# How did people cut their nails before clippers were invented?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 21, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930 "2013-05-21T14:58:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/1 "2013-05-21T14:58:25Z")
How did people cut their fingernails before modern nail clippers were invented?
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/2 "2013-05-21T15:02:33Z")
same way I do it now, rip off the ends (use teeth as necessary).
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/3 "2013-05-21T15:05:54Z")
hard physical work abrades them short.
knives and abrasives surfaces existed made with stone later metal. shears were made of metal.
dogs were domesticated early as nail chompers and butt lickers.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/4 "2013-05-21T15:14:11Z")
I started a similar thread once:
[How Did People Keep Their Toenails Trimmed before Clippers Were Invented?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=525010)
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### Author:  [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/5 "2013-05-21T15:24:01Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> same way I do it now, rip off the ends (use teeth as necessary).
Using teeth is really the only satisfying method.
(Unfortunately, though, I’m not as nimble as in my younger days, and my toes are getting frustratingly hard to reach. Now I usually have to resort to using someone else’s teeth, and it’s tricky to find volunteers…)
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/6 "2013-05-21T15:26:02Z")
I often trim my nails using the thumbnail on the other hand. Then one thumbnail trims the other, alternating each time I do it. It’s not that hard.
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### Author:  [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/7 "2013-05-21T15:30:35Z")
How? Do you tear them? Pinch them against your finger, or something hard?
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### Author:  [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/8 "2013-05-21T15:41:17Z")
All through my youth in the '70s I used a little pair of scissors with a small curved blade (? Whatever you call the business end of the scissors).
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/9 "2013-05-21T15:44:49Z")
Slicing motion with one nail against the other to make a notch, then tear away the nail from both sides of the notch.
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/10 "2013-05-21T17:30:18Z")
I’ve wondered this too, but only when I watch movies like _Cast Away_. I’d like to think that if I was in his predicament, I’d fare pretty well except for the nail clipping thing. I have a thing about fingernails and toenails- I get skeeved out by them. They’re fine when they’re short, but if they get too long that they catch on something, or \ crack or split, I have to get to a clipper, stat. Just typing that sentence gave me the willies.
So even if I managed to survive and built shelter and learned how to fish and crack open coconuts, if one of my fingernails split and I didn’t have a clipper with me, I might have to bash my head in with a rock.
And that **Chronos** thing- I had to force myself to finish reading that sentence. And now I need a sedative.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/11 "2013-05-21T18:01:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Slicing motion with one nail against the other to make a notch, then tear away the nail from both sides of the notch.
See, I’ve tried this before when for some unfortunate reason I had a hangnail that needed attending to, but the direction of rippage is unpredictable and you can rip wayyy too far down into the nail bed. (Shudder)
So, I don’t do that anymore.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/12 "2013-05-21T18:04:08Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> See, I’ve tried this before when for some unfortunate reason I had a hangnail that needed attending to, but the direction of rippage is unpredictable and you can rip wayyy too far down into the nail bed. (Shudder)
>
> So, I don’t do that anymore.
it gets easier with practice. I bet I’ve used clippers less than 5 times in my 51 years.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/13 "2013-05-21T18:31:26Z")
I’ve seen people paring their nails with a knife blade in period movies. Before the invention of knives, we probably wore them down running from leopards.
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/14 "2013-05-21T19:23:18Z")
Why not just file them down? Even on a deserted island I’m sure you could find a rock somewhere.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/15 "2013-05-21T20:15:14Z")
I used to trim toenails by using my fingernails to cut into them, then pull them off. Not the best way, but it worked.
There were also scissors. Any size will do.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/16 "2013-05-21T20:29:05Z")
I’ve never used clippers, the few times I’ve tried I’ve produced some extremely colorful cursing, it’s seamstress scissors for me. Many people use those curved scissors which **mack** described, which are part of many manicure kits.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/17 "2013-05-21T20:40:17Z")
> [@Nava](#):
>
> Many people use those curved scissors which **mack** described, which are part of many manicure kits.
In fact, they are (or were) such a standard tool for cutting nails that the standard commercial name for them is [“nail scissors”](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=nail+scissors&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8).
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### Author:  [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/18 "2013-05-21T21:21:18Z")
How do apes and chimps and other animals like us keep them shorn? That’s probably how we did it as well. I am guessing in ancient times people were more active and generally did a lot of manual labor that kept things trimmed.
The idea that one could chew their own toenails is odd. My dad had toenail fungus and his big toes had thick nails that looked like wood chips. He did need assistance in getting them clipped, but I could not imagine him convincing someone else to gnaw on them - eww.
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### Author:  [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/19 "2013-05-21T21:32:56Z")
On one of my mother’s many travels she brought me back a little shell that could be used as a nail file.
I’m sure no matter where people lived they found something that could be used to trim nails, cut hair, shave, brush their teeth, etc.
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-cut-their-nails-before-clippers-were-invented/658930/20 "2013-05-21T21:59:03Z")
> [@snowthx](#):
>
> The idea that one could chew their own toenails is odd. My dad had toenail fungus and his big toes had thick nails that looked like wood chips. He did need assistance in getting them clipped, but I could not imagine him convincing someone else to gnaw on them - eww.
My brother was unconscious in the hospital for a few days and it was all I could do not to trim his toenails. They were so long they curled down over the front of the toes. Luckily I realized that would be a real invasion of privacy.
Anyhoo, teeth work perfectly well to trim nails, finger- and toe-.
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