Scissors have evolved slowly over the years. The first prototypes were invented 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and didn't change much until the current number one brand, Fiskars, was created—back in 1830. Fortunately for the crafty, Designer Tamás Fekete has sliced through millennia of shear repetition and designed a new pair of scissors that cut perfectly straight lines with no ruler required. The top/left part sits on top of the table while the bottom/right half presses against the side of it, squaring the scissors and producing perfect cuts every time.
The product started out as a homework assignment at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Hungary, where Fekete is studying industrial design. First year students are required redesign a handheld object and Fekete was frustrated by how many tools he needed to cut straight lines for his projects. "At the very beginning I realized that For a straight cut I needed to use other tools such as a paper guillotine, a cutting knife, or a ruler," he says. "I asked myself, 'Are these really the only ways for a straight cut?'"
>"I asked myself, 'Are these really the only ways for a straight cut?'"
The answer was a sharp "no," but Fekete's had to solve a number of design challenges to make his concept work. Developed over six months and countless models, Fekete's scissors feature several smart ergonomic solutions. The thumb handle is angled to keep the blades from binding while also protecting the user from nasty paper cuts. After playing with plenty of prototypes, he found that the two finger formation of most scissors would make for clumsy cuts and reworked the shape to engage the whole hand—a configuration that provides better balance, more consistent cuts, and a more comfortable grip. To prevent the shears from scratching the table he slightly rounded the edges that came into contact with it and flush mounted the axis point. Despite the innovative design, the scissors still work in the traditional way, and lefties are still out of luck.
Fekete is excited to push the project forward, but cutting through the red tape to get it to market will be a challenge. As a Hungarian citizen, he's not capable of running a Kickstarter campaign yet and is hoping to find a razor-sharp retailer to take a bet on his clever clippers.
