Scissors are really just 2 knife blades together - haha!

[roaduck]

Yeah Hi XexoX I bought them because I already had some forged chromed Whiteley pinking shears and I knew their reputation, history and heritage already.
They are not immediately visible on the William Whiteley website because they are industrial not domestic scissors.
Go to the trade section at the bottom of the page.
You could order them directly by ringing them on +44 (0) 114 251 4999

[roaduck]

Yeah hi XexoX I ordered mine from Alan-Goodrich sewing in Leicester - they took months to order and arrive because William Whiteley are a small volume traditional manufacturer and they don`t make many scissors but they are always in high demand.
I know their reputation because I already own their pinking shears and know that they are the only long established handmade scissor company not only in the UK but World Wide.
They make EVERY type of scissors and I know that because I met a tailor and some cutlers in Sheffield that dealt with them.
Sheffield is only 30 minutes drive from South Manchester which is where I am from.
Sheffield is in the beautiful English Peak District National Park.They have been making iron and steel tools in the city of Sheffield for well over 700 years and before that they were making Bronze tools over 3000 years ago.

Here`s Sheffield -


Sheffield is called "Steel City" and Manchester was the very first industrial city in the World with the first Railway station in 1831.
The 1920NP-12 models are not immediately visible on the Whiteley website because they are industrial not domestic so you would have to click "trade" at the bottom of the site and enquire.
I am definitely getting some more 1920NP-12 models for Christmas presents.
You can find the 10 inch models on the web which are about 100 grams lighter and NP on the model name means nickel plated then the length in inches and the BP means bright plated chrome.
If it doesn`t say "industrial" on the blades they will not be as durable and Whiteley scissors can still cut after over 100 years - I know from anecdotes from friends in the antique business and I know yachtsmen and fishermen that used Whiteley shears for cutting flax,hemp and linen sails and hemp rope from a chandlery.
A lot of people go on looks only; I go on weight, steel type and amount of finishing processes.

[roaduck]

To give you an idea of the scale of these twelve inch scissors; here they are next to some YNR 20 inch, 3 lb scissors - they are both big and heavy.

[XexoX]

Thanks for all the info roaduck. Sheffield is beautiful.

[roaduck]

AH bless you Xexox - you are most welcome and thank you for the Sheffield thumbs up - the hills aren`t as big as everywhere else but they look pretty to me and the people are "Salt of the Earth" non-judgemental, kind and generous in my experience.

Please ring Catherine Shelton at alan-goodrich.com in Leicester on Monday on +44(0)1162532322 and ask for the lead times on Whiteley 1920NP-12 Industrial Sidebent Shears; and \ or email - cath@alan-godrich.com and say John in Manchester recommended them.
You could try getting Radio Spares to source them but beware, that particular model is scarce and no matter you have to be patient - but believe me, they are well worth the hassle and wait.
An offer of a partial deposit before ordering or even better, the full whack up front by card should speed things up nicely if you`re so inclined.They`re an honourable business to deal with in my experience.

Also, in the first instance ring Whiteleys in Sheffield on +44(0)11425149 and talk to a real human and/or email them whilst incorporating "Whiteley Industrial shears - 1920NP-12" and "sales@whiteley.co.uk" in the subject matter and don`t settle for anything less !
I know my onions fortunately and unfortunately haha !

Just say you want heirloom scissors for your kids/family/partner whatever - which you do haha!
Good luck Xexox and the best of luck in these tumultuous unprecedented times.

[Qapla']

I was asked if I still wanted some William Whiteley 1920NP-12 side-bent shears that were out of stock in mid August; of course I said yes and carded it over the phone.

All I can say is "WoW" - the quality is extraordinary and I`ve seen and owned really good American Wiss and Japanese Kai and artisan German models that were not cheap.

The quality is as good or better than artisan Japanese scissors in my 40+ year experience of buying, using and hand forging Asian-style knives here in NW England and in the Far East.

