HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A nail clipper (also called nail clippers, a nail trimmer, a nail cutter or nipper type) is a
hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...
used to trim fingernails, toenails and
hangnail A hangnail is a small piece of skin or nail next to a fingernail or toenail. Hangnails are typically caused by having dry skin, trauma to the fingers, or ingrown nails. Complications Hangnails can become infected and cause paronychia, a type ...
s.


Design

Nail clippers are usually made of stainless steel but can also be made of plastic and aluminum. Two common varieties are the
pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...
type and the
compound lever The compound lever is a simple machine operating on the premise that the resistance from one lever in a system of levers acts as effort for the next, and thus the applied force is transferred from one lever to the next. Almost all scales use som ...
type. Many nail clippers come with a miniature file affixed to them, for manicuring (smoothing) the rough edges of nails, and some come with a nail catcher. The head of a nail clipper may be either concave or convex. Nail clippers with convex clipping ends are intended for trimming toenails, while concave clipping ends are for fingernails. The cutting head may be manufactured to be
parallel Parallel may refer to: Mathematics * Parallel (geometry), two lines in the Euclidean plane which never intersect * Parallel (operator), mathematical operation named after the composition of electrical resistance in parallel circuits Science a ...
or
perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...
to the principal axis of the cutter. Cutting heads that are parallel to the principal axis are made to address accessibility issues involved with cutting toenails.


History

Before the invention of the modern nail clipper, people would use small knives to trim or pare their nails. Descriptions of nail trimming in literature date as far back as the 8th century BC. The
Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...
exhorts in 21:12 that a man, should he wish to take a captive as a wife, "shall bring her home to ishouse, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails". A reference is made in
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
's ''
Epistles An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...
'', written circa 20 BC, to "A close-shaven man, it's said, in an empty barber's booth, penknife in hand, quietly cleaning his nails." The first
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
patent for an improvement in fingernail clippers (then dubbed "finger-nail trimmers") was filed in 1875 by Valentine Fogerty. Subsequent patents for improvements in fingernail clippers were filed in 1876, by William C. Edge, and in 1878, by John H. Hollman. Later patent filings for fingernail clippers include: one by Eugene Heim and Celestin Matz in 1881, one in 1885 by George H. Coates (for a "finger-nail cutter"), an 1886 patent by Hungarian Inventor David Gestetner, a 1905 patent by Chapel S. Carter, and another by Chapel S. Carter and Hedley P. Carter in 1922. Around 1913, Chapel S. Carter was secretary of the H. C. Cook Company in
Ansonia, Connecticut Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Located on the Naugatuck River, it is immediately north of Derby, and about northwest of New Haven. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was ...
, which was incorporated in 1903 as the H. C. Cook Machine Company by Carter, Henry C. Cook, and Lewis I. Cook. Around 1928, when Carter was president of the company, he claimed the "Gem" brand fingernail clipper was introduced in 1896.
'' The American Exporter'', Volume 102, John C. Cochran Co., 1928, p.162 (retrieved 30 August 2010 from Google Books) In 1947, William E. Bassett (who started the W. E. Bassett Company in 1939) developed the "Trim" brand nail clipper,Baker, Nicholson
"Clip Art"
Annals of Technology, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', November 7, 1994, pp. 165-67 (retrieved 30 August 2010)
using the jaw-style design that had been around since the 19th century, but adding two nibs near the base of the file to prevent lateral movement, replacing the pinned rivet with a notched rivet, and adding a thumb-swerve in the lever.


See also

* Cigar cutter * Dog grooming § Nail clipping *
Manicure A manicure is a mostly Cosmetics, cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and Hand, hands performed at home or in a nail salon. A manicure usually consists of Nail file, filing and shaping the free edge of nails, pushing and clipping ( ...
*
Pedicure A pedicure is a cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails, analogous to a manicure. During a pedicure, dead skin cells are rubbed off the bottom of the feet using a rough stone (often a pumice stone). Skincare is frequently provided up to t ...
*
Pliers Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, possibly developed from tongs used to handle hot metal in Bronze Age Europe. They are also useful for bending and physically compressing a wide range of materials. Generally, pliers consi ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nail Clipper Mechanical hand tools Nail care Cutting tools Domestic implements Toiletry Medical equipment 19th-century inventions