Nail, cuticle and toenail scissors — from fine-point blades for skin work to heavy shears for thick nails. Each pair is assembled and cut-tested by hand: the screw is set so the two edges meet along their whole length, which is what separates a clean cut from a pinch.
Which pair for which job
Four different tools share the word. Nail scissors cut the plate on hands. Cuticle scissors have a far finer grind and work on skin only. Toenail scissors are heavier, with long handles and short blades, because a toenail needs force rather than finesse. Beard, nose and ear scissors have rounded or guarded tips for obvious reasons.
Buying one pair rather than four
If it has to be one, buy nail scissors. They do the job everyone does weekly, and using them carefully on a hangnail is survivable. The reverse is not: cuticle scissors put to work on a nail plate chip at the tips and never close properly again.
How to check a pair before you trust it
Close the blades and hold them against a window. Light between the edges means they touch only in the middle — that pair will fold a nail rather than cut it, whatever the label says. This is a two-second check and it separates hand-set instruments from everything else more reliably than the price does.
Where they are made
Solingen and Premana are protected names, not slogans: only instruments actually manufactured there may carry them. Why Solingen is a law rather than a marketing word.
Questions we get
Which scissors do I actually need?
One pair for nails and one for cuticle, if you do both. A single pair set for nails will tear cuticle, and a fine cuticle pair will bend on a thick toenail.
Stainless or carbon steel?
Carbon takes a keener edge and holds it longer, which matters for skin work. It also rusts if left wet. Stainless forgives neglect and is the sensible default unless you know you will dry them every time.
Why are Solingen scissors more expensive?
Because the blades are forged and then ground by hand rather than stamped from sheet and belted once. A ground edge meets along its whole length; a stamped one meets in the middle and gaps at the ends.
How long should a good pair last?
Decades of household use. When the cut finally starts to fold the nail instead of severing it, the steel is still sound — the geometry needs restoring, and a grinding workshop can do it.