In 1974, a product was born in Japan that would change the way scissors are made: ALLEX, launched by Hayashi Cutlery in Seki, Gifu Prefecture. Its shape is formed by press-working stainless steel sheet, while its final sharpness is finished by the hands of craftsmen. By bringing together efficient industrial production and the skills passed down in this town of blades, ALLEX is still made today as an everyday tool, more than half a century after its birth.
1974: The Birth of ALLEX
Hayashi Cutlery was founded in 1946 in Seki, Gifu. Before ALLEX, the company made kitchen knives, pocket knives and other blades, producing both its own products and products for other brands. At the time, its in-house brand was called "GOLD FISH," a name said to have been chosen by the founder, who loved fishing. Containers still kept at the factory today bear both names side by side: GOLD FISH and ALLEX.
A container still kept at the Hayashi Cutlery factory, bearing the names of the founding-era brand "GOLD FISH" and the later "ALLEX."
The turning point came in 1974. Toru Hayashi, the company's second-generation president, wanted a brand name that would work overseas and be easy to remember and read. The name chosen was "ALLEX," which begins with "A," the first letter of the alphabet, and "a" (あ), the first sound in Japanese. It is a coined word meaning "all expand" — to keep growing in every respect. The brand was launched at almost the same time as its first products.
From the very beginning, its core product was office scissors. ALLEX's history began with a familiar tool used again and again in everyday handwork.
How ALLEX Changed the Way Scissors Are Made
Before ALLEX, scissors in Japan were generally made by forging — the traditional method of hammering metal into shape. Hayashi Cutlery instead took on a new manufacturing method: making scissors by press-working stainless steel.
One of the triggers was a conversation with a friend of the second-generation president, who ran a metalworking company. The friend told him that the precision and quality of stainless steel had improved dramatically. Seeing this progress in materials, he wondered whether scissors could be produced efficiently from sheet metal, free from conventional methods.
Hayashi Cutlery obtained a patent for this manufacturing process. According to the company's records, it was the first practical use in Japan of a method for making scissors by press-working stainless steel.
Stainless steel blanks punched out by the press are still completely flat. If you simply put two of them together, the blades won't mesh properly, and they can't cut as scissors. Craftsmen strike each blade one by one with a hammer or hand press, adding a subtle bend so fine it is hard to see with the naked eye. Knowing which parts to boldly streamline and which to entrust to human senses — that judgment was the true manufacturing innovation ALLEX brought about.
A craftsman adds a subtle bend to a press-formed blade — an essential step for making the two blades work together correctly.
The Good Design Award — and a Shape Unchanged for Half a Century
ALLEX's functional form was recognized in the very year it was born. In 1974, the Office Scissors S-165 and the Paper Knife SP-170 received the Good Design Award. In 1990, the office scissors series — S-185, S-165 and S-135 — together with the SP-170 were selected for the Long Life Design Award.
The Good Design selection certificate for Office Scissors S-165, 1974.
The Long Life Design Award for the office scissors series and Paper Knife SP-170, 1990.
The office scissors series still in production today has kept its basic shape and design since its launch. A simple, timeless form, with the durability that only all-stainless-steel construction can offer. It was not kept unchanged to preserve a nostalgic shape, but because, as a tool, it was already complete in its rationality.
Meanwhile, the parts that affect comfort have been updated. At launch, the finger rings were made of PP (polypropylene); today they are made of elastomer resin, which feels softer on the fingers. Within an unchanged silhouette, the parts closest to the user have quietly evolved.
The Whole City of Seki as "One Factory"
ALLEX is not a product that Hayashi Cutlery completes on its own.
Blade-making in Seki began with Japanese swords more than 800 years ago. Swordmaking was never the work of a single craftsman doing everything. It relied on a division of labor, in which specialists for each process built on one another's skills to complete a blade. That culture lives on today in a different form.
Pressing, hardening, grinding (suki) and sharpening — even today, each of these ALLEX processes is handled by a specialist workshop dedicated to that step. Hayashi Cutlery describes this industrial system as "the whole city of Seki working like a single factory."
