American Stories from Scissors

It all started with a hobby - sharpening scissors and knives. Finding a pair of old rusty scissors at an estate sale, I decided to see if I could put them back into working order. As I removed the rust I found a marking, which I researched and discovered an interesting story of early American entrepreneurial spirit. This started me on a journey of collecting scissors that had some kind of an American story connected with them. The people and their stories opened windows into the American dream. I was hooked! So now, a few years later and more scissors than I want to admit having, here is a blog about those scissors and the people who made or distributed them. I am now working on organizing the collection and will write more at some future date. Enjoy!

Friday, October 4, 2013


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:
Google patent search.
 

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