Ikebana Scissors - Sakura - Rose Gold

Japanese flower scissors, hana-basami (花鋏), made by Toyama Hamono in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture. This is the colourway the maker calls sakura, cherry blossom: the handles are coloured rose gold by baking in an oven, without the chemicals used in ordinary paint.

Each pair is forged by hand from Japanese high-carbon steel. The broad, open loops let the whole hand close around the handles for leverage on woody stems, while the short, pointed blades reach into an arrangement to take a single leaf or flower. A gold-coloured cap covers the pivot. Toyama Hamono makes them for ikebana, roses, flowers and houseplants, and for pruning branches up to about 10 mm across.

Specifications:

• Maker: Toyama Hamono, Sanjo, Niigata
• Model: TH-3PG
• Overall length: 180mm
• Blade length: 65mm
• Weight: 150g
• Steel: forged Japanese high-carbon steel
• Handles: rose gold, oven-baked finish
• Supplied with: grey presentation box
• Origin: Made in Japan

Care instructions:

High-carbon steel can rust if it is not cared for. Wipe the scissors clean and dry after use, especially the blades, and store them indoors. A light wipe with knife oil or sewing-machine oil protects the steel; oil them before putting them away for a long time. Use them on plants only: they are not made for wire, bamboo, artificial flowers or branches thicker than about 10mm.

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Toyama Hamono (外山刃物) was founded in 1861, at the end of the Edo period, and makes scissors in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture. Its methods are based on those used to make Japanese swords, and its fire-forged scissors are made by hand, one pair at a time, alongside modern precision grinding. The company calls itself the sōke (宗家), or head house, of Echigo tree scissors, Echigo being the old province that is now most of Niigata. Its scissors carry the mark 秀久, Hidehisa, the name of the fourth-generation craftsman, who broadened the range; the fifth generation runs the company today.