10″ Sidebent Tailor Shears

More than just a term made up to describe a high level of polish, ‘mirror polishing’ is a specific process 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. 

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. 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.