10″ Sidebent Tailor Shears

More than just a term made up to describe a high level of polish, mirror polishing is a specific finishing process for scissors and shears with clearly defined objectives. Not only does the mirror finish give the steel a reflective surface that’s free from visible irregularities or imperfections; it also makes the bows and shanks supremely smooth and comfortable to hold, which is crucial for any professional expected to handle shears for multiple hours a day.

At Kutrite Works, we mirror-polish scissors and shears such as our professional tailor shears through a set of special tools and techniques. The first key step is rumbling, during which the shears are cycled through a vibratory polishing machine known affectionately as ‘the rumbler’. This machine has a trough filled with porcelain beads and a polishing solution, both of which help to remove marks left over from intense processes such as bench-grinding and belt-sanding.

After rumbling comes a succession of finer polishing processes. Some of these involve special pieces of equipment, such as soft ‘scurf’ or ‘bob’ wheels loaded with polishing compound, which gently abrase the steel. The result is a surface hardness and smoothness that improves both cutting performance and long-term durability. A final cosmetic polish is done by hand, before the mirror-polished shears are sent out to scatter the glorious sunlight in your corner of the world.