E. C. Lambert   The Interchangeable Blades Scissors

 

 

“Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door,” or so the saying goes.  Earl Colyer Lambert did invent and build the better scissor, but he had to beat the paths to the barber’s doors to be successful.

 

Born in Jeferson, Pennsylvania on December 18, 1894 Earl grew up to be the inventor of the “interchangeable blade” scissors.  He was living in Lakeworth, Florida when, at the age of 41, he patented his unique scissor.  Seeking to help barbers” keep on cutting” he designed a way for the barber to send in the dull set of scissor blades for sharpening while they kept on cutting with a new set attached to the well built handles. 

 

 

 

Using a small screw driver I was able to quickly separate the two scissor handles and remove the cutting blades on the scissors I have in my collection.  The handles are made of heavy quality material with a chromed finish.  After reassembling the scissors they functioned like new with an easy cutting action. 

 

 

 

 

 

It is easy to see the quality of workmanship by noting the heavy-duty pivot which bears the Lambert name stamped on the top edge. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the opposite side of the chromed pivot “Lakeworth, Florida”  is stamped, identifying the city of the inventor. 

 

 

 

Earl and his wife Myrtle did not wait for business to come the them, they were their own “marketing department”.  Together they traveled around selling the scissors, enabling the barber to send in the used set of blades for sharpening while keeping on using the scissors with new blades.  The shears were later brought to the mass market and barbers around the world spoke highly about their “Lambert Shears”.  Unfortunately Earl did not live long enough to see this greater success.  He died on July 14, 1949 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  But, like most creative inventors, he believed in his ideas and was determined to bring them to a larger audience.

 

 

 

 

Notice that the center part of the blade is stamped with a raised area.  This strengthens the blade, permitting the two blades to come together in a tighter fit, cutting the full length of the blade.  

 

 

 

 

Information Sources:

 http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=lambarth&id=I9

Google patent search.

 

W. B. Barnard - Barnard Son & Company

William B. Barnard was a creative inventor.  On January 6, 1866, with an investment of $15,000, he and three other men began the Barnard Son & Company.  W. B. Barnard already held five patens for different devices. Their goal now was to make scissors and other cutlery. 

 

The factory was originally at Waterville, Connecticut.  In 1870 the operations were moved to an old cotton mill, which was on the site of a pre-Revolutionary war grist mill. 

William B. Barnard died August 20, 1871. 

The beautiful wick cutter with the bent – upward handles are designed so one could easily trim a wick on a lamp or candle.  On the lower blade there is a small shelf-like addition that would catch the burned wick as it was trimmed off.  If the wick was still hot it would stay safely on the lower blade ledge.

 

 

The scissor factory was destroyed by fire in 1872 and a new factory built in 1873.  The location later served as a factory for the Hook and Eye Manufacturing Company, which made small brass goods.

The pliers and wire cutter is a small, complex, and strange looking tool.  The handles have a cross-line design to assist in gripping and applying pressure.  With the flat and wide nose on the pliers a solid hold can be applied.  The patent on the below shows the complexity of the scissor/pliers.

 

Information from:

  American Scissors and Shears, by Philip Pankiewiez

  Google book: History of Waterbury, page 415, by Francis A. Lord

  Kentucky Historical Society

  Other web locations