Show us your Shears, Scissors, and Secateurs!

[four.cycle]

second link says he had five patents prior to the formation of Barnard Son & Co.

Barnard / Barnard Son & Co., Waterville, CT / est. 1866 / "Improved Lamp-Trimmer Shears" / patent 45574 Dec 27 1864 William B. Barnard / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ors-and-secateurs.507235/page-8#post-11329601 / https://americanscissorstories.blogspot.com/2013/10/william-b.html /

possible connection to Schollhorn?
or am I reading too much between the lines?

Barnard:
patent 25554 Sep 27 1859 William B. Barnard and Edmund Jordan of Waterbury CT for "Rotary Blower" - no assignee (published in Scientific American Oct 8 1859) no idea if produced

patent 37998 Mar 24 1863 W. B. Barnard of Waterbury CT for "Sheathing Iron Vessels" - assignor of one-half to Samuel G. Blackman of Waterbury CT

 

[Outlawmws]

Is it the same Bernard?

 

[Outlawmws]

A pair I picked up 2 weeks ago:

I was not able to find any company information, other than one scissors company did make scissors for "Her Royal Highness" and was a designated provider for the Royal family.

 

[four.cycle]

no. it's Barnard.

 

[RTM]

Is it the same Bernard?

Mine is Barnard, schollhorn company uses Bernard patent.

Guess I should have read ahead further to see the four.cycle already answered that.

 

[Stubby1743]

Pexto shears. Is it unusual for them to be marked with U.S.A. when they already have 'Made in USA' on the other side?

 

[Stubby1743]

Nabel stainless steel poultry shears.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Is it unusual for them to be marked with U.S.A. when they already have 'Made in USA' on the other side?

It's usually indicative of it being a martial marking, applied unerringly (but inattentively), in a factory like process, by the Ordnance Dept or a unit in the field. We've seen the redundancy before on all kinds of tools, especially those made during wartime and found in Europe. Every 2nd echelon general mechanic's toolkit ("GMTK") was issued snips (Shears, tinners', 7" OAL, with a 1-3/4" combination - i.e., straight or curved - cut). I have collected tin snips for six complete GMTKs and then some, but they have all been either Wiss or Crescent, so I can't provide any more details or an informed wartime production blessing on those PEXTO's. They certainly look like they might fit the bill and your location helps with provenance.

 

[Stubby1743]

O.K. thanks for that. I did wonder if it signified Govt. property

 

[d42jeep]

O.K. thanks for that. I did wonder if it signified Govt. property

There are several of the #83 with the additional U.S.A. markings currently listed on eBay. I made an offer on this pair. -Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've always been jealous of the guys with vintage hedge shears, so I was elated to run into a WISS example this morning at the flea market. It will be a fun and worthy restoration project. I guess you would call these "half perfect handle" types. Not recommended for those with small hands! They are 22" OAL. Based on the wide range of catalogs on IA/ITCL, WISS made these through at least 1941, which is where I got the excerpts. By 1950, they no longer offered this style.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice find Lugz! Q: any reference to the blades being "inlaid"? This is something I always look for in Wis.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Q: any reference to the blades being "inlaid"? This is something I always look for in Wis.

No. Just described as "Cutlery steel blades".

 

[JMP]

Anyone know what kind of shears these are?

 

[Mintgrun]

They're called pinking shears. They cut a zig-zag edge on fabric, to keep the threads from unravelling.

 

[LesserSon]

A roundup of some snippy things. I’ve got a couple more interesting ones, somewhere.
The 14” heavy tailor R Heinisch at the bottom of frame were a recent gift (as was the cutting pad). She said her father used them to cut tin. The brass pivot was semi-mangled around the circumference with pliers toothmarks. I guess a PO tried (and failed) to take them apart that way.

Marred to the point I could only make out “Newark NJ,” so I tried to flatten the edge with hammer taps, and wound up filing the remaining ridges down to reveal the lettering. I found a c1915 catalog on ITCL which shows “USA” following “NJ,” so I guess earlier than that, maybe c1900?

 

[Outlawmws]

The 14” heavy tailor R Heinish at the bottom of frame

LS, are those Heinisch marked #7? Based on the catalog page and scale those look more like #8 or #9 to me? (snips and scissors are often measured from the center of the pivot)

 

[LesserSon]

I didn’t find a clear size on them - just an “H” stamped into the steel.

They are slightly over 14”OAL, and slightly over 7” along the edge, but only by 1/8” or less.
My analog postal scale only goes up to 2lbs, bottoms out with these on it. My antique 25lb scale says they are 2-1/2lbs, and my bathroom scale (with applied subtraction) says 2.2lbs (but I probably wasn’t standing still).
That all matches the catalog-given weight of 2-3/4lb well enough. For sure, they are not 3lbs.
In the group photo, the ends loom above the cutting mat (closer to the camera lens), so they appear larger. I can make them appear shorter than 14” by placing the measuring device above, rather than below.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The 14” heavy tailor R Heinish at the bottom of frame were a recent gift

Wow. Very nice!

