Griffon Pinking Shears, Ball Bearing, Self Adjusting, Chrome Plated.
Griffon Pink All Pinking Shears, Ball Bearing, Self Adjusting, All Chrome Plated, Come With Original Box.
Griffon Cutlery Works was located at 151 West 19th Street from 1920 to about 1965, and its large painted sign can still be made out from 7th Avenue between West 19th and 20th Streets, even though it has faded considerably in recent years.
Pinking shears are scissors, the blades of which are sawtoothed instead of straight. They leave a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge, used in cutting woven cloth. Cloth edges that are unfinished will easily fray, the weave becoming undone and threads pulling out easily. The sawtooth pattern does not prevent the fraying but limits the length of the frayed thread and thus minimizes damage.
1 - Consider whether you need them first. Pinking shears aren't an essential tool in the sewing basket but they are a nice one to have. Besides creating non-fray edges for both stored and used fabrics, and seamed edges for sewn items, they make great edgings for easy jam jar lid covers and other crafty items, as well as making cute edges to craft projects that benefit from a naive art touch, such as small cushions and sachets. On the downside, so if they are something you won't use all that often, so weigh up whether you want to own or a pair or whether you can borrow those of a friend or neighbour.
2 - Take care not to confuse pinking shears with scalloped edged scissors used for papercraft There are a lot of these available but they're absolutely no good for fabric because they're only made to cut paper. By all means, have some for your papercraft but don't mix them up.
3 - Look in a dressmaker's supply store for pinking shears. Things to look for include:
- Trustworthy brand name
- Stainless steel blades; lower blade extends for better control
- Moulded handles fit neatly and are strong (usually plastic; check it's quality plastic)
- Ambidextrous (either left or right hand); if not, be sure they are the correct hand for your needs
- Ability to try them in the store to see how they handle and feel.
4 - Select a good weight for the pinking shears. Pinking shears come in lighter and heavier weights. The need will be dictated by the type of fabric you're cutting but lightweight is probably easiest for most people to work with.
You'll know that pinking shears are due for sharpening when they stop cutting the fabric sharply but start either not cutting or are destroying the fabric.
Shears - Width: 2 3/4" Height: 7 5/8" Depth: 3/4"
Within Box - Width: 8" Height: 3 3/8" Depth: 7/8" Total Weight: 225 g