They are much better than any domestic scissors I`ve ever owned.They weigh 754 grams which is about a pound and a half but are perfectly balanced.Most good consumer scissors weigh 250 to 500 grams.

The handles are not dipped in paint or rubber coated - they are stove enameled.

They are carbon steel with a HRC-65 hardness of the blade; the handles are softer even though the scissors are hot forged two-piece designs.

You can not see much daylight at all between the blades when closed which is a sign of perfect grinding.

They came in triple-wrapped bubble wrap and on each individual package was written "Sharp Scissors" in red marker pen !

Now I know why they had 3 warning labels on them - they can cut off 1/25th of an inch of a cigarette paper accurately and effortlessly with the very tips of the blade - unbelievable precision for such massive scissors.They can also cut 50 plus layers of paper towels effortlessly; I am not kidding.

They are hand made by an English craftsman with over six decades of experience; I`ve seen him on their website.He is well over retirement age.

The firm in Sheffield, South Yorkshire has been making hand made scissors continuously since 1760.

There is only a handful of staff in the whole 100 plus year old tiny factory.

They were an unbelievable bargain - less than £60 with tax and FEDEX next day delivery.

They are easily worth £300 plus - they are heirloom scissors and one of the best bargains I`ve ever seen.

Naturally I`ve ordered some more Whiteley scissors - a pair of ten inch ones for glass fibre, carbon fibre and kevlar / aramid and some five inch electricians scissors which were both less than £100 all inc.

They also do bespoke scissors with a waiting list and made scissors for the English Royal Family and the Great Exhibition of 1851 in the Crystal Palace - London.

I`ve seen pictures of their scissors and they are truly works of art - fully jeweled and pierced and mirror polished like a Swiss watch.

Their normal range goes from £6 - £7 up to £6700.00 and bespoke is sky is the limit.

Naturally they ship Worldwide and have distributers in North America.

For the handmade quality the prices are unbelievably low; they must be doing it for love and pride

This sounds pretty cool. Some rather ignorant questions from someone who knows nothing of high-end scissors:
- How do you most often use the kevlar/aramid/etc.-specialized ones, and how do you resharpen them? (If I remember correctly, the composite-materials scissors had one side serrated?)
- How do you resharpen the ones with the teflon coatings?

[roaduck]

To be perfectly frank Qapla' any good industrial scissors will cut kevlar or optic fibre but will slip a bit because the lower blade is not micro serrated.
The Whiteley 1920NP-8 , 1920NP-10 which are 8" and 10" respectively will more than suffice because the steel is so hard and they are differentially hardened because they are meant for continuous use for years in factories, tailor shops, warehouses etc without going blunt every few weeks which is lost production time even if it is just swapping to sharp scissors in a few seconds or minutes.
My coated Whiteley scissors for carbon fibre/kevlar/glass fibre are coming next week and they will be factory reconditioned/sharpened only.
I can just drop them off at the Sheffield factory - faster than posting and a lovely day out in the countryside as well.
I wouldn`t even trust the guys at Prosharp to do them.Not scissors - they`re too specialised; especially the coated and curved ones.

For the coated scissors they have to ideally be done at the factory like the serrated ones for best results.
Or the uncoated ones can be done by a guy that knows what he`s doing or they will be damaged/ruined.
If somebody sharpens a double bezel 50/50 knife asymmetrically or changes the angle of a traditionally ground Japanese single bevel knife it can usually be corrected with patience and perseverance.
Scissors have to be bang on or they won`t mesh.

I have some cheapie Teflon and painted ones and they will go in the bin when they`re scratched or blunt.

I can sharpen artisan Japanese hairdressing scissors - but only if the blades are straight - I could never do curved scissors perfectly so I stick to normal ones now.

My experience of hand-made carbon Sheffield makes - Whiteley, Richardson, Wilkinson, Ragg, Ernest Wright etc is wipe the carbon ones after use and do not store damp.Lightly oil the pivots and blades for storage.Do not drop them because they`ll go out of alignment.

[roaduck]

These English handmade Industrial scissors are coming next week
I can`t wait; I`ll review `em both when they land on Tuesday.

