Who Invented Scissors

The tool and its concept

Knowing who invented scissors will be an excellent ice breaker at your next cocktail party. The origins and simplicity may come as a surprise. Scissors are a tool used for cutting materials by using force through leverage. Unlike a knife, scissors have two pivoted (or hinged) blades. Most types of scissors are not particularly sharp; it is primarily the shearing between the two blades that cuts. However, keep in mind sharp blades tend to cut easier than dull blades. This tool plus the mechanics of the scissor have been making life easier for over three millennia.

Physics 101

Levers are one of the basic tools and were more than likely used in prehistoric times. Levers were first described about 260 BC by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes (287-212 BC). Many of our basic tools use levers, including scissors, which consist of two class-1 levers (each blade, pivot, and handle). For those of us behind on lever classes, a class one lever places the fulcrum (or pivot) between the effort and resistance (visualize a teeter-totter). Voila, the scissor is a combination of two levers, used together to form an indispensable tool.

Prehistory

Early humans were a curious, clever, and industrious bunch. The natural world presented many difficulties for them. In order to simplify the pre-historic daily grind, some changes needed to be made. Enter the wheel, the lever, and the pulley. The true inventor and genius behind these marvels will probably never be known, but surely, these burden busting inventions will never be lost or forgotten. Lucky for us, people improved on these rudimentary tools and what was once just a lever, eventually, became scissors.

Relatively modern origins

It's safe to say that scissors didn’t just enter the market. Not surprisingly, the ancient Egyptians are credited with inventing scissors (roughly 1500 B.C.E.). Early scissors have been found in ancient Egyptian ruins. These early scissors were made from one piece of metal (unlike modern scissors, which are made from two cross-blades which pivot around a fulcrum). Modern cross-bladed scissors were invented in ancient Rome (roughly A.C.E. 100). Early scissors were used by specific professions like clothes makers and barbers. Scissors were not in common use until much later, in the 1500s (in Europe). Today's scissors are similar in use and style to the Roman scissors, but enjoy a wider range of every day use not limited to certain professions.

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