New Tool Idea - Large Leather Shears - Should I make these for sale?

[Stagesmith]

Greetings. 

I make tools, and have been making tools for over 40 years. I spent many months this year learning the skills of refurbishing, sharpening and tuning, tin-snips, shears and scissors. Along that path I discovered WISS #8 Belt Shears for cutting leather and fabric belting.

They are very nice, but a bit small for my taste. The largest commonly available WISS Shears are #22W, at over 12 inches long

They can be purchased new but the old ones are better. I ended up with several pairs of 22W's and decided to super-size the #8 Belt Shears.

The WISS Belt Shears are interesting because the lower blade is serrated to hold the leather and the upper blade is knife-edged.

My new shears cut 1/4" sole leather like paper. Kind of amazing. As a knife-maker these aren't too hard to make, but I'm curious if there is a market for them.

I've been using these for the last few weeks on various knife sheath projects and really love them, but there are lots of ways to cut leather.

I am curious what others think of these.

[Dwight]

There's a market for virtually anything produced.

Price will generally determine how big that market is.

May God bless,

Dwight

 

[SUP]

There are shears in the market that are large although not the brands known well here. They work well on thinner leathers but they do not work on thick leather, at least  none that I have seen. So there is no reason why your shears should not sell well.  Best of luck.🙂

[AlZilla]

Given the number of places that sell Wiss 22W scissors, I'd say there's definitely a market. I can get them to my door for $32 to $60. The question is whether you want to play in that market or can you build a better mouse trap and get a premium price for it.

You've piqued my interest. But remember, you're dealing with a crowd for whom the hundred dollar servo motor seems to be the holy grail. Price will definitely be a factor.

[bruce johnson]

I deal in refurbished and selected new leather tools. People cut leather with a $350 round knife down to a $10 Olfa rotary cutter, $7 utility knife, or maybe the $6 HF scissors that cut pennies. The range of leather workers and their cutting tools is pretty vast. I get some leather scissors or shears in some of the old sets once in a while .  Overall, I don't think they have been marketed the best as a cutting option in the last 20 years.  The best thing you can do is put some out there and see how they sell.

Price them at what is fair to you, not what you think the market is. In my case what I personally think rarely happens close to expectations. Many things I think won't sell fast due to price (high or low) ends up reordered the next week. Stuff that I think is a dead-on great value gets reordered in 6 months. 

[Cumberland Highpower]

Anything sells in America, even if its' a "bad" deal! 

There would probably be a market for any shears, although unless you can be competitive it won't matter.

The tariffs are your friend to a degree.  You may pay more for steel, but get a higher percentage return on the finished product.

I use a pair of W German made "Black Diamond" shears that are similar to the Wiss, w/serrations to grip, but I find the Black Diamond shears to be better balanced. Osborne also markets shears that I think are made by Wiss.  

A longer pair would not give any increase in leverage so only would be good for soft leathers/thin chrome, etc.

To be honest, while they might be known as "belt shears" they are not all that great at cutting belts.  Cutting a belt or 2 yes, or a holster prototype, but if you do it all day no way.   I use a pair of cutters with compound leverage far more than my Black diamonds for cutting straps to length.  (Cut-Rite)  They were marketed in the 1990s by Walmart (USA made) and I've bought every pair I've ever come across at almost any price.

I'd think a buyer would pay up to $80 for a quality pair (really about going rate) if you were to make something up.

Edited Wednesday at 04:08 PM by Cumberland Highpower

[kgg]

1 hour ago, bruce johnson said:

People cut leather with a $350 round knife down to a $10 Olfa rotary cutter, $7 utility knife, or maybe the $6 HF scissors that cut pennies. The range of leather workers and their cutting tools is pretty vast.

You are right cutting tools is pretty vast. I have a fairly expensive brand name round knife which rarely gets used, maybe once in the last year. What do you mean --- $7 utility knife? I typically splurge and use the $1.25 CAD ones from the dollar store that come with a spare blade for cutting. If I'm cutting chrome tan probably 3 or 4 oz I use a electric fabric rotary cutter. Cutting heavy fabric or leather with a pair of scissors for me would be a no go no matter how good they are, old hands.

kgg

[Cumberland Highpower]

5 minutes ago, kgg said:

- $7 utility knife? I typically splurge and use the $1.25 CAD ones from the dollar store that come with a spare blade for cutting.

I like the old Staney razor knives that retract.  One of my favorite Quarter or 50cent purchases at garage sales/flea markets/auctions! 

I only buy the retractable versions, I have a tendency to want to put them in my pockets....

Do you have garage sales in Canada? Just curious.

Edited Wednesday at 03:46 PM by Cumberland Highpower

[kgg]

31 minutes ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

Do you have garage sales in Canada? Just curious.

Yes we do. 

 

32 minutes ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

I like the old Staney razor knives that retract. 

