My grandmother gave me a pair of 8" Wiss dressmaker shears for my 12th birthday. That was around-about a half century ago (shudder) and told me to guard them with my life and take good care of them, there were no better for a seamstress; I still have them and the zippered leather case they came in and they still look like new. I happened to spot a shoe box of *old* Wiss scissors at a garage sale a few years ago. One dollar for the whole ratty shoe box full! I pointed out to the young woman selling them that she had a gold mine there and did she realize just what they were. Her ignorant answer was "they are just old scissors from my grandmother's basement". I snapped those babies up in a heart beat. Not far from me, in Seattle, is a fellow whose business is making custom designed surgical instruments and sharpening surgical instruments. I became acquainted with him at a neighborhood garden meeting-up. I took them to him and he knew *exactly* what they were. He charged me $35 dollars to clean them up and sharpen the lot to like new condition. Not a bad haul for a total of $36 dollars. I got 2 sizes of pinking shears, 2 sizes of embroidery scissors, 3 sizes barber shears, 3 types of dressmaker shears, poultry shears and pruning shears.............I'm going to be buried with them........along with my 40 year old Proctor Silex Steam & Dry Iron.
Two lessons here......keep your eyes pealed to find the good stuff and make friends with those who appear to be old, eccentric people. This lovely, interesting fellow now keeps all my scissors and knives sharpened for cinnamon rolls, cookies, loaves of fresh bread and plant swaps ;)
Val