History Of Tweezers
They have been used by predynastic Egypt. There are pictures and proof of ancient Egyptian using tweezers. They were most commonly used by Mesopotamia and India from about 3000 BC. In the bronze age, they were made in Keema, Sudan. Tweezers are one of the most ancient tools made by men as a multipurpose tool.
Origin Of Name
The name of this tool has been derived from the French language. The French word étui meaning “small case” evolved into the word etwee which gave birth to the word tweezers. the word etwee was used for a small case, used to carry small objects like toothpicks. Later tweezers were also found in these small cases. With the development of the word tweezer, the word tweeze was accepted as a verb in the English language.
Types Of Tweezers
Followings are the major types of tweezers.
- Carbon nano-tweezers.
- Tweezer probes.
- Molecular tweezers.
- Vacuum tweezers.
- Metal tweezers.
- Plastic tweezers.
- Cosmetic tweezers.
- Electric tweezers.
- Magnetic tweezers.
- Optical tweezers.
Use Of Tweezers
The followings are the application of tweezers.
- in lead type.
- in dealing with stamps.
- in dealing with smaller coins.
- for hair removal (eyebrow tweezers).
- in semiconductor technology in the form of wafer tweezers.
- in cosmetics.
- in medicine (Forceps and Tissue Forceps).
- in the household.
- in jewelry.
- In the textile industry as iron nubs.
- in soldering.
- in science, laboratory.
- in aquatics at planting e.g. Aqua scaping.
- in watchmaker usage.
Tweezers
Tweezers are basically U-shaped tools. Made of metal or bronze. Later with time, they turned into V-shaped instruments for better grip and efficiency. They are similar and probably derived from throngs and tongs.
When Do They Need To Be Sharpened Tweezers?
With time and usage, the grip of tweezers is lost. They become blunt hence they need to be sharpened after multiple uses. Sometimes the process of sharpening is not done correctly.
How Do You Maintain Tweezers?
The life of tweezers is dependent on their use. If they are used with care their life increases. One should use it in the right direction and angle. On has to use it on appropriate surfaces. Surgical tweezers can not be used as cosmetic tweezers, this damages them.
How Do You Keep Tweezers Clean?
Tweezers are cleaned with water by washing them in warm water or cleaning with alcohol wipes. They can be made clean by using sanitizer or in case of surgical use they are freed from germs by warming them in the autoclave, hot air oven, or through microwaves.
Cost Value
Sharpening the tweezers saved money and time because they help in sharpening the previous ones again and again. One does not have to fine tweezers again and again. As this process is very time-consuming and critical. The selection of tweezers has to be good if one is planning to use them for a longer period of time.
Precautions
Followings are a few precautions to keep in mind while sharpening the tweezers;
- Follow the instructions.
- Watch tutorials.
- Do not over sharp it.
- Find the angle of sharpening.
- Choose the sharpening method wisely.
- Check the edges of tweezers continually.
When To Replace Tweezers
If tweezers are cleaned properly and regularly, there is no need of replacing them. Only if the process of sharpening is done wrong will waste the tweezers. For using the tweezers for a longer period of time one has to keep them sharpened. Maintaining the shape and hygiene of tweezers increases their life.
Where To Get Tweezers Sharpened?
Tweezers can be sharpened at home but it is recommended to get it done by professionals. Getting it done by a professional saves the tweezers from damage and increases their efficiency. Doing it at home can damage tweezers. In the case of surgical and high-precision tweezers, the process of sharpening can never be done at home.
What Are The Methods Of Sharpening Tweezers? (Using Sandpaper And Leather Strop)
Tools Required To Start Sharpening A Tweezer:
You will only need sandpaper and the tweezer that needs to be sharpened. You might want to look for an easy place where you can set your hands on a stable surface so that you might not experience any kind of mumbling or slip while working.
If you are sharpening with a leather strop just use it in place of sandpaper, all other things remain the same.
How To Sharpen Tweezers Using Sandpaper?
Sandpaper of grit 500 to 1000 would work quite well for tweezers. To start with, you need to fold the sandpaper in half in a way that the textured surface of it faces outward. Now that we have double-sided sandpaper, we can start right away.
To start with you need to hold the sandpaper in one hand and the tweezers in the other hand. You should be holding the sandpaper tightly that it should not flip while sharpening the tweezers. The arrangement while sharpening should be like a sandwich that means the ends of the tweezers sandwich the sandpaper in between. It is recommended to hold the tweezers in the dominant hand so that it’s easy to move them against the sandpaper.
Once you are all ready to sharpen, Start moving the ends of the tweezers against the textured surface of the sandpaper. Start from the top of the sandpaper till you reach the end. Release the pressure to open the tweezers and go up to the top of the sandpaper again. Clench the tweezers again sandwiching the sandpaper and start moving it all along the length of the sandpaper again. Keep doing it till your tweezers are sharpened.
To clean all the dirt and debris, you might put it under running water or wash it with soap. Make sure you sanitize the tweezers as well before use to avoid any infection.
How To Sharpen Tweezers Using A Leather Strop?
All of the steps are pretty much similar to that of using sandpaper.
You first need to put the leather strop in between the ends of the tweezers. If you do not have a lather stop, any leather piece that has either worn out or something and is there sitting useless in your store or somewhere would work. You can also use your old leather belt that now does not fit you or is not the one you wear to places outside the house.
putting the leather piece in between the ens of the tweezers, apply pressure to the tips of the tweezers s that they clip the leather strop nicely. The amount of pressure you apply should be neither too great that you are unable to rub it against the leather surface nor too little that the tweezer ends pass along without even experiencing the littlest amount of friction by the leather strop.
You need to rub the ends of tweezers against the surface of the leather strop in order to sharpen it. You will need to make 10 to 15 moves in order to have the nice sharpened edges of the tweezers. The whole procedure takes about 10 to 12 minutes.
Using leather strop does not leave you with a lot of mess of material lost but you should always clean it before use. Sanitizing it is always the best thing to do.
Difference You Are Going To Experience After The Usage Of Sandpaper And Leather Strop
Using a leather strop gives you better finishing than sandpaper. Sandpaper might end in giving you roughened edges but in the case of a leather strop, you will find nice polished edges yet sharpened.
How To Bend Your Tweezers Back To Shape?
You will know that your tweezers are not in shape if you are having trouble clenching it or pulling your hair out. It might not clock properly resulting in doing a poor job. Hence, maintaining the shape of the tweezers is also an important job to be done.
Slide in between the two ends of the tweezers, a pencil or steel rod of similar diameter. It should go halfway down. Keeping the rod right there, Apply pressure on the two ends of the tweezers making them touch each other. Once they touch each other, hold them there for about 10 to 15 seconds, and then release the pressure. Do this 3 to 5 times and it will make the shape of the ends better. To make the shape of the lower end better, you will need to do the same procedure but you will apply pressure on the lower end. Make sure the rod does not slip away.
