History of scissors

Machine for irrigation of fields, levers and cables for raising heavy weights, military throwing machines - these and many other inventions and discoveries of the Syracuse sage Archimedes produced on his contemporaries such impression that the name of the greatest mathematician and mechanic of Ancient Greece became overgrown with legends. One told how he, with the help of the block system, forced a large, loaded ship, dragged to the dry land, with a calm movement of his hand. Another told how he burned the enemy fleet of Romans with mirrors. They also said that by opening the lever, Archimedes said: "Give me a lever and a fulcrum, and I will turn the world over."

Ancient scissors.

The lever as the simplest weapon has been used since time immemorial, and you yourself use it every day. Take a closer look at the most common scissors. How do we cut the paper? All the time in just one point. This is the meaning of the scissors - to concentrate all the applied force at one point. And the strength, it turns out, is so great that we can easily cut not only paper or fabric, but also cardboard, plastic and even metal. And again: we always try to act not with the ends of scissors, but, on the contrary, the very beginning of the blades, closer to the screw. And the harder the material, the closer to the beginning of the blades, we push it. This is where the law of leverage discovered by Archimedes operates: the shorter we make the blades of the scissors, and the handles are longer, the more we win in power.

Shears for shearing sheep. Gardening scissors.

There are scissors, which are called - lever. They are manual and mechanical and are used for cutting sheets of metal, wire, etc. The lower horizontal knife is fixed and the upper is a lever.

About 1000 years ago some craftsman had the idea to connect two knives with the help of a carnation, and turn the knobs with their rings - that's what the scissors turned out to be. However, much earlier, about 3,5 thousand years ago, came up with "sheep" scissors( with their help sheared sheep, so they are called).Imagine two blades connected like a tweezers with an arc-shaped steel spring plate. The principle of operation of such scissors is different - the blades did not rotate with respect to the center, but were simply compressed by hand.

As time showed, the device from the children's puzzle "Two ends, two rings, and in the middle of carnations" turned out to be the most convenient. The oldest scissors in Eastern Europe are found near Smolensk, in Gnezdovo. They were made in the X century.

Scissors made of iron, steel, silver, richly decorated. The most expensive ones were even covered with gold. The imagination of the master-manufacturers did not have a limit: then a strange bird came out, its beak cut the fabric, then around the rings for the fingers vines waved with the brushes of grapes, and then suddenly they turned out not the scissors, but the fairy dragon. Sometimes the decorations became so much that they prevented to use this simple instrument.

Modern scissors.

In Russia scissors were made mainly by handicraftsmen, and mainly in those provinces where knives were made, in Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir. Hardened usually one blade, and necessarily both together, so that the hardness was the same. Ears are tempered only from expensive specimens, because then they are better polished. Quite a long time there were "specialties" in scissors: some were intended for craftsmen working with leather, others for hairdressers, and others for doctors. There were even special scissors for cutting off the metal core of coin blanks( they were large, strong and fastened to a wooden stand).Today there are scissors, with which they cut the bushes on the lawns, cut the bird, cut the fabrics, cut the loops, cut the cake and even. .. the car. Such giant steel scissors are invented in Germany and use them for accidents on the roads. With this device, you can also break the glass in the machine, open the jammed door, and cut off the seat belts.

There are also new materials for the manufacture of scissors, for example special ceramics. The scissors made of it are three times stronger than steel, they are more wear-resistant, and they cut much thinner! Electric scissors are created, the principle of their operation is the same as that of electric hair clippers. They work from two batteries each with a voltage of one and a half volts. Scissors are designed, which are not similar to scissors, but rather resemble a knife from a meat grinder: a three-tooth disc is placed on an ordinary electric drill. They can cut at a speed of 20 meters per minute rubber, thick skin, linoleum, plastics.

One of the most perfect "scissors" used in garment enterprises. An electronic computer makes and reproduces on the screen patterns of clothing of any style invented by fashion designers. The cutter operator inserts the final changes into these patterns using a light pencil. Then, according to the commands of the computer, the laser "scissors" automatically cut the fabric along these patterns. Cutting speed - almost meter per second! And with this operation, the edges of the fabric or knitted fabric burn, melt, and, therefore, do not dissolve, do not crumble - they are as if cut.

And yet, despite all the novelties, the usual scissors will serve us for a long time with faith and truth. Of course, this simple tool also requires attention. Dad from the story of Anton Chekhov "The Boys" threw the scissors to the floor, angry that they were stupid, instead of sharpening them. Today, the case will help a special case for scissors, having a sharpening device from the won. Sharpening occurs at each insertion of the tool in a case. .. and your faithful assistant is again ready to work.

Take note of

Scissors are often dulled. To sharpen them again, take a needle to the left hand, and scissors to the right hand and begin to "cut" the needle. Keep the needle bar perpendicular to the blades and as close to the middle of the widely spread scissors. As you squeeze the needle bring to the end of the blades. So it must be done 10-20 times, and the scissors will again become sharp. You can also cut the new sandpaper several times.