William Whiteley & Sons 127 mm Electricians Scissors​


William Whiteley & Sons 10 in Heavy Duty Shears​


From the manufacturer -

"Composite Shear – Glass Fibre OAL 10” Length of cut 5” Forged from high carbon tool steel Specially designed to cut glass fibre Xylan coating aids cutting performance Specially ground and set blades contribute to a ten-fold improvement in cutting life over standard shears Serrated blade holds loose fibres to improve cutting performance Can be used with pre-peg ''wet'' processes Shear also available with rounded points in order to avoid the tips snagging the fibres of loose weaves often associated with these materials Composite Shear – Carbon Fibre OAL 10” Length of cut 5” Forged from high carbon tool steel Specially designed to cut carbon fibre Xylan coating aids cutting performance Specially ground and set blades contribute to a ten-fold improvement in cutting life over standard shears Serrated blade holds loose fibres to improve cutting performance Can be used with pre-peg ''wet'' processes Shear also available with rounded points in order to avoid the tips snagging the fibres of loose weaves often associated with these materials"

[Kekoa]

So, do you want them to cut up carbon fibre, or are you going to use them for something else?

[roaduck]

Erm I want to help a friend who models with carbon fibre for home projects Kekoa so these will really help us both.Obviously they will cut the majority of materials so we`re good to go.
I hope your cheffing is going okay for you Kekoa; all the best.
I can`t do all DIY well - it`s a constant learning curve.
It`s a massive subject like `puters or foreign languages and travel and World cuisine.
Hobbies are useful haha!

[roaduck]

Just got these for Cathie because she does loads of sewing for the homeless.
They`re a surprise - hope she likes `em.

They are not quite as good as the Whiteley 1920NP-12 side-bent shears but they are out of stock everywhere and I`m sure she would appreciate some new ones.

Rather than get some inexpensive but good twelve inch carbon-bladed ones from China I pushed the boat out a bit.
The specs don`t look too bad to me.

Mundial Nickel Plated Serrated Edge Forged Tailor Shears 12" 30cm

To quote -

"Fully forged, black enameled handles, serrated lower blade & Nickel plated. The most durable Nut & Bolt pivot system along with high-performance steel make the 490 the leading model of heavy-duty tailors shears.
If you need something that can stand up to years of hard work and repeated sharpening, or you simply want the best, then our Classic Forged and Heavy Duty Industrial Forged Scissors and Shears should be your first choice.
Fine carbon steel is hot drop forged - literally hammered into shape - then tempered, plated, ground, honed, polished, adjusted, tested, and inspected by cutlery artisans to meet our exacting quality standards. The result is textile scissors and shears of unmatched strength and durability - the kind that cut more precisely, stay sharp longer, and deliver a lifetime of cutting pleasure.
12 Inch - 30cm"

These weigh 630 grams and are made in Brazil - model - 490NPSR 12" NICKEL PLATED KE SHEAR.

[roaduck]

These are both amazing scissors for professional and Industrial use - so they should easily outlive me.
The big black 10 inch shears weigh 400 grams (14.1 ounces) and the 5 inch electricians scissors weigh 150 grams (5.29 ounces)
Are they tough and sharp ? Oh hell yeah - they`re meant for cutting fibreglass and stripping wire - all day - every day for years on end.

[roaduck]

These scissors arrived yesterday and they look terrific.
They are the Mundial 12" 490NPSR serrated blade model Wagner the Wehrwolf and they weigh 630 grams (22.22 ounces)
I could have got her some YNR brand 20 inch - 52 ounce scissors or the 12 inch - 26 ounce Whiteley industrial shears but they would have been too big and heavy for her.


They are meant for commercial / light industrial use in a commercial tailors or machine shop so they should outlast Cathie ! She will definitely love them.

[jamesking]

True, hehe! In reality, scissors are only two blades that function together, but the quality makes all the difference. The Japan scissors USA I use cut much cleaner than any other pair I've ever used. It all comes down to balance and steel.