Pinking shears

File:William Whiteley & Sons Pinking Shears.jpg

A pair of pinking shears with fabric underneath, which has been pinked along the edges.

Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed blades instead of straight blades. They produce a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge.

Before pinking scissors were invented, a pinking punch or pinking iron was used to punch out a decorative hem on a garment. The punch would be hammered by a mallet against a hard surface, and the punch would cut through the fabric.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1874, Eliza P. Welch patented an improved pinking iron design, featuring a pair of handles.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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Illustration of a pinking iron

The pinking shears design that is the most well-known was patented by Louise Austin in 1893.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref> In 1934, Samuel Briskman patented a pinking shear design (Felix Wyner and Edward Schulz are listed as the inventors).<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref> In 1952, Benjamin Luscalzo was granted a patent for pinking shears to keep the blades aligned to prevent wear.<ref>Template:Cite patent</ref>

Pinking shears are used for cutting woven cloth. Unfinished cloth edges 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

These scissors can also be used for decorative cuts, and several patterns (arches, sawtooth of different aspect ratios, or asymmetric teeth) are available.

Etymology

File:常夏石竹(地被石竹) Dianthus plumarius -上海植物園 Shanghai Botanical Garden- (9180634129).jpg

Garden pink flower

Template:Commons The cut produced by pinking shears may have been derived from the pink garden plant, in the genus Dianthus (the carnations).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>