SPOTLIGHT ON STAINLESS STEEL: SIGNATURE HOUSEHOLD SCISSORS
Since we launched our Signature Household Scissors in 2014, we’ve sold more than 46,000 pairs.
Top to toe, they’d tower over 2,400 double-decker buses.
The ultimate household essential, they are manufactured in the same factory as our Signature and Professional kitchen knives, with the same level of expertise and care.
Today, they are loved by professional chefs and passionate home cooks alike thanks to their comfort and sharpness. Once experienced, always fiercely guarded.
DESIGN DNA
Robert Welch is no stranger to scissors.
In 1979, founder Robert sketched out his first, red-handled, all-purpose and dressmaking pair for Taylor’s Eye Witness.
Thirty-four years later, it was time for scissors to join Robert Welch’s own collection, and so Design Director Paul deBretton Gordon, in collaboration with Robert’s son Rupert, set to work.
Paul’s resulting design was substantially different to the contoured thumb and finger-moulded handles of those that had gone before.
“We watched chefs working, cutting packets and string and suchlike, and wanted to make sure our scissors could be picked up and used in either hand,” said Paul.
“The beauty is they’re not just kitchen scissors: they’re universal,” says Paul.
“You’ll see there’s no thumb hole, deliberately. Your fingers just fit. They’re comfortable because each handle is the same, just flipped over.”
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY
Paul’s brief was to design scissors that were effective in every application from the kitchen to present-wrapping and the garden.
While a Signature colour scheme – stainless steel and black – was a given, the design process was rather more unconventional.
“They took a year to develop,” says Paul. “Designing them in CAD (Computer Aided Design) proved quite tricky, so we used clay to sculpt the handles and car body filler to glue it all back together before we reverse engineered them in CAD.
“When you’re designing a knife, your hand moulds around the handle.
“With scissors, your hand has to fit inside without feeling awkward or uncomfortable.
“We wanted people to use them, to feel comfortable whether they’d got small or big hands.”
Paul designed the 420 J2 Japanese stainless-steel blades with micro-serration on one blade for cutting stability and exceptional edge retention.
Their cutting capability was tested on everything from string to medical gauze, and even Kevlar.
“The really fine teeth on the blades help the scissors grip whatever they’re cutting, whether it’s bacon or that plastic packaging that’s really hard to get into,” says Paul.
“They just hold on to and snip through everything. And they stay sharp.”
“…They found that if blades were ground up in a certain way, they produced a far more effective cut. Using this data, they incorporated into the design of the Signature scissors similarly precision-engineered blades that cut effortlessly through a wide selection of household materials. Likewise, the ergonomic handles were designed to fit into the hand as comfortably as possible, while the matching black tapering stand is an attractive yet useful storage solution for when the scissors are not in use.”
Robert Welch Design: Craft & Industry
ALWAYS TO HAND
The Signature stand, still sold with them today, was an early must in the design brief – a smart way of keeping them to hand.
Made from ABS, it has stainless steel detailing and a non-slip, weighted base.
“The idea was, if you have one of these, your scissors are always stored safely and you know where they are,” says Paul.
“Which is handy, because once the rest of house realises how good they are, they try to steal them.”
DESIGN DNA
Robert Welch is no stranger to scissors.
In 1979, founder Robert sketched out his first, red-handled, all-purpose and dressmaking pair for Taylor’s Eye Witness.
Thirty-four years later, it was time for scissors to join Robert Welch’s own collection, and so Design Director Paul deBretton Gordon, in collaboration with Robert’s son Rupert, set to work.
Paul’s resulting design was substantially different to the contoured thumb and finger-moulded handles of those that had gone before.
“We watched chefs working, cutting packets and string and suchlike, and wanted to make sure our scissors could be picked up and used in either hand,” said Paul.
“The beauty is they’re not just kitchen scissors: they’re universal,” says Paul.
