Emergence of the itinerant trade and grinding technology 's "Ständebuch") With the increasing demand for
cutting and
thrusting weapons, the scissor and knife grinder emerged from the
armorer's trade around 1500. The name comes from his task of grinding a pair of scissor blades to fit. During the production of swords and daggers, etc., they had to be sharpened several times, which was often done by specialized assistants of the armorer. When, in addition to weapons, "good scissors and knives" were increasingly needed by various crafts and were also in demand in private households, the craft of the
cutler developed in the 16th century. Subsequently, the increasing qualitative and quantitative demands on the products led to a further
division of labor in the form of splitting up the manufacturing process and new occupational groups emerged, such as the
blacksmith,
heat treating,
grinders,
sword sweepers and later the
reiders. In particular, the "
cutlery knife" went from being a special utensil of the nobility to an important everyday item for a broad section of the population. In addition, there was a general increase in the demand for cutlery and scissors, as well as
fly cutter,
billhook and other cutting tools. As with the armorers, a decentralized method of production prevailed among the knifemakers, which was provided by "mostly independent small masters with their own workshops." As a result of the wider distribution and use of knives and scissors, the need arose to resharpen cutting tools that had become dull through use. In the case of both knives and scissors, the
blades wear out depending on the type and duration of use, in that the sharp edges are initially bent to the side in the minimal range during use, and subsequently torn out and become chipped, which makes recurring
sharpening or
re-sharpening necessary. This gave rise to the itinerant trade of the knife and scissors sharpener, who moved across the country and through the cities with his standard equipment, usually a grinding wheel, offering and providing resharpening.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is considered the
patron saint of scissors cutters, as she is for armorers, among others. The principle of grinding or (re)sharpening is always the same: The
blade, such as of a pair of scissors, is moved lengthwise over an even harder surface, a grinding wheel. The heat generated in the process must be dissipated, if necessary, so that the steel of the sharpened material does not lose its hardness, which is already the case at temperatures above 170 °C. The thin cutting edges of knife blades, such as those of a pair of scissors, are always ground lengthwise. The thin cutting edges of knife blades are particularly susceptible. The simplest device, which can still be seen in
folklore museums, is a mobile, elongated and open water box, into which the round whetstone protrudes halfway from the top. This is cranked over with the foot or the left hand, while the right hand guides the sharpening material. The water serves to cool the grinding wheel and thus the sharpening material. Rather rarely, the
hand crank or (foot)
pedal drive was operated by a second person. Soon, the grinding wheel was cooled mainly by means of a storage and drip container with an adjustable outlet tap mounted above the wheel, from which the grinding wheel was wetted with water (or sometimes also with
grinding oil). In addition to the improved controllability, this had the advantage of reducing the weight for transportable grinding racks or for the later grinding carts. → See, for example, the corresponding device in the illustrated woodcut "Der Schleyffer" by
Jost Amman from his "Ständebuch," c. 1568.
