Tonail clippings

[CMSellers]

OK, this has been driving me crazy for some time:
How did people trim their toenails before toenail clippers/scissors?

~CMS

[TriPolar]

A simple answer is scissors, which are dated back to 1500BC.

[grude]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

A simple answer is scissors, which are dated back to 1500BC.

Anecdote but there is an old Popeye cartoon from the 1930s where Popeye uses scissors to cut his toenails. Kinda puzzled me as a kid.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by grude

Anecdote but there is an old Popeye cartoon from the 1930s where Popeye uses scissors to cut his toenails. Kinda puzzled me as a kid.

Really? I've always used scissors.

[CMSellers]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

A simple answer is scissors, which are dated back to 1500BC.

Humans have been around for about four million years, well before the development of metal-working.

~CMS

[psychonaut]

Originally Posted by CMSellers

OK, this has been driving me crazy for some time:
How did people trim their toenails before toenail clippers/scissors?

They could have easily filed them down with some suitably hard, rough object, like a rock. Certainly hasn't been any shortage of rocks in human history, and they don't require any fancy metalworking or other craftsmanship. Just walk around until you find one the right size and texture, and rub it on your nails.

[Colophon]

I still very rarely use nail clippers, on fingers or toes. I just use another finger nail to make a nick in the side and then tear across. Easy. Occasionally you end up tearing a bit too low though, which hurts.

[Borzo]

Originally Posted by psychonaut

They could have easily filed them down with some suitably hard, rough object, like a rock. Certainly hasn't been any shortage of rocks in human history, and they don't require any fancy metalworking or other craftsmanship. Just walk around until you find one the right size and texture, and rub it on your nails.

I don't use clippers/scissors - I always use a nail file.

And the basic design of a nail file has existed in nature since rocks were invented. I concur that this is the most likely answer.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by CMSellers

Humans have been around for about four million years, well before the development of metal-working.

~CMS

Ok, then start a thread asking what people used before scissors to clip their toenails.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by Colophon

I still very rarely use nail clippers, on fingers or toes. I just use another finger nail to make a nick in the side and then tear across. Easy. Occasionally you end up tearing a bit too low though, which hurts.

GAHHHH! That just made my stomach flip.

[davidm]

I assume that, before we wore shoes, toenails just wore down from exposure and possibly use.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by davidm

I assume that, before we wore shoes, toenails just wore down from exposure and possibly use.

I would think that to. They would probably grow thicker and heavier, and more likely would be trimmed by abrasion than cutting. But we only have to address the OP, which asks about the invention of nail clippers, which may only have been a couple of hundred years ago.

[PrettyVacant]

Originally Posted by Borzo

I don't use clippers/scissors - I always use a nail file.

And the basic design of a nail file has existed in nature since rocks were invented. I concur that this is the most likely answer.

Gets my vote.

[Procrustus]

Originally Posted by Colophon

I still very rarely use nail clippers, on fingers or toes. I just use another finger nail to make a nick in the side and then tear across. Easy. Occasionally you end up tearing a bit too low though, which hurts.

This is me as well. Don't even own clippers.

[Lukeinva]

Originally Posted by davidm

I assume that, before we wore shoes, toenails just wore down from exposure and possibly use.

This is probably still the preferred method, for some.

[VOW]

Old timers used a knife. Bits of nail were pared away, then the rock-as-emery was probably employed to get rid of the rough edges.


~VOW

[figure9]

FWIW. My daughter just brings her foot up to her mouth and chews them off.

[The Stafford Cripps]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

But we only have to address the OP, which asks about the invention of nail clippers, which may only have been a couple of hundred years ago.

What are you on about? The OP asks about scissors, which makes your 1st, 3rd and 4th posts somewhat odd.

[Man With a Cat]

Originally Posted by figure9

FWIW. My daughter just brings her foot up to her mouth and chews them off.

When I was a kid and considerably more flexible, this is what I did. Now I file.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by The Stafford Cripps

What are you on about? The OP asks about scissors, which makes your 1st, 3rd and 4th posts somewhat odd.

Actually nothing, and I apologize to the OP (and others) for the intrusion.

[dracoi]

I think daily usage really is the answer for most prehistoric peoples.

However, it's also worth pointing out that you can get obsidian (and other rock implements) extremely sharp. I once used a pocket knife to trim my nails, and actually felt like it was superior to my clippers. (I also recognized the risk of taking off more than just a nail, though, so I stick to the safer methods). Stone tools take us way, way back into prehistory.

[Lamia]

I would guess that prehistoric people were more likely to just pick/bite their nails than use a tool.

[TreacherousCretin]

Trained rats.

[Toxylon]

I have never used a tool of any kind to trim my toenails in my 35 years of toenail growing. Like some others above, I just tear away the excess with my fingers every once in a long while. Not surprisingly, I've always "known" how prehistoric people trimmed their toenails.