“You’ll see there’s no thumb hole, deliberately. Your fingers just fit. They’re comfortable because each handle is the same, just flipped over.”
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY
Paul’s brief was to design scissors that were effective in every application from the kitchen to present-wrapping and the garden.
While a Signature colour scheme – stainless steel and black – was a given, the design process was rather more unconventional.
“They took a year to develop,” says Paul. “Designing them in CAD (Computer Aided Design) proved quite tricky, so we used clay to sculpt the handles and car body filler to glue it all back together before we reverse engineered them in CAD.
“When you’re designing a knife, your hand moulds around the handle.
“With scissors, your hand has to fit inside without feeling awkward or uncomfortable.
“We wanted people to use them, to feel comfortable whether they’d got small or big hands.”
Paul designed the 420 J2 Japanese stainless-steel blades with micro-serration on one blade for cutting stability and exceptional edge retention.
Their cutting capability was tested on everything from string to medical gauze, and even Kevlar.
“The really fine teeth on the blades help the scissors grip whatever they’re cutting, whether it’s bacon or that plastic packaging that’s really hard to get into,” says Paul.
“They just hold on to and snip through everything. And they stay sharp.”
“…They found that if blades were ground up in a certain way, they produced a far more effective cut. Using this data, they incorporated into the design of the Signature scissors similarly precision-engineered blades that cut effortlessly through a wide selection of household materials. Likewise, the ergonomic handles were designed to fit into the hand as comfortably as possible, while the matching black tapering stand is an attractive yet useful storage solution for when the scissors are not in use.”
Robert Welch Design: Craft & Industry
ALWAYS TO HAND
The Signature stand, still sold with them today, was an early must in the design brief – a smart way of keeping them to hand.
Made from ABS, it has stainless steel detailing and a non-slip, weighted base.
“The idea was, if you have one of these, your scissors are always stored safely and you know where they are,” says Paul.
“Which is handy, because once the rest of house realises how good they are, they try to steal them.”
TURN A HOUSE A HOME
Since 1955, we’ve crafted exquisite stainless-steel pieces for every room in the home.
From cutlery to cookware, kitchen knives to bathroom accessories, our timeless designs bring effortless style to everyday living. Meticulously designed for form and function, you can be sure whatever you choose is both beautiful and useful.
And wherever life takes them, our lifetime guarantee means your housewarming gift is made to move with them, wherever they call home.
DID YOU KNOW?
The distinctive ’whoosh’ sound as you cut shows the blades are perfectly aligned.
The 420 J2 Japanese stainless-steel used in the cutting blades is the same alloy used in Robert Welch steak knives.
Each nylon handle is exactly the same shape – fixed to each blade as a mirror image of the other.
The precision-engineered cutting blades are hollow ground to allow precision cutting.
DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT…
It’s not just us who think our scissors are the best. Celebrity gift-wrapper Jane Means, who wraps for stars from the Beckhams to royalty, swears by them for deftly cutting paper and ribbon.
Here’s what our customers have to say about them on Trustpilot…
Having put up with cheap kitchen scissors for decades, it’s such a pleasure to use our new Robert Welch pair. Thank you.
by David Miller
Loved them – have bought three pairs. Bought my third pair of scissors with a stand, this time as a gift. The scissors are great quality and keep their sharpness very well. No chips or dents at all and I’ve had my first pair four years. They are a very useful and practical addition.
by Catherine Horsfall
…The absolute be-all, and I keep gifting them to people who are special to me. I even took my old ones on an extended trip. Your service is excellent, but these scissors are the best in the world.
by Loraine Casey
Beautiful and efficient. This piece of equipment (kitchen scissors in a holder) arrived quickly and safely. It is elegant and clean and looks good in the kitchen. The main thing is that the household always knows where the scissors are and there is now no excuse for them getting lost. They are sharp and comfortable to use. I cannot fault them in any way and highly recommend them.
by Jasmine Simeone