Show us your Shears, Scissors, and Secateurs!

[Private Lugnutz]

I admire them as much as the Italian anvil type jobbies I found a couple years ago, and as I was looking through the thread for photos of those, I realized that I posted them, and all my other vintage pruning shears, on an older thread that started out Italian and gradually morphed and geographically widened into all things pruning shears related, linked here.

So I'm going to re-post them in abbreviated fashion here.

"SW" Made in Italy (Pics 1, 2, & 3)
Seymour Smith "Snap-Cut" (Pics 4, 5, & 6)
Sargent & Co "BERNARD" Parrot-Head (Pic 7, 8, & 9)

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice surprise find Lugz!

 

[Jgaz]

This pair of tin snips was bought from the Mac truck in the late 70’s IIRC.
I would think they were made by someone else and rebranded Mac even though back then Mac was making more, or at least some, of their own tools.

 

[four.cycle]

"I would think they were made by someone else and rebranded..."

.... and you would most likely be correct:

Midwest / Midwest Tool & Cutlery, 1210 Progress St., Sturgis, MI 49091 / https://midwestsnips.com/ / "The Claw" patent 4967613 Nov 6 1990 Richard E. Cone /

they've been making tin snips for almost everybody since 1945.

 

[Stubby1743]

There has not been much about the British brand 'Footprint' on the forum. The company name still exists but the current operation is a shadow of its former self.

Here is my pair of 10" tin snips.

 

[JunkNstuf]

All over 40 years old I believe. The large Wiss is the one I seem to grab most often.

 

[Provincial]

At an estate sale today with a lot of junk and a few interesting tools, I noticed this kind of fancy cardboard box.

When I opened it, I saw this.


A set of 9" chromed Wiss pinking shears. This was the second day of the sale, and prices had dropped, so I was able to take them home. Several members of my family sew, and are members of a club. My wife will take these to the next club meeting and see if anyone can use them. They should be in good shape, since the prior owner kept them in the box, and they seem to have had little use.

 

[Outlawmws]

That's a cool find, especially with the box Prov!

 

[d42jeep]

I found these Wiss flower shears in the gardening tool cabinet today. I’m sure that it must have belonged to Grandpa Al. He was quite the gardener.
-Don

 

[Mintgrun]

Those are cool, Don. Flower shears that hold onto the stems after the cut is made.



Al's garden is inspiring. Thanks for sharing those photos.

Tom

 

[Outlawmws]

Very cool! I have a (probably later) set of Wiss flower cutting shears, no flowers cast/forged though.

 

[RivennHewn]

Y’all need to take a look at Grace Horne’s work.

She’s kinda awesome

Scissors | Grace Horne

www.gracehorne.co.uk

 

[matt stott]

Wow- great info here and great shears! Now I need to find some if those flower shears for my pile.

As always- as soon as I have any tool-ish related search I get pulled to GJ. It has been some years, but here are some of mine. I really like the Heinisch shears- their laminated steel is awesome, even 150 years later. I will sometimes clean them up, sharpen to a specific task and make sheaths for them, too (easy gifts for friends who sew). And the always growing “to be sharpened/cleaned” pile.

 

[Provincial]

At an estate sale today with a lot of junk and a few interesting tools, I noticed this kind of fancy cardboard box.

When I opened it, I saw this.


A set of 9" chromed Wiss pinking shears. This was the second day of the sale, and prices had dropped, so I was able to take them home. Several members of my family sew, and are members of a club. My wife will take these to the next club meeting and see if anyone can use them. They should be in good shape, since the prior owner kept them in the box, and they seem to have had little use.

The ladies at the Club passed, so my stepdaughter was able to take them. She wanted them when she first saw them, but let the Club members have a chance first. They will stay in the family, which makes me happy.

 

[Beerhippie]

I'm thinking someone else already posted a pair, but I picked these today:







Interesting design. Double-action for more force, double blades instead of blade and hook and the spring holders for whatever you've cut. I'd usually think of these as being for cutting flowers, but they do say Pruners.

There's a hook, like you'd expect for latching them closed, but there is nothing for the hook to latch onto--and no evidence there ever was. The hook rotates 360* in either open of closed position.

They're just sharp enough to use. To sharpen them properly, I'll have to file off the peened ends of the screws that secure the blades.

 

[Outlawmws]

I would think that getting the things apart with the screws would still provide enough access to the honed edges?

Nice find Timm!

 

[Beerhippie]

Fresh out of the ultrasonic cleaner, with a nice coat of CLP:





They cleaned up real good.

