The 10″ Sidebent Left-Handed Tailor Shears (also known as 10″ Dressmaker’s shears) are a beautifully made, professional-quality tool designed especially for left-handed makers. Engineered so the blades sit correctly for a true, clean cut, they glide effortlessly through most fabrics and are trusted by tailors and dressmakers around the world.

Hot forged and hand crafted in Sheffield using time-honoured techniques, these shears combine precision performance with lasting durability. The elegant mirror finish gives them a satisfying weight in the hand and makes them not only a hardworking essential, but one of the most beautiful tools in your sewing box.

Like all Ernest Wright scissors and shears the 10″ dressmaker sidebent shears begin as two solid carbon steel bars. Through the traditional hot forging process, a bar is converted into a blank before the Ernest & Wright masterputtertogetherers get to work! These unique scissors will never let you down.

Total length: 10″ / 25.4 cm
Blade length: 5.18″ / 13.20 cm

Material: Drop forged high quality carbon steel, for long-life precision edge retention
Finish: Hand polished

Care: After use, always wipe your carbon-steel scissors clean and dry, and store them away from any water, salt or humidity. It is preferable to store these wrapped (or encased) in dry cloth, dry leather, or a dry cardboard box, to protect them from airborne moisture. If you don't these scissors may be prone to discolouration or even rust.

About Ernest Wright: The history of Ernest Wright reflects everything Sheffield Steel has become famous for. Highly skilled craftsmen making supreme quality products. A lot has changed since the heydays of manufacturing, but we’re proud to be here and able to pass on the heritage of an ancient craft.

Why are some shears sidebent?

Sidebent shears, like the 8.25″ Sidebent Dressmaker, have shanks that project upwards and away from the blades. This means that the top bow and the bottom bow (the loops held by your thumb and fingers), are offset and respectively above and aligned with the blades. Hence, sidebent.

Tailors and dressmakers often need to make long cuts in fabric, while working on a tabletop. This gives us the reason to make scissors and shears with a sidebent design. If the craftsperson were using shears with straight shanks, then the bottom bow would catch against the edge of the table, making the shears much harder to use. With a sidebent design, the user can rest the shears flat against the tabletop, enabling smooth, efficient cutting. 

Sidebent scissors designs were patented by a Sheffield scissors-maker, Thomas Wilkinson, in 1800. The inventor’s firm, Thomas Wilkinson & Sons, received First Class Prize Medals at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Paris Exhibition of 1855. Still to this day, busy tailors owe a debt of gratitude to Wilkinson’s clever sidebent design.