Hand Forged Scissors (Left-Handed)

Tools you'll need

• Forge (propane or charcoal - any heat source)
• Tongs
• Anvil with a horn
• Hammer (hand or power - both work)
• Hardy tool (for bending)
• Vise
• Drill (for the pivot hole)
• File and chisel
• Sharpening stone or bench grinder
• Water bucket (for quenching)

Build steps

1. Start with two 14 inch pieces of flat bar, one for each half of the scissors - the same stock as a right-handed pair. Any recycled steel works - old rail, plate, or bar stock - but for a pair that cuts, a higher-carbon bar (1075, 1095) holds the edge best; milder bar (1045, 1050) cuts but does not hold the edge as well. If the edges are ragged, trim them roughly square with a hacksaw or a grinder. The finish is hand textured, so small imperfections are fine. Mark one bar as the left-hand half - this is the half that will end up under the thumb of a left-handed user, the mirror of the right-handed pair.
2. Heat one bar in the forge until it glows bright yellow-white - a near welding heat. The steel should glow evenly along the entire length, not just in the middle. If only part glows, move it in the fire so the heat spreads. This full heat is what lets you bend and draw without cracking; without it, the steel will crack when you hit it. Reheat every time the bar begins to cool.
3. Form the handle bow. Lay the hot bar on the face of the anvil and, using the hardy tool to keep the bend smooth and controlled, bend the handle end into a smooth curve - the bow that the hand passes through. A few firm hammer blows set the curve. The bow should be a clean, even curve, not a sharp hook; a sharp bend cracks under the grip. Make this bow the same as a right-handed pair - the curve does not change between left and right. The left-handed difference is in the blade and the crossing, not the bow itself.
4. Forge the blade. Reheat the bar and draw out the blade end - the opposite end from the bow - so it tapers to a point and widens to form the cutting edge. Work from the pivot toward the tip so the taper is even. Keep reheating as you go - drawing a taper in cold steel cracks it. This is the cutting half of the scissors; the blade should come to a fine, even point at the end and carry a cutting edge along one side. Forge this blade so it mirrors the right-handed blade - the mirror image of the right-hand half.
5. Forge the tang and the pivot area. At the point where the handle bow meets the blade - the shoulder of the half - forge the metal slightly thicker. This is where the pivot pin will go, and it has to take the whole load of the scissors. A few firm blows against the anvil step build up the thickness here. The extra metal is what carries the cutting load without cracking at the joint. Do this on both halves so the two pivot shoulders match - identical to a right-handed pair.
6. Repeat the whole process for the second bar to make the second half of the scissors - bow, blade, and pivot shoulder. Forge the two halves as mirrors of a right-handed pair: the bow curve is the same, but the blade is angled the opposite way so that when the two halves cross over, the blades pass the correct way for a left-handed user. The left-hand half is the one that ends up under the thumb; the blade crosses over the other half in the reverse direction of a right-handed pair. This reversed crossing direction is what makes the pair left-handed - it is the only real difference from the right-handed scissors.
7. Punch or drill the pivot hole. In the thicker shoulder of each half, drill (or hot-punch and then ream) a hole the right size for the pivot pin - about 3/16 inch to 1/4 inch, depending on the bar thickness. The two holes have to line up when the halves cross, or the scissors will not pivot cleanly. A drill is the surest way; if you hot-punch, ream the hole smooth afterward so the halves move freely. This is the joint that holds the whole pair together and carries the cutting load, so it has to be solid and true - identical to a right-handed pair.
8. Quench and temper the blades. Heat each blade section to a bright yellow-white, then quench it in water to harden it - hold it in the water until it stops glowing, then pull it out. The blades are now hard enough to hold an edge. Then temper them by heating to about 400 to 500 F (a straw to brown color) for about 15 to 20 minutes and letting them air cool. This is the step that keeps the blades from being brittle - a hard edge that is too brittle will chip; the temper makes the edge tough enough to cut without breaking. The handle bows can be left untempered, or tempered lightly so they stay flexible in the hand.
9. Sharpen the cutting edges. Once forged and tempered, pass the cutting edge of each blade over a sharpening stone or a bench grinder to put a true, keen edge on it. Alternate sides evenly so the edge stays centered and the two blades cut the same. This is the difference between scissors that cut and scissors that just push. A few careful passes is all you need for a clean, sharp edge on each blade.
10. Join the halves at the pivot and finish. Slide the pivot pin (or a forged rivet) through the two holes, and peen or hot-rivet the ends so the halves pivot freely but do not rattle. Check the action: the blades should cross the correct way for a left-handed user - the reverse of a right-handed pair - opening and closing smoothly, and the handles should sit in the hand without pinch. Finish the surface with a file, grinding stone, or a light hammer pass - or leave it rough for the hand-textured forged look. A left-handed pair of hand-forged scissors is done.