Richard Diebenkorn

Scissors, 1959

Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) is an artist who has featured scissors frequently in his still life paintings.  The subject lends itself well to his expressionist style. His works include scissors alone or juxtaposed with other items like Scissors and Lemon and Untitled. Scissors also appear in his other work including etchings.

Perhaps better known for city- and landscapes or abstracts, Diebenkorn's still life work featuring everyday objects from his home serve as an undeniable example of how exquisite beauty and expressiveness lives in the most mundane of objects.

Wrought Iron Scissors from india

There is a special charm to hand-made wrought iron scissors. Many of them are very old but scissors are still being hand made by skilled craftspeople around the world. This pair are vintage but probably not antique and originate from India.

Hand-made scissors exhibit a wide variety of shapes.  I think they work even better as art/design objects than antique manufactured scissors.

This pair has a very stylish handle design and a very well made pivot. They are still in good working order.  A basement-range price would be about $10, but upwards of that as a décor item.

Scissors in Art: The Portrait of Allethenia Fisk Farrar (1835)

-

Allethania Fisk Farrar (1834-1835) was the subject of a portrait by Asahel Power, an accomplished folk artist (as was Eliza Ann Farrar). As an admirable wife she is portrayed with the tool of sewing and needlework.

Prominently shown are a pair of scissors attached by a chain to the lady's belt in the style of a chatelaine.

#63: Wick Trimmer

Maker: WB Barnard
Model: Candle Trimmer
Materials: --
Year: post 1864
Length: 5"
Value: $15
Marked: WB Barnard Patn Dec 27th1864

Wick trimmers were use to keep oil lamp wicks at the best length of good burning.  This design is not uncommon.

Vintage Garden Shears

Now for a change of pace, a couple of pairs of garden shears that I picked up for $1 each.  Both are about 12 inches long.

The bottom pair with red handles is Wiss. Probably #700 Wiss Clippers. This basic design was made over quite a long period.

The top pair look like Dunlaps.

Market value is probably about $5 each.

Modern Scissor Review: Rimei 999 Multi-functional Detachable Stainless Steel Kitchen Scissors - Orange

Rimei brand 999 Multi-functional detachable stainless steel kitchen scissors (orange) generally sell for $5-10. They are a good deal at this price.  The tines do come apart easily for easy cleaning, which is a big plus for kitchen scissors. They do not come with instructions so I am honestly not sure what some of the parts of it are meant to be used for. 

I use these as my general purpose kitchen sheers and they have worked well for opening packages, cutting herbs, and other lightweight food tasks.  The bottle opener is serviceable but small and requires careful positioning.  The nutcracker is probably not worth trying if you don't want to hurt your hands.  The overall design is pretty inelegant, but these scissors are a decent deal given their low price.

Scissor Storage Ideas

I have a lot of scissors but they are mostly stores in various ugly boxes.  I have been looking at various options for storage and display of scissors.  Some of these ideas are collected below. I am not sure what could work for a collection of scissors that vary in size, weight and design.  Maybe I will need to use a combination of options. I am certainly open  suggestions.

Premade Scissor Caddies

• Wooden Caddy (Craft)

Home Made Scissors Caddies

• Bricks
• Cloth-covered cardboard box caddy (Show Me Crafting)--Perforated cardboard box covered in decorative material.
• Pegboard
• Shadow Box

Repurposed holders:

• Southern Home vase (Willow Tree Stitcher)--Ceramic vase with multiple holes restored for holding scissors.
• Spoon Rack (The Twist Family)