These are some pictures from the trip and the Kuroki mill

Suspension bridge from Okayama to Shikoku island

Shuttle looms at work

Selvedge yarn dyed chino twill

Mike with an operator

These striking scissors we employ for the cutting of pattern paper and other light use. The brass handles are comfortable and balanced for extended use. They come to us by way of the old American, high quality blades and cutting tools maker Hyde. Its founder, Issac P. Hyde, started producing in the 1870′s under the name Hyde Manufacturing.

Today Hyde Tools continues to sell superior cutting tools. Their website boasts “if it’s made of paper, cloth, plastic, leather, or rubber chances are a Hyde blade was involved in its manufacture.”

We are proud to manufacture Rising Sun’s products with a stunning relic from an American company with such a long history of craftsmanship.

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Another pair of vintage shears we dearly love and heavily use is a steel blade and iron handle Heinisch. We keep it sharp for daily cutting of heavy denim and leather.

The Heinisch shears resting on its brass nut, at an angle for easy pick up and go.

Vintage Heinisch shears-- ergonomical and functional

The differences between the Heinisch and the steel vintage Wilkinson shears we use intensively seem subtle but are very distinct to the user. The brass bolt nuts, due to their different lengths, keep the handles off the bench at different angles. The thumb rests are also shaped and sized slightly differently. Factor in weight, balance, and handle size and it becomes clear as to why some tailors try to stick to just one pair of shears they have become accustomed to using. As lovers of the sewing traditions of yore we collect, cherish, and–yes, use– various beautiful vintage shears in the Rising Sun Archive.

Good tailors need good scissors. At Rising Sun we have some great shears to keep us sharp. We are particularly proud of this antique Wilkinson. The Wilkinson & Son name dates back to the 18th century and at the height of its popularity it was appointed Manufacturers of Scissors to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s cutlers in 1840.

According to The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts by Gordon Campbell, “The best quality English scissors were made in Sheffield from the end of the 18th century to the end of the 19th century by such companies as Josephine Rodgers & Sons and Thomas Wilkinson & Sons. In 1837, to commemorate her coronation, Queen Victoria was presented with elaborately decorated scissors (which apparently took four months to make) by James Atherton, who was the chief scissor-maker for Wilkinson. The firm also had a fine display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, including six pairs of scissors less than 50 mm long; the smallest were only 1.5 mm long and weighted 0.04 g, in contrast to a pair 600 mm long, weighing almost 4 kg.”

While this particular Wilkinson in our haberdashery is not quite as long as 600 mm (a whopping 23.6″) it does not fall short on
beauty. It features a brass grip riveted to the harden steel blades. We particularly love the bow and arrows emblem. Although it is in impeccable condition we reserve its use strictly to special occasions.