Yes I known what you mean. The only "good" thing is when using one if you cut yourself you feel it before you see the blood. I almost never carry a pocket knife even through the son buys really good ones and then sharpens them so they are as sharp as a razor. You see the blood dripping on the floor before you feel the cut. Ask me how I know. I must as a giggle try using one to cut leather.

kgg

[DukeandDrummond]

These look appealing to me. Sometimes shears/scissors seem the right tool.

[SUP]

29 minutes ago, DukeandDrummond said:

Sometimes shears/scissors seem the right tool.

Yes. The type of cutting tool depends on the leather being cut, is it not? I use round knives or  my most favorite tool, the fixed blade Stanley knife usually but reach for scissors every so often when cutting leathers that will be cut with scissors. To have a pair that cuts thicker  leather will be nice. 

[TomE]

I have 9” Craftool serrated scissors that I really like for trimming light weight leathers. Tandy doesn’t sell them anymore, so yes, I think there’s a market your serrated scissors. 
 

[Ferg]

I have old chubby hands and like to cut with scissors. Don't think I would care about the long pair but short scissor I would be interested

[BlackDragon]

I carry mine on my hip. I use it for lighter leathers, cutting patterns, snipping thread, etc.

Not sure if I would use one with serrated edge. If I can still use then on other things I may go for a set.

 

[Stagesmith]

I can buy the new WISS 22W's for around $60 wholesale.

Not sure where they are made anymore. Might be China.

Older, better US made ones are on eBay for usually around $50 plus shipping.

I'll make a few pairs and throw them on eBay to see if they get any interest.

I like the set I made so much I just thought somebody else might like them as well.

I thought about making fancier ones from the older HUGE tailor shears with the more elaborate handles, but there are not as many of those available, and they go for way more money if they are in decent condition at all.

I refurbished a pair recently where the lower blade had split on the lamination line between the edge steel and blade body.

They turned out pretty well, but I can't adjust the curvature of the lower blade without risking shearing the epoxy holding it together.

[AlZilla]

When I looked earlier, Home Depot listed w22w wiss for around $32. I note that the extra w may be a typo or some cheaper version for Homedepot.

[Stagesmith]

Home Depot does have them for $32. Definitely not US made. Wiss is part of Crescent Tools now.

Using those as a base I could sell the Mega Leather Shears at $100 + shipping.

I can't compete with China. That would cover my grind time and materials.

Have to figure out a faster method of making serrations.

I used a tungsten grinder with a diamond wheel for the prototype.

I sacrificed a new, probably Chinese, pair for the prototypes.

I'd feel a little bad using a nice older pair.

[dikman]

When you talk about making them do you mean making them from scratch or simply modifying existing scissors? It would be a lot of work to make scissors by hand and I doubt it would be cost-effective to sell them.

[Stagesmith]

No I'm just taking off the shelf WISS 22W shears and reshaping them into leather shears based on the WISS #8 Belt Shear geometry.

I might make some from older better WISS 22W's but would charge a little more for those.

Making them from scratch would be an insane task.

[AlZilla]

3 hours ago, Stagesmith said:

Making them from scratch would be an insane task.

I did wonder ....

[mbnaegle]

Good job on those old tailor's shears! I agree they are worth fixing if you can.

For sure there would be a market, but I think the key will be effective communication. In just about any hand-tool driven craft or trade, there's always a big range between guys who will do everything with a plastic butter knife, and guys who think you need a million special tools, each one slightly different for slightly different demands (and some only used on Tuesdays). Both ends of the spectrum (and every point in between) has guys who feel clueless and would believe anything you tell them, and guys who will die before giving up their one true way of doing things, and honestly every one of them is "right" if they can do the work they do. I think the trick when it comes to selling any tool in that environment is to clearly explain what and why your product is and how it can help, but avoid claims of authority unless you can back it up with your own AND others experience, while also leaving room for other perspectives. You'll always have guys that think you are wrong or trying to rob them. I think good products should sell themselves and good salesmen just provide information and let you make your own decisions. For sure you need to learn from the masters before you, but the water gets muddy when that master is also trying to sell you things, no mater how helpful or necessary they are.

All that said, my take is that there's no "one-tool" to do it all, but it helps having redundancy and overlap in tools. I think good craftsmen have preferred methods and methods that they turn to when necessary, AND they're always learning and looking for other ways to do things better. When cutting thick and heavy leather, shears are not the first thing I reach for, but they can be really helpful when making adjustments to things after assembly or away from the workbench, like cutting flat belting for powering machinery like they were designed for. I think I've got a pair like in the first picture and they come in handy. In this case, the tool isn't "new" but is less common. You shouldn't have to worry about promoting your design as much as bringing the proven concept to a broader market, while also toting that they are hand crafted so the level of quality can be expected to be a little higher than factory made pieces.

Edited 11 hours ago by mbnaegle