Cart grinders, Moleti, Arrotini, Afiladores , 1749) As a result of the emerging demand, scissors grinders began offering their services as itinerant craftsmen in the 17th century. In the beginning, they usually used a portable grinding frame with the grinding wheel, which they carried on their backs. Partly, however, they also used the larger grinding wheels that were usually available in settlements and remote farms, etc., and thus offered only their skill as knife and scissors sharpeners. The wandering craftsmen often came from the then Welschtirol (later: Trentino) and belonged mainly to a few families from the
high valley Val Rendena – also called Valle dei Moleti (German:
Tal der Messerschleifer) – north of
Riva del Garda. As so-called "Moleta" they spread the scissors sharpening craft not only throughout Europe, but also in the US and many other countries of the world. In addition to the seasonal or year-long
migration of the men from the Val di Fassa, many of them
emigrated permanently and became residents abroad. Another region of origin was the Résia in Friuli, Italy, where there was (also) too little work and the men traveled as scissor grinders, so-called "Arrotini," throughout Europe and especially through the former lands of
Austria-Hungary to ensure the survival of their families. The typical grinding carts of the Arrotini were replaced in the 1960s by converted bicycles with the grinding wheel permanently mounted between the handlebars and the saddle. After jacking up the rear wheel with a fold-down or separate stand, which also makes the jacked-up wheel stable, the grinding wheel can be driven by the normal pedals via a belt or separate chain. In more recent times,
motorization took place through the use of
motor-driven implements and appropriately converted
motor vehicles. In the meantime, this itinerant craft has ceased to be important. File:Adriaen van Ostade Scissors grinder.jpg|Cart grinder, c. 1650 (etching by
Adriaen van Ostade) File:Archivo General de la Nación Argentina 1870 Buenos Aires. Afilador callejero.jpg|Scissors grinder ("Afilador") with grinding cart in
Buenos Aires, 1870 File:Knife grinder in Oviedo, 2010-(01).jpg|Scissors grinder ("Afilador") with grinding cart in
Oviedo in Spain, about the beginning of the 20th century. File:Bicicletta arrotino.jpg|Typical "scissor grinder" bicycle of the Italian "Arrotini" from the 1960s, here with jacked up rear wheel File:Afilador (Saucedilla).JPG|"Afilador" with converted "scissors grinder bicycle" in Spain, 20th c. In the rural Spanish region of
Galicia, the tradition of scissors sharpeners can be traced back to the late 17th century. The so-called "Afiladores" came mainly from various towns in the north of the local
province of Ourense and left their cultural imprint there. Thus, they developed their own cant, the
barallete, which was based on the
Galician language and enriched it with a mixture of technical knowledge and the itinerant craft of the Galician scissors grinders. The original tool of the afiladores was a rack with the grinding wheel, which they carried on their backs. Later it became a grinding cart that was pushed, then an adapted "scissors grinder's bicycle" as in the Italian Arrotini, and finally it was partly motorized. Meanwhile, the trade of afiladores also lost its importance.
Wandering craftsmen, scissors grinders from the traveling people , c. 1878 Travelling merchants and craftsmen have been found in Europe since the
Middle Ages, mainly Jews and
Sinti and Roma. The reason for this was their social exclusion: they were not allowed to settle as craftsmen in the cities and were not accepted into the
guilds. Thus, they earned their living as traveling merchants,
peddlers,
tinkers, scissor grinders or actors and artists. In the urban societies they sold goods that were often not offered by the urban merchants. As craftsmen, their trades – such as that of the scissors grinder – covered a niche in urban crafts, which on the one hand required a certain level of skill, but on the other hand was also not sufficient for subsistence in the city. In rural society, itinerant craftsmen and peddlers were important for their supply and satisfaction of needs until the middle of the 20th century. In addition to the
journeymen and the seasonal migrant workers, such as the so-called
Hollandgänger, the permanent migration of social fringe groups, who moved as vagrants and beggars through the rural areas or lived from trade or small crafts as peddlers, scissor grinders and tinkers, was one of the phenomena of the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the
Westphalian State Museum of Art & Cultural History director Willi Kulke, the number of itinerant craftsmen was far greater than the historical account would indicate at the beginning of the 21st century, because written records are more than inadequate for these occupations in particular. Due to the low earning opportunities and competition from other merchants and craftsmen, they were often forced to constantly expand their wandering radius. Consequently, they had to live on the streets for longer periods of time and also ask for
alms when their earnings were poor. The transition to a
vagabond lifestyle was fluid. The permanent life of itinerant artisans on the road led to many prejudices and rumors, with them often being considered "morally depraved and suspected of theft" among their contemporaries. In the beginning, the authorities issued so-called trading patents - sometimes also referred to as passes or
carte blanche - to peddlers in particular, which can be seen as the forerunner of the later
itinerant trade license. Such regulations by the authorities existed not only in all parts of Germany, but also in many countries of Central and Western Europe.
