Kitchen Scissors
Traditional household scissors have existed for centuries. Kitchen scissors are largely a twentieth-century development, designed for tasks in and around the kitchen: cutting bacon, poultry, fish bones, herbs and packaging.
Our collection includes three Sheffield kitchen scissor patterns: the right-handed Turton, the left-handed Turton and the Kutrite Flat Kitchen Scissors. Forged in 420B stainless steel and made in Sheffield at Kutrite Works by a small team of scissor-makers.
Why Kitchen Scissors Became a Tool of Their Own.
Few cities are as closely associated with scissors and shears as Sheffield. The city’s importance as a centre of edge-tool manufacture was recognised in 1624 with the establishment of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, the historic district centred on Sheffield.Â
Though its reputation for making cutting tools stretches back even further.
Kitchen scissors arrived much later. During the twentieth century, patterns began to appear that were specifically designed for food preparation and household use. Shorter blades sit closer to the pivot, giving more leverage and reducing flex at the tip, making it easier to cut tougher materials with less effort. Stronger construction, serrated sections and additional features made kitchen scissors suitable for cutting poultry, fish bones, herbs, packaging and other everyday materials.
The Turton pattern is associated with Frank Turton (1886–1979), who began making scissors on Solly Street during the interwar years. Following the formation of Frank Turton Ltd in 1948, the firm’s scissors came to be regarded among the best in the trade. By the mid-twentieth century, the Turton pattern had become one of Sheffield’s best-known kitchen scissors. The pattern’s distinctive form incorporates features intended for a variety of household tasks, from food preparation to opening bottles and cracking nuts.
The Kutrite Flat Kitchen Scissors were designed by Philip Wright in the early 1960s. Similar in size and function to the earlier Turton pattern, they introduced a flatter profile while retaining the strength required for daily use. The design was registered by Ernest Wright & Son Ltd in June 1962 (Registered Design No. 906790) and subsequently received the Design Centre’s “Selected for Design” mark, a label introduced in the 1960s to identify products chosen for the Design Centre’s catalogue and exhibitions in London.
Today Ernest Wright makes three Sheffield kitchen scissor patterns: the right-handed Turton, the true left-handed Turton and the Kutrite Flat Kitchen Scissors. Each pair is forged in 420B stainless steel and made in Sheffield at Kutrite Works.
After grinding and polishing, the blades are assembled, set and tested by a small team of Sheffield scissor-makers. One historic Sheffield job title survives in the workshop today: the putter-togetherer. Responsible for assembling and setting the scissors, the role remains central to the performance of the finished tool.
While much of Sheffield’s scissors trade has disappeared, these kitchen scissor patterns remain part of the city’s manufacturing tradition.