Outlaw--Every single screw is peened. A file or careful use of the angle grinder will get them off. Not sure they're really worth the bother. Cool, but...

I just tried them out on a willow out back. Definitely for cutting flower stems! A stem the dia. of my pinkie finger was a struggle. I'll stick with my Felco 7s and give these to the gals up in the pub for cutting flowers--until they lose them.

 

[Outlawmws]

Every single screw is peened

Well that *****. They should have used the Wiss method - upset the nut on the outside in 3 spots with a triangualr tiped punch - Very visible on aviation snips - a buddy used to sharpen these for guys - including the special fileing for the "teeth" adn made the punch for th nuts.

 

[Outlawmws]

Odd little scissors I picked up today "Roberts" brand made in Soingen Germany. Duckbill Napping Shears?

Features
Offset handle and special blade prevent gouging while napping
Cushioned, vinyl coated handles for comfort
Precision ground cutting blades
Chrome plated blades with knife edges

Details
The Roberts Duckbill Napping Shears are the perfect tool for properly trimming carpet imperfections. The offset handle prevents accidental gouging when napping, and the blades are crafted from high-carbon steel for durability.

Timing is good - I have a spot I need to patch where the cats have clawed up the carpet at the door jamb wanting into the MBR...

 

[Beerhippie]

Y'know, wimmin.

I hand the Gripper Pruner to the gal who runs the pub and she immediately turns the "mystery lock hook" around and



Because it has a hook shape to it, I'm looking for something to hook it on. She--without me mentioning anything--just swings it over there and now it's locked shut.

Go figger.

 

[Outlawmws]

Found a pair of Keen Kutter Scissors today:

 

[dchawk81]

This thread is non-secateur.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I see your non-secateur (which is only accurate linguistically), and raise you one nonsequitur. (I guess we need more Brits posting pruning shears.)

 

[four.cycle]

A "Gripper Pruner" is shown in the 1930 catalog from Sears, Roebuck & Co. I could not find an image of it, just Google Books match in Snippet Mode. Just need to wait three years and it should be out of copyright and available for Full View!

Gripper / Gripper Pruner Co., Tacoma, WA / pruner / patent 1650948 Nov 29 1927 William T. Long /

Interestingly, Mr. Long hailed from beautiful downtown Orting, Washington - a wide spot in the road on the other side of Puyallup (pronounced PEW allup) - now a residential community. I was able to find no other information other than what datamp.org dug up there.

 

[Bryan Burns]

I have two pairs of very unusual scissors. They have three blades and the upper blade goes between the bottom blade. What are these called and what are the used for?? Both are approximately 8 1/2 inches in over all length. One is marked ORR & Lockett and I can't make out the other marking. It starts F. West...

 

[Outlawmws]

I don't know what the official name is (Maybe double cut?) but used for cutting a slotted cut the width of the middle blade. No clue as to specific purpose, but I've seen similar for sheet metal, and I have a pair of Pexto double cut 02A's like that.

 

[RTM]

One is marked ORR & Lockett and I can't make out the other marking. It starts F. West...

Orr & Locket Hardware, gonna make it a bit harder, they weren't dedicated shears makers, not gonna just pop open a catalog.

Looks like science focused.

Manual Training and Vocational Education

books.google.com

But they also sold forges, saws, etc

Industrial-arts Magazine

books.google.com

Google Search

www.google.com

This book lists them as publisher

Woodwork for the grades, for use in manual training classes; fully illustrated with three hundred half-tone engravings from actual shop practice, and many working drawings of educational shop problems : Selden, Frank Henry : Free Download, Borrow, an

2 p. l., 7-249, iii p. 18 cm

archive.org

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I had a very cool find this morning at the flea. Wiss Model U.C.8 tinners' snips. They date precisely to 1931-1932. First of a kind, as far as a search reveals, for the entire site. I certainly didn't know they even existed when I first spotted them at the flea market. I was struck, of course, by the unusual configuration. I have all kinds of tinner's snips, mostly from Wiss and Crescent, mostly wartime, 7" combination pattern cut, because they were in the GMTK, and matching 11" straight cut, because that's the pair that was in the Radiator and Sheet Metal Mechanics' kits. They all have the instantly recognizable shears-type finger guard pattern handles characteristic of tin snips. In 1931, J. Wiss & Sons decided to do something different by configuring their combination and straight cut snips with handles more commonly associated with pliers. They branded them "Nu-Grip" and applied for a patent on March 2, 1931. It was granted on January 17, 1933. They advertised them in catalogs and in trade mags between 1931 and 1944. By 1950, they were obsolete.