Between increasing exclusion and meeting needs Toward the end of the 19th century in the
German Empire, the
Verein für Socialpolitik (Association for Social Policy) took up the incipient social discussion about the expanding trade of itinerant merchants and craftsmen and produced an extensive study. However, the focus was on the economic aspects, such as the complaints of merchants and craftsmen or their associations about "the allegedly business-damaging competition of peddlers," while the social issues of their activity were neglected. In 1898/99, the Verein für Socialpolitik published its findings under the title Untersuchungen über die Lage des Hausiergewerbes in Deutschland (Studies on the Situation of the Peddling Trade in Germany) in five volumes, in which the association described in detail, among other things, both the negative contemporary opinion of the lives of itinerant merchants and craftsmen and the increasing state sanctions and regulations, such as the restrictive issuance of itinerant trade licenses. Meanwhile, however, the Verein für Socialpolitik also found in its report, "The pan-menders, basket-makers, scissor-grinders [...] belong in part to the Gypsies, but on the whole they are already of a different kind and already form a more solid group of the wandering people, since they at least carry on useful trades and were more confined in their journeys to certain areas." In the 1920s and into the 1930s, there was once again an increase in the number of scissor grinders and peddlers: the
Great Depression and
mass unemployment forced people to earn a living with petty trade or auxiliary craft activities "on the streets. While peddlers were again more numerous in rural areas, itinerant workers such as scissor grinders in particular offered their services in urban areas. Although the racially motivated persecution of the itinerant people by the
Nazi Germany ended with the
Second World War, exclusion and a lack of social
participation continued in the German successor states. In this respect, the wandering scissor grinders and other itinerant craftsmen who reappeared in the
postwar period and with the onset of the
economic miracle continued to be met with prejudice and discriminated against as "gypsies." File:MORWOOD(1885) p037 OLD LOVELL - SCISSORS-GRINDER.jpg|Roma/scissors grinder "Old Lovell" in England, 1885 File:Remouleur -cuttler.jpg|Jewish scissors grinder in
Morocco, between 1900 and 1920 File:Marseille l'amoulaire remouleur.jpg|"Travelling" scissors grinder with grinding cart in
Marseille, early 20th c. File:Emil Mayer 012.jpg|Scissors grinder with grinding cart in
Vienna, around 1905-1914 File:JenischerScherenschleifer1900.jpg|
Yenish scissors grinder in Switzerland, c. 1930 File:Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Afb ANWN00255000001.jpg|Scissors grinder with "Dutch grinding cart" in
Amsterdam, c. 1930 File:Scissors-grinder.jpg|Scissors grinder in the
Netherlands, 1931
Travel routes and territories As a rule, there were no agreements on travel routes and "territories" among the wandering scissors cutters, especially since there were no associations such as guilds or federations. Thus, the
Afiladores from Galicia traveled mainly throughout Spain and neighboring
Portugal, while the "Moleta" from Welschtirol and the "Arrotini" from Friuli in Italy traveled to certain European countries as well as many other countries throughout the world. In doing so, they often covered enormous travel routes and were sometimes on the road for years. In the rural areas they frequented, they often met competition from local small craftsmen who themselves sought their livelihood as itinerant craftsmen and offered their services in their local or regional environment. For the supra-regional itinerant scissors grinders from the special regions of origin or from the itinerant people, this had the consequence that the expected demand and earnings were often not assessable due to the local and regional competition – and in the end always changes of the actually planned travel route had to be made as well as longer intermediate distances had to be mastered without any possibility of earning money. As a result of the lack of demand, regular visits by scissor grinders initially declined and eventually ended almost entirely. or are even bent on
trick theft. Due to the incorrect grinding technique and/or insufficient cooling often practiced by such "peddlers," the blade can "anneal," rendering "the sharpened object virtually useless." In addition, the industry has also fallen into disrepute due to the fact that the "scissor grinders" have been known to use a variety of techniques. == Present ==