Nigiri Basami Scissors

Handmade Nigiri Basami (Thread Scissors or Small Scissors) have been used traditionally for sewing and cutting fabric. In addition to being sharp and precise. 

These scissors are crafted from Japanese white steel with a unique head contoured shape not commonly seen. These were made by crafters for crafters driven with the motivation to create a design that lends to better grip and precision especially when snipping threads close to sensitive areas. 

These scissors are forged from a small rectangular piece of iron around 5cm long depending on its thickness. The master blacksmith heats it up till is glowing red making it malleable and hammers it to shape. This process is repeated until the entire scissors take form, which looks like a straight piece of metal with a flattened middle portion and two blade shape tips on each end. 

Next, a small piece of much harder Japanese carbon steel is placed on the blade tip portions and heated to molecularly meld them together. This will be the cutting blade portion of the scissors. Looking at the photo gallery, you’ll notice a contrasting line along the cutting blade, that’s the second piece mentioned here.

Thereafter the blades are sharpened, honed and any rough edges around the handles are grinded away. Lastly it is bent into a “U” shape where both cutting edges meeting each other. It is then carefully tuned by gently tapping the blades with a hammer to ensure they are aligned perfectly across the cutting action. Interestingly some use thin wet tissue paper to test its sharpness, which apparently makes it much harder to achieve a clean cut versus testing on simple plain paper. The temperature used to heat the metal is controlled to retain the right “spring” to the snip along with ensuring it lasts that way for years to come.

They are shipped in a beautifully presented wooden box and protected in a sturdy plastic sleeve.

Measurements:

105 mm in length