These handmade scissors
have been produced in Sheffield, England,
for over 100 years.
But compared to a $2 mass-produced pair,
the kitchen scissors will cost you over $100,
and a pair of professional tailor's shears cost $315.
So just what is it that makes them so expensive?
Cliff Denton is one of just two
master putter-togetherers left.
Both in their 70s,
the masters are the only ones skilled enough
to undertake the final delicate part of the process:
the assembly of these scissors,
or putting together.
Cliff Denton: When I were young, every street corner
had a little shop with masters in and working.
They've gone.
You know, at one stage, we were doing,
like, 85, 90 different types of scissor.
Narrator: In the 1970s, there were 150
small-scale scissor workshops in Sheffield.
Now there are just two.
And keeping this craft alive relies on
training the next generation of apprentices.
Denton: You know, it's just got that light, magic touch.
How to hold them, how to stroke them,
how to edge them.
And this, to instill on young lads,
is hard.
Because it's not something you can write down
and let them read.
They've got to actually do it.
Narrator: Unlike cheaper mass-manufactured scissors,
almost all of the work is done by hand.
The starting outline of the scissor
is hot-drop-forged off-site.
This is called a blank,
and while it may already have the shape
of a very rough pair of scissors,
the process has only just begun.
The blanks first need to be drilled,
counterbored, and tapped.
This puts in a hole in the center of each half
and adds a thread to that hole.
Once that work is done,
the blades have to be ground down.
The blank has no blade on it whatsoever,
so initial grinding has to be done
on a 50-year-old Viotto machine
before further refinements are done by hand.
Jonathan: So, if you were to look at a
cheap pair of scissors, you'd quickly notice
that it's actually a stamped-out piece of metal
that have just been bolted together
and a blade's edge put on them.
So, when we grind the inside of the blade,
we'll say there are three angles to it.
You've got to have a curve
from the pinch of the scissor to the point,
which means that when the blades are together,
you should be able to see
a gap through the middle.
We'll also want to grind in a twist,
and then finally, we want to
hollow the blade as well.
And what that'll give us
is a scissor that will only ever touch
at the cutting edge.
Narrator: Once the blade is on,
the rough edges need to be sanded off
from the bow, the shanks, and the nail holes.
After everything's sanded down,
the scissors are sent off to be hardened,
turning the soft, workable metal
into a hard final product.
Then they're put into the rumbler for a few hours
to be acid-treated before being dried.
Rumbling takes off any grind marks
on the surface of the metal
and prepares them for polishing.
Jonathan: We do different types of scissors.
If it was our embroidery stalk,
then we could work on
maybe 500 embroidery stalks
over two weeks to a month.
However, if we were doing same-size batch,
500 13-inch scissors,
then we probably wouldn't even see that within a year.
Narrator: The blades are polished by hand
to a mirror finish.
Then comes the hardest part:
Putting together.
Traditionally, you would undertake
a five-year apprenticeship
before you could even sit at the putter's table.
Jonathan: I've never had a background like this before.
I went straight into an office
right out of university,
and I was walking down this street,
and I saw a chalkboard that said,
"Scissor makers wanted."
And I thought I've always wanted
to work with my hands,
but I've had no training in working with my hands.
My training began eight months ago,
and it doesn't look like it's gonna stop
for at least another few years.
Narrator: And despite the intricacy,
the most important tool isn't anything
small and delicate,
but a hammer.
Denton: And I'm only gonna need to tap.
Narrator: The hammer is crucial
to aligning the blades correctly.
Denton: So....[tapping]
Oh, that's better.
Narrator: The two scissor parts are screwed into place,
and then a perfect curve is hammered onto each blade.
This part of the process
is the hardest to get right
and also the hardest skill to pass on.
Jonathan: If he hits that with the wrong tension
or the wrong angle or in the wrong spot,
he will ruin those scissors.
So, I've put a scissor blade down,
and I've taken a swing at it,
and I've just snapped the blade in half.
Narrator: Once the two halves are married together,
a final blade will be put on the scissor.
Denton: Well, I started in 1959.
Roughly the same. Steady, hammers.
Other than we had lights hanging over
to get more light.
You'll learn. You'll never forget.
It's up here in a diary.
Somebody'll say a scissor,
and it just comes up on a projection in me head.
Manicure, dissecting, thread clip.
All different scissors.
Narrator: Sheffield has been home
to England's blade-making industry
since as far back as the 14th century.
It's where stainless steel was originally invented,
and it's a city that's famed for its cutlery production.
Cliff started making scissors when he was just 15.
Denton: When I pick a pair of scissors up,
it tells me a story.
I can open and shut it. It's tight, it's slack.
You can virtually just
shove it with the weight of your finger,
and it does the job.
That's what you're after.
Week after week, year after year if need be.
That's it.