How scissors are made
China ships almost two out of every three pairs of scissors that cross a border.
- stations
- 8
- things upstream
- 65
- raw sources
- 22
- steps from the ground
- 10
The short version
Sheffield maker Whiteley drop forges each half from carbon steel bar, trims it, sands the handle loops, then drills and taps the pivot hole. The blanks are hardened in a furnace, quenched in oil, tempered and rumbled with ceramic chips. Only then are the blades ground, screwed together, adjusted and tested. Cheaper pairs are often stamped from sheet steel.
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Drop forge the blanks
A forge stamps each half from a carbon steel bar in its own mold, one mold per style. Trimming then removes excess steel and opens the insides of the handles.
Goes in -
Dress the bows
Every surface of the blank, including the insides of the finger loops, is sanded by hand to take off roughness left by the forge.
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Drill and tap the pivot
Each pair is drilled and threaded where the pivot screw will go. The hole's position sets how well the two halves will line up.
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Harden and temper
The blanks heat in a furnace and quench in oil, which gives the steel a hard edge. Tempering follows, leaving the handles soft enough to be worked.
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Rumble and polish
A vibrating tub of ceramic chips and mild acid smooths rough surfaces, and hand polishing brings up the shine.
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Grind the edges
Grinders cut the sharp edges into the hardened blades. Irregular shapes make this job hard to automate.
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Join and adjust
The pivot screw goes in and is set for the right tension. Each pair is then tested on different materials.
Goes in -
Dip the handles
Handles are dipped in primer and then paint, left to drip, and baked in an oven. Others get chrome, gold or ceramic coatings before assembly. A laser marks the blades last.
Goes in
Worth repeating
- In 1761, Robert Hinchliffe of Sheffield made the first scissors from cast steel for the mass market.
- The Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan company has been making scissors since 1663.
- In 2019 China accounted for 64.3% of worldwide scissors exports.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and scissors starts as these 22 raw sources.
Everything it is made of See it on the map
Open the whole family tree
Where it comes from
- China64.3% of world scissors exports
2019, share of worldwide exports of scissors.
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How scissors are made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/scissors