and a knife for cutting loops on hand.

Thinning scissors

It turns out that thinning scissors as we know them today appeared relatively recently. And if the history of ordinary hairdressing scissors goes back almost a millennium (after all, back in Ancient Egypt, Queen Cleopatra’s hair was cut with quite a decent tool), then the task of thinning hair for centuries was solved only with the help of a razor.

Only in the 30s of the twentieth century (just eighty years ago) the first prototypes of thinning scissors appeared in the USA, that is, scissors where one blade is cutting and the second has teeth. But by and large, these were not thinning scissors, but a “blader”. The fact is that the Americans came to the need to sharpen not only the edge of the cutting blade, but also the tops of the teeth. As a result, the master received a tool for thinning hair, but the final effect was quite difficult to predict. The fact is that when cutting, hairs could easily slide off the sharpened teeth, and it was impossible to guess how many of them would be cut at a given moment.

Only in the 50s, but already in Europe, one of the engineers proposed applying a micro-notch to the top of the teeth. Now, the master could already clearly know how much volume would be removed during the cut. And this depended on the width of the teeth and the width of the interdental space. Then a V-shaped cutout appeared at the top of the tooth. This means that all the hair that needed to be cut clearly went into such a “pocket” and was definitely cut off.

The Industrial Revolution has now returned scissors to their original status as a purely functional object. Decoration has completely faded away, abandoned in favor of the linear clarity of steel. Today, scissors have been created for everyone and everything. They, like centuries ago, are irreplaceable. How simple is genius!