A craftsman grinding a blade. In Seki, blade-making is supported by workshops with specialized skills for each process.
The blades, built up through the work of these specialists, are finally assembled into scissors. At Hayashi Cutlery, the step of joining the two blades by crimping them together with a rivet is called shikumi. How firmly the rivet is crimped affects not only how the scissors open and close, but whether they cut at all.
This adjustment is still done by hand, one pair at a time, by craftsmen. The shape of the blades, the way the two blades meet, the condition of the pivot — only when all of these come together do you get scissors that cut cleanly from the base of the blade all the way to the tip.
Each assembled pair is checked one by one. The final sharpness is determined by the eyes and hands of the craftsman.
The Japanese swords of 800 years ago and today's ALLEX are not made in the same way. But in the way the industry works — combining the skills of specialists to complete a single excellent blade — there is a clear continuity.
Half a Century of "New Ideas and Challenges"
What ALLEX has protected is not just a single shape. What has been handed down since the brand's birth is an attitude that values new ideas.
Hayashi Cutlery has a development culture in which, when a customer comes to them saying, "I'm having trouble cutting this," the team immediately looks into it, builds prototype after prototype, and turns the solution into a product. Rather than the manufacturer imposing designs and performance on users, they start from the lives and real-world situations of the people who use their tools. Hayashi Cutlery sums up this attitude in the words "New Ideas and Challenges."
The question asked in 1974 — "Can we make scissors more efficiently?" — connects directly to today's flexible product development. ALLEX's long-life design is not simply about making the same shape for a long time. It is about continuing to update what needs updating, while always keeping the people who use it in view.
Which ALLEX Should You Choose Today?
ALLEX offers many models, but at FUDEKAMI STATIONERY we have selected four that are easy to use for everyday desk work. At their core are a sturdy construction that makes the most of stainless steel and a simple design with no unnecessary decoration. On top of that, they differ in coating, size and opening mechanism.
ALLEX Office Scissors Medium Fluorine Coated S-165F
If you want the ALLEX standard, start here.
A medium-sized model that carries on the shape of the S-165, winner of the Good Design Award in 1974. Made from 2.5mm-thick stainless steel, it also offers excellent weight balance. Its fluorine-coated blades resist sticky residue from packing tape and double-sided tape.
ALLEX Office Scissors Titanium Coated S-165T
A classic form, finished in gold titanium coating.
This model adds a titanium coating, known for its durability and wear resistance, to the timeless shape of the S-165. The blades hold their edge well, keeping a comfortable cut for a long time. The combination of the gold body and black finger rings stands out on any desk, and it also makes a wonderful gift.
ALLEX Slim Scissors 140 Fluorine Coated
The ALLEX you can carry in your pen case.
A portable model with a slim 55mm-wide body that slips easily into a pen case or tool pouch. Made of rust-resistant stainless steel, with a fluorine coating on the blades to keep adhesives from sticking. It combines portability with ALLEX's signature functional beauty.
ALLEX Desk Scissors 15124 LF
For a light, easy action, choose this desk model.
This model pairs fluorine-coated stainless steel blades with a resin nut. Adhesive from tape is less likely to stick, and easy to peel off if it does. With its lighter opening and closing action, it is ideal for keeping on your desk for frequent, everyday use.
What They Share: They Cut Well. They Are Easy to Use. They Have Nothing More Than They Need.
For the quintessential ALLEX standard, choose the S-165F. For durability and a special touch, the S-165T. For portability, the Slim 140. For a light opening and closing action, the 15124 LF. Each of the four has a clear role.
Yet the philosophy at their core is the same. Make what machines can make efficiently, and let people finish what needs human hands. Make the parts people touch easy to use, and spare no skill where it truly matters for a pair of scissors.
That approach, born in 1974, has not grown old more than half a century later. Because scissors are something you use every day, they should do more than simply cut. They should make you think, every time you pick them up, "I'm glad I chose these."
That is why FUDEKAMI STATIONERY chooses ALLEX.
Interview cooperation and images courtesy of Hayashi Cutlery Co., Ltd.