by Quintus Juvenal

Created on: December 16, 2006   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

Modern scissors are designed with two opposing blades joined at a central pivot. They make it easy to cut things because of leverage and the principal of shearing.

Devices similar to scissors have been around since ancient times, and may have originated in Egypt as early as the 14th century BC. These early metal shears were two blades joined at the base (like tongs) which were squeezed together for cutting. The cross-bladed shear has been attributed to the Romans, and came into use in the 1st Century AD. Isodore of Seville wrote that barbers and tailors used cross-bladed shears with center-pivots - i.e. scissors similar to modern ones - in the 5th century AD.

In 1761, an Englishman named Robert Hinchcliffe produced the first pair of cast steel scissors. In more recent times, the FISKARS Corporation of Finland invented new methods to dramatically improve the manufacturing process of scissors in 1967.

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