They were located in Newark, NJ, and rivals of J. Wiss & Sons (est. 1848), who acquired them in 1914. There are some beautiful Civil War era Heinisch tailor's shears out there in collectorland, with the big outlandish cutlass-like fingers guards,

 

[four.cycle]

@LesserSon -
What is the device at far right in the group shot? A wick trimmer?

 

[strength_and_power]

Left handed Wiss upholstery scissors I’ve had since 1995 when I took upholstery at the vocational school my last year of high school.

 

[LesserSon]

@LesserSon -
What is the device at far right in the group shot? A wick trimmer?

Yes, exactly. 1999 Mosca design patent D422470.
It just resurfaced when I was looking for scissors. MrsLS has one with a different desgn. I think both catch the trimmed-off part of the wick, but with hers, it just lays loose in the bowl-like depression, while mine positively grips it in the V-notch.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Interesting that patent was issued in 2000 - I would have assumed much earlier.

 

[Eric Brown]

Need help identifying these. They are all Fulton. The top one is stamped Fulton, Made in USA and has nut/bolt type pivot. Has a handle stop similar to Wiss. The middle pair is marked with Forged Steel cast into both handles and is stamped Fulton AE Made in USA. Has a round head on one side and a nut on the other for the pivot. The pinchers are stamped Fulton AM and the pivot is a swaged over rivet.
Note: Neither the AE or AM are listed on Alloy Artifacts under Sears manufacturers codes.
Also posted this under the Fulton thread. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ls-sears-private-label-brand-11-14-25.552392/

 

[misterbill]

I was doing some more cleanout at my parents yesterday and found these sitting on the floor in the basement amongst some other rusty old tools. I just pulled them out of the homemade derusting mix to see what I had found. Minus the rust, paint splatter, etc. I could finally see some manufacturer's marks. I can't quite make it out for certain, but it looks like these are Heinisch.





Bill

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...it looks like these are Heinisch.

A revered name in these parts, Bill. Bought out by Jacob Wiss (who once worked for Heinisch!) in 1914 and continued to be made by J. Wiss & Co with the Heinisch name, such was its renowned. Some of the pre-1900 antiques are pricey valuable.

 

[misterbill]

A revered name in these parts, Bill. Bought out by Jacob Wiss (who once worked for Heinisch!) in 1914 and continued to be made by J. Wiss & Co with the Heinisch name, such was its renowned. Some of the pre-1900 antiques are pricey valuable.

Any idea how long Wiss made them under that name?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Any idea how long Wiss made them under that name?

No. But the answer might be 1976 - seriously, which is when J. Wiss was bought by Cooper. For the same reason that modern shears and scissors and snips made lord knows where today by the Apex Tool Group, which bought Cooper, still bear a "Wiss" (and more likely "Crescent Wiss") branding. I have HEINISCH branded tin snips, marked exactly like yours, linked here, that look assuredly 40s or 50s to me. It's reasonable to assume that if they kept the name around that long, they may as well have kept it to the bitter bicentennial end.

If you're thinking the "41" might be a date code, it doesn't seem so outlandish. Could be a model number, I guess. But 1941 is not out of the question. You might want to breeze through a few Wiss cats in that timeframe just to see if the general shape, profile, and construction make sense.

 

[misterbill]

FWIW, I found this site that seems to be all about Wiss. Their Heinisch page says that they continued to operate the two companies separately "for more than a decade". A (admittedly cursory) examination of Wiss catalogs on the ITCL from that era didn't reveal any Heinisch mentions in Wiss catalogs.

 

[Mintgrun]

Those look familiar.




I pulled this pair of Wiss No. 32 shears out of the Habitat scrap bin the other day. They've seen a lot of sharpening over the years! I was able to remove the nut, but not the screw. I broke the tip of a 90 degree screwdriver trying; then, fixed the tip of the screwdriver and put the nut back on the scissors. Unfortunately, they're still too loose, with the screw turned in as far as it will go.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

FWIW, I found this site that seems to be all about Wiss.

The source of almost all my info about J. Wiss and Heinisch, although there are some Newark area historical society sites and some esoteric Heinisch devotee sites out there, too, none of which delve into how long the brand was used. Somewhere in the J. Wiss site there is a very early newspaper article talking about using - I sh*t you not! - two large St. Bernard dogs to power the treadle machines.

Their Heinisch page says that they continued to operate the two companies separately "for more than a decade".

I've seen that..., and have known this...

A (admittedly cursory) examination of Wiss catalogs on the ITCL from that era didn't reveal any Heinisch mentions in Wiss catalogs.

...but my tin snips and your shears look much later than the 1920's to me.

