The pinking shears design that's most well known was patented by Louise Austin in 1893. In 1934, Samuel Briskman patented a pinking shear design (Felix Wyner and Edward Schulz listed as the inventors). In 1952, Benjamin Luscalzo was granted a patent for pinking shears that would keep the blades aligned to prevent wear.

Why do they call them pinking shears?

Pinking shears have notched blades and are used to cut a zigzag edge on a piece of cloth to prevent it from fraying. The term comes from a sense of the verb to pink that originally meant to cut holes and slits in fabric or leather for decorative purposes, in order to show the layer underneath.

Do pinking shears prevent fraying?

Today, pinking is easier, as you can use pinking shears (specialized scissors) to cut with. If done correctly, pinking reduces fraying. ... The way that pinking shears work is by cutting a row of small zigzags or triangles.