Some photos of the example I found, a catalog cut, and the USPTO Gazette entry...

 

[Outlawmws]

Precursor to the compound aviation snips that came later. I'm green with Envy Lugz!



And Yes, you ****

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Precursor to the compound aviation snips that came later.

I wasn't thinking of it that way, but yes, that makes sense. The compound action snips, which Wiss branded "Metal Masters", were not offered in the 1937 catalog and had to have been introduced sometime between 1938 and 1940. They appear in the 1941 catalog with a note on the optional rubber handles being a new improvement.

EDIT: When WISS trademarked "METAL MASTER" for compound action snips in 1955, they claimed first use in 1939.

 

[Beerhippie]

Here's another pair of Wiss:





Barely legible--even after playing with the lights and boosting the hell out of the contrast--but says Wiss USA ?10. I used a field microscope to look closer, but no help. It does look like there was something before the 10, but it's gone. Maybe acid-etch like the cops do to raise filed-off SNs on weapons?

Anyhow, still have scraps of the original gray paint. Lugz's picture above shows how it was masked, so I just need to find the matching color of gray.

 

[d42jeep]

I wasn't thinking of it that way, but yes, that makes sense. The compound action snips, which Wiss branded "Metal Masters", were not offered in the 1937 catalog and had to have been introduced sometime between 1938 and 1940. They appear in the 1941 catalog with a note on the optional rubber handles being a new improvement.

EDIT: When WISS trademarked "METAL MASTER" for compound action snips in 1955, they claimed first use in 1939.

Here are some left cutting Metalmaster snips I found recently at a garage sale. The previous owner used a nylon tie to keep them closed since the original clip was missing.
-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Timm, the Grey was "Machinery gray" - I used to use the Orchard Supply Hardware "House brand" but I think most are about the same.

Don the "Clip" on the metal masters was a swinging hook off one screw head, to another screw head with a slight shoulder.

 

[d42jeep]

I can never pass on Wiss snips at sales.
Nylon tie in place
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here's another pair of Wiss:





Barely legible--even after playing with the lights and boosting the hell out of the contrast--but says Wiss USA ?10. I used a field microscope to look closer, but no help. It does look like there was something before the 10, but it's gone. Maybe acid-etch like the cops do to raise filed-off SNs on weapons?

Anyhow, still have scraps of the original gray paint. Lugz's picture above shows how it was masked, so I just need to find the matching color of gray.

Here is a pair I found and restored a while back, showing the original gray paint.
After

-Don

 

[Beerhippie]

I gave the old shears an hour or two in the electrolysis vat with hot lye solution yesterday, followed by 4-0 steel wool, a stainless toothbrush and a few ounces of elbow grease:



Some interesting details:



Instead of having three triangular stakes on the locknut, the end of the pivot pin is peened.



The head of the pivot pin is chamfered instead of domed. The Wiss USA and 10 aren't in a cloud, and there is no letter prefix on the 10. In the early (1937 and back) catalogs I looked at, the tin snips had no prefix, but they had the Wiss cloud. By '63, the next catalog I could find that included tin snips, this pattern would have had a V- prefix and the casting marks would be Wiss and Drop forged--not Wiss Forged and Solid Steel.

They need paint. Based on the remaining scraps of paint on them and the pictures you all posted above, I tried to get a decent match--not easy where the hardware stores no longer carry much hardware nor paint. I tried to copy the masking shown in the pictures and chose Rusto Smoke Gray as about as close I could get hereabouts:



Another use for a saw filer's vise. I've removed the masking and I'll give 'em a good bake (1 hour at 250F) after another hour of cure time. I've moved them from where I painted them to keep them in the full sun a little longer. After I bake 'em (and let them cool), I'll hit that gloss paint with some 4-0 steel wool to dull it a bit and blend the masking step.

 

[Beerhippie]

Oh, yeah, here's my reference for the catalogs and such: http://jwissandsons.com/index.htm

Sure someone's posted that before.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice Wiss Links Timm! thanks!

And nice job on the Snips! The paint looks right to me!

 

[Beerhippie]

Where's the Wiss or tin snips thread? Nothing in the Index nor results on search. Seems there are enough Wiss tin snips for a thread of their own?

 

[rtvinc]

Peck, Stow, & Wilcox Company (Pexto)​

best i can tell very early 1900's