 

[Eric Brown]

Need help identifying these. They are all Fulton. The top one is stamped Fulton, Made in USA and has nut/bolt type pivot. Has a handle stop similar to Wiss. The middle pair is marked with Forged Steel cast into both handles and is stamped Fulton AE Made in USA. Has a round head on one side and a nut on the other for the pivot. The pinchers are stamped Fulton AM and the pivot is a swaged over rivet.
Note: Neither the AE or AM are listed on Alloy Artifacts under Sears manufacturers codes.
Also posted this under the Fulton thread. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ls-sears-private-label-brand-11-14-25.552392/

Adding to this post. I just received a 10" pair of snips marked Fulton B-G. So to recap, in the last two pictures are the three that I have. From T-B: Fulton Made in USA, Fulton AE Made in U.S.A. Forged Steel, Fulton Made in U.S.A. B-G

 

[DetailSeeker]

So the local tool library had a recent batch of donations that were occasionally in somewhat rough shape (that is the only time I've seen a try square where the wood was in better shape than the metal and believe me that is not saying much) and caked with gunk. Not sure what it was, maybe tar--it was black, slightly stretchy, and ruined two razor blades before succumbing to the stubborn application of putty knives.

I don't have a before picture of the aviation snips I was working on. This is a during picture, after about an ounce of gunk was removed and it had been scrubbed with dish soap.


I took them apart, figured out how they were meant to work (I may have seen a double-cut pipe cutter before, but certainly never tried to use one), and tried to sharpen the blades a little. (Looking up instructions, unsurprisingly, brought me to Sheetmetal (Tin) snips 101 as well as assorted videos.) Then put them back together and added Fluid Film.

This is the after picture, and rather than needing two hands to open or close, they cut properly again.




I am reminding myself that if I don't get them back to the tool library, they are unlikely to really get used, but I am still kinda tempted to hang onto them.

 

[Outlawmws]

the aviation snips I was working on

Those are not actually "aviation snips" but slitting snips.

I have a much heavier pair, plus a couple-three sets of heads for Milwaukee drills for powered versions - pretty sure I have 2 or more complete on the drills, and at least one set "spare" (not exactly sure of qty. as they have not yet hit the inventory sheets)

 

[DetailSeeker]

Those are not actually "aviation snips" but slitting snips.

Because the double-cut blades remove a straight slot in the middle?

I knew Klenk sold them as a pipe cutter, but I thought that aviation snips were anything with the compound action. I stand corrected.

(Plus, you know, that is a very cute little aeroplane logo, and I may have felt inclined to lump them in with aviation as a result.)

 

[Outlawmws]

(Plus, you know, that is a very cute little aeroplane logo, and I may have felt inclined to lump them in with aviation as a result.)

Not saying they would not be used in aviation work, just that they are not true Aviation snips. Those are single cut, and originally were deigned for cutting curves easily, both R & L (Despite the advent of "straight" and "Bull nose" cutters)

 

[LesserSon]

I found and posted them last year (post #120, page 3), but they're not marked. They play the part well, though - and will do as a representative facsimile until the real thing comes along in my flea market forays.

@Mintgrun has WISS kitchen shears (post #71, page 2), but they're missing the notch for lifting pressed and crimped metal beverage bottle caps. A significant feature for dating them, methinks.

Tom, note that my No. 1-KS paper envelope and the 1934 catalog both refer to the No. 1-KS kitchen shears as "New." I don't think that refers to their debut introduction as a type of shear. I think it refers to the notch. Note that the 1934 catalog refers to the teeth in the opening between the handles, "for unscrewing tightly fitting caps from ketchup bottles, etc., and for cracking nuts" as "An original feature." I think yours, without the notch, are older than 1934.

How much older I have not been able to determine.

No kitchen shears of any kind appear in any WISS catalog between 1917 and 1927. The first WISS literature of any kind on IA/ITCL that includes a reference to kitchen shears is a Price List dated January 15, 1933. If they started making them in 1928 or thereabouts, the new and improved version with the bottle cap opener was added in short order.

Wiss 1KS kitchen shears. 1937 Rauh patent 2027785 applied for in 1931 illustrates the whole item, but the title is “bottle cap remover.”

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wiss 1KS kitchen shears.

Great find! Except for some minor superficial rust, they're in VG condition and look like they'll spiff up very well. Despite all the prior discussion you quoted above, I think they might be the first on the thread. Tom's are not WISS and mine are not marked and also likely not WISS.

1937 Rauh patent 2027785 applied for in 1931 illustrates the whole item, but the title is “bottle cap remover.”

Since you quoted my post, I'm sure you saw that...

...the 1934 catalog refers to the teeth in the opening between the handles, "for unscrewing tightly fitting caps from ketchup bottles, etc."

Those shears clearly belong with this merchandising envelope, and vice versa! The only question is in whose basement?

 

[LesserSon]

Yes, nice condition. I wet-wiped them. They appear to be nickel plated, with remnants of black enamel paint in the handles, a little white paint spatter and drips of something amberish which may be old epoxy. I’ll do a brass wire brushing.
Remarkably, they slice paper very smoothly, even when held loosely, which is quite a different experience than that provided by their red-handled descendants from Japan, Taiwan, and even Italy.
I think they do not allow as much leverage at the bottle cap opener as later versions, but I rarely encounter bottle caps these days that don’t twist off. I don’t miss the later developments of the hammer face and screwdriver on the import handles. These feel as though someone acquainted with human hands designed them.

 

[LesserSon]

Mintgrun’s post71, the yellow-handled kitchen shears are Wiss. They are marked KS (not 1KS), which I assume designates the earlier design w/o bottle opener.