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The scissors seem like any other pair of steel scissors. I wonder why this hasn't been outsourced to China. These guys could have worked on something more produ
by dingo_bat 8y ago
The scissors seem like any other pair of steel scissors. I wonder why this hasn't been outsourced to China. These guys could have worked on something more productive than scissors.
- UncleEntity 8y agoA good quality pair of scissors (or anything really) is sometimes worth the effort of "puttering" by a true craftsman -- if you're into that sort of thing, my favorite pair of scissors I found in the road and were probably run over a couple times before I came across them but they're apparently high enough quality to take that sort of abuse.
- mirimir 8y agoI found my favorite pair in an old house, some decades ago. They probably date from ~1900. Nothing fancy, just office supply grade. Gotta compress the rivet every few years. But they've never really needed sharpening.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- branchan 8y agoMaybe people appreciate the workmanship that comes with a handcrafted pair of scissors. Maybe it is sharper, better made. You don’t know that. If you are a programmer, how would you feel if I questioned your skills, saying that it should be outsourced to India and you are better off doing something else in your life? Your comment comes off as highly insensitive
- dingo_bat 8y ago> If you are a programmer, how would you feel if I questioned your skills, saying that it should be outsourced to India I'm already a programmer in India btw.
- SuperNinKenDo 8y agoWell that's one hell of a touche, but I guess now we know why you have such a hardon for outsourcing.
- dingo_bat 8y agoI feel that making scissors is a shitty job, not a great acheivement. I wouldn't want to do such a job myself. I don't have a "hardon for outsourcing".
- oldcynic 8y agoI guess the craftspeople making scissors don't agree. From occasional hobbies I find the sense of achievement from a manual or engineering task done well is actually far higher than from software. See Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
- barrkel 8y agoI don't think you've got the right attitude at all. Making anything physical can usually be done in at least four ways: clumsily by hand, low quality and mass produced, high quality and mass produced, and high quality by hand. As mass production techniques have improved over the last century, manufacturers have usually tried to pare back costs and avoid over-engineering, relying on tighter tolerances to create an acceptable product. Rather than aiming for high quality, instead they minimize defects and maximize profits. Products tend towards acceptable - good enough to buy - but not delightful. This has gradually created a space for the fourth mode of making, in the bespoke small batch hipster space. It also benefits from a narrative that soulless mass manufacturing can't easily replicate. When something is made well with artistry and craft, some of the person who made it goes into the product and reaches the end user. A maker with the right attitude will find that fulfilling. It's a tangible connection with other people, and feels honest and validating.
- mrob 8y agoI think the main reason it hasn't been outsourced is reputation. Chinese manufacturers could make great scissors, but how could they convince people to buy them? Higher quality costs more, and Chinese products have a reputation for low quality at low price. If they increase the price many people will assume it's a scam. I don't think the UK has as good a reputation for quality as e.g. Germany, Japan, or Switzerland, but it's better than China, so the marketing cost will be lower.
- seanmcdirmid 8y agoThat reasoning applies in China as well, or I should say especially in China.
- thrownow623 8y agoOnly among the older generation. The younger generation has a much higher preference for local brands.
- seanmcdirmid 8y agoHa! No, if anything it is the exact opposite. Do you enjoy a BYD car or a Ford or even a Hyundai? Or do you like to shop at WuMart or WallMart? McDonalds or Dicos? Etc... This isn't even getting into food brands like milk powder. As for scissors and pens and whatever, just jump into your nearest MUJI and see how many customers are in that store compared to its Chinese counterpart.
- em3rgent0rdr 8y agoActually Chinese manufacturers have come a long way. They initially did produce crappy stuff, however they are now producing quality stuff. A similar progression happened with Japan and Taiwan.
- SuperNinKenDo 8y agoYes, they are capable of producing good quality stuff, but they have built a reputation over decades for not doing so, and that won't go away overnight. Especially given that quick-buck-ism is still a poison surging through every Chinese company, just waiting to mess everything up. Just look what happened with Huawei when they got a contract from none other than Google. They basically confirmed the stereotype and set Chinese phone manufacturers back 5 years of reputation cultivation, at least.
- noonespecial 8y agoTo be good, scissors have to be sharp, even, and fit together juuust right. A tiny deviance creates a huge about of suck. Someone mentioned Fiskars above. The first time I used these I ran around looking for things to cut. I just couldn't believe scissors could be that good. They were. This type of reductionism is seldom helpful. Painting is just smearing oil on a canvas? Programming is just "typing a bunch of stuff"? I don't think so. Craft matters.
- hinkley 8y agoThis kind of reductionism is why I have to wade through a pile of barely adequate tools every day at work. Part of my brain knows that people who use physical tools for a living use old and slightly busted ones all the time, but another part fantasizes about pulling a Peter Gibbons and going to work with people who actually appreciate the value of the right tool.
- jimnotgym 8y agoIn my manual labour days I often bought old tools because they were so much better than the new ones...except... Take a Stanley number 5 Jack Plane. An old one weighs less, is flatter, has nicer handles, the iron sits better and the adjustments are better... than a new Stanley. However they are both worse than a Veritas one made on modern equipment, but... at four times the price. What happened here is that a Stanley in 1940 cost a serious amount of money. A Stanley in 2018 its quite cheap because Stanley decided to stay mass market by reducing quality. However the space they left has been back-filled by newer higher quality makers using modern materials and techniques.
- msisk6 8y agoStory: I just bought a new house and the space for the kitchen range was too small by just a hair for the new induction range my wife insisted on. The construction manager came out and proceeded to take apart a utility knife to get the blade out to use it as a substitute scraper to shave the wood cabinet down a bit. I told the guy I have a good small Lie-Nielsen block plane already unpacked in the garage that'll do a much better job, but he insisted on the knife blade. And you know what? It turned out just fine. I think a lot of folks nowadays have never used a really good high-quality tool and have no idea what they're missing.
- fgonzag 8y agoKnives are just a piece of steel too. And yet if you ever find yourself using a quality Chef's knife against a cheap dull Chinese knife, you'll appreciate the difference instantly. So much so in fact, that your cutting technique will naturally change since using it the way you use dull knives is both more dangerous and less efficient.
- stamps 8y agoScissors are tools, just like our IDE's. There's a lot to be said about the craftsman. At the end of the day we're all of the same breed, but we find code, cloth, or metal to be our medium.
- rainforest 8y agoSheffield has a long heritage of making fine cutlery and tools. It's the reason we still have saw makers here (despite the fact their products cost 10x a mass produced version) and why there's a Master Cutler of the city. A lot of that heritage has been lost but there's still a place in the market for fine hand made things. You probably own some Sheffield cutlery somewhere.
- cm2012 8y agoThat is a very very class driven assumption.
- rainforest 8y agoNot necessarily, but probably an age-driven assumption. The cutlery produced in large quantities was made of stainless steel and exported globally; if it was imported from the UK there's a good chance it was made in Sheffield.