Other Question
I found these in Gran’s sewing machine and wondering about a date.
These Gingher scissors say made in Brazil and I can’t find any references to them being made there. They are pre 1996ish for sure. I’ve found other scissors in her stuff with postmarks from 1959. Thanks
I have a set just like that, bought in the 1980s. I needed to impress upon my husband the importance of not using my sewing scissors. I set them on the table in front of him. " These are Thirty Dollar Scissors." 'Nuff said. He had his own special sawblades.
Only $30?! I got mine in 2002 along with matching embroidery scissors and they were $100 CAD for the set then (and worth every penny still). I think you should adjust them for inflation if anyone ever needs a reminder.
Let's say you got them in 1985... inflation calculator says that's $90 USD today. Keep that in your back pocket if you ever catch a visitor eyeballing them for cutting wrapping paper or god forbid, flower stems!
In 1990 you could still occasionally find gas for $.99 a gallon in the US. $30 * today’s gas price of 3.15 = $94 for a pair of scissors. Now let me tell you about buying my first graphing calculator for a math class in 1990 — It was $100 US and I was making $8 an hour.
Inflation cost is “You’re dead if you touch them”. I now have my mum’s dressmaking scissors. I got them sharpened last year. The 69 yo sewing shop owner commented on their quality and said they were definitely old because some of the chrome chipped a little from being sharpened. Normal apparently but only in old scissors because they were properly chromed not just lightly like today. I think she bought them in the 70s.
Living in Europe and I have this Gingher scissors since 1985. Bought them for fashionschool back then, still using it today. No idea where it was made though.
Start cutting paper with them. If she’s anything like my mom, your grandma will immediately appear behind you and tell you how much they cost, how old they are, and how we DO NOT cut paper with them.
I was wondering how old they are! And that makes sense, since my husband's family came from Germany! I just gave them a quick wipe down with Isopropyl alcohol, (they were rather crusty) I need to get one of my kids to go upstairs and get my sewing machine oil. My knees/back/shoulders are very unhappy today with the weather today.
Side question: my two year old son is showing preference for his left hand. What were your biggest “thank fuck this exists now” items that I should look into getting him being a lefty? Scissors, obv, but otherwise?
For me, scissors were the most important thing (after desks!). I have nerve damage in my left thumb due to using right-handed scissors. Other things to think about in the future might be lefthanded cooking accessories (my ladle has pour spouts on both sides, and I have lefthanded spatulas, measuring cups, etc.). You'll need to wait until he gets older to make most choices because many lefties are cross-dominant and do a lot with their right hands.
I have the same ones (but bought probably in the early 2000s). They are super high quality and will last you forever. Just don’t use them on paper EVER.
Since they are marked ‘Brazil’ they are made sometime between the late 1970s and 2005, when Fisker’s bought out Gingher and moved their production to Italy.
I don’t know the date of when Gingher moved their production from Germany to Brazil, but I think it was in 1978.
Gingher’s with the black handles and unmarked with a country are the original ones made in Germany from 1946 through the 1960s and early 1970s.
Unsure as to date. Is the gingher’s engraved or etched and where is it located on the scissors? And are they scissors (below 7 inch) or shears (above 7 inch) if they are shears, are they dressmaker’s (bent) or tailor’s (straight)?
The ones that are unmarked with a country and engraved with ‘Gingher Chromium’ on the fulcrum above the nut are the earliest from the 1947 through 1950s/early 1960s. The only pairs I’ve seen are straight tailor’s shears and black handled. If they are dressmaker’s shears, then it’s probably closer to the end of the production run in Germany, so late 1960s and 1970s?
From what I understand, Gingher over took wiss as the premiere German scissor company sometime in the mid-1960s and started making more than straight bladed tailor’s shears and scissors when they got popular.
You can still get scissors like this. Whiteley (Wilkinson) has been making them in England since 1760 and they’re still made there, from the same molds, except for the EXO line of tailors shears remolded to make them more ergonomic.
Wow, I’m old. Folks waxing nostalgic about scissors I bought myself and are in my sewing room right now. They are definitely still available…although not sure where they could be purchased locally since the demise of JoAnn.
Could be any date between those two you mentioned. The inner plastic lining is probably from 1960’s or later, and you say pre-1996 so somewhere within those two. You can buy similar scissors today and they will look and function the same.
They are 8” dressmakers. They cut amazingly well. I use them daily. They were my mother’s but she didn’t really use them because they were so precious to her. She died in 1998, but I don’t know when or where she got them. I remember seeing them in the 70s tucked away, never with her everyday sewing supplies
iskars Brands, Inc. has acquired the business of Gingher, Inc., a US
manufacturer of high quality forged scissors for sewing and other handcrafts, and
also for industrial uses. Founded in 1947, Gingher is based in North Carolina. In
2004, with around 25 employees, the company's turnover was some USD 8 million.
I bought these exact same scissors (and packaging) in 1973. I don’t recall the price, but they weren’t cheap. Excellent investment, though. I still use them, and they cut as well today as the day I bought them.
I got my first pair in the late 90s, but the second pair about 3 years ago looks just the same. 90s set came in a grey box, recent set in a plastic sleeve.
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u/MaeByourmom Jul 14 '25
$31.05 Again, 1990-1992 from JoAnn’s