Gibbins was one of the best Sheffield scissors makers of its day.  The family came from Darnall.  The founder was Joseph Gibbins, who in the Census (1841) was a scissor smith, living on the Worksop Road with his wife, Ann, and their family (which included sons Henry, Joseph, and Samuel – the first of whom was a scissor smith).  Living in Worksop Road was another son, John Gibbins, who was a scissors forger.  In the directory of 1845 Joseph Gibbins & Sons was listed as a scissors and shears manufacturer in Cricket Inn Road – at the end of Broad Street, Park.  The enterprise won a Prize Medal at the Great Exhibition (1851), when it displayed a 19-inch (47cm) pair of scissors, worked with small files and drills, and with the motto ‘Unity and Peace’ [of England, France and America] round a portion of the bows in cipher letters.  The business was listed as a manufacturer of scissors, shears, nippers, snuffers, and corkscrews, and was operated by Joseph and Samuel Gibbins, based in Cricket Inn Road.  It employed about 25 workers.  Other members of the Gibbins’ family – Joseph Jun. at Hyde Park, John at Darnall, and Henry in Suffolk Road – had joined the business.  Joseph’s daughter, Frances, married Thomas Rudd.

The firm won exhibition medals in Paris (1855) and London (1862).  The Gibbins’ were still in Cricket Inn Road at the start of the 1860s, with Joseph Jun. and his wife Mary living with their daughters Misses Eliza and Harriet (who operated a ladies’ seminary).  Pawson & Brailsford’s Illustrated Guide  (1862) had an advertisement for J. Gibbins & Sons, showing that it had moved to Headford Street and besides scissors, the firm sold pocket, and sportsman’s knives.  It was operated by Joseph, Henry, John, and Samuel Gibbins.  In 1861, Joseph Gibbins, the founder, told the Census that he employed 20 men and six women.  He died on 20 April 1863 in Cricket Inn Road, aged 75, and was buried in the General Cemetery (which was to become the burial location for all Joseph’s sons).

In 1869, John, Joseph, Henry, and Samuel ended their partnership.  Joseph Gibbins & Sons was continued by Henry in Headford Street (though John, Joseph, and Samuel continued to be involved for a time).  According to the Census, Henry employed 80 men and boys and was assisted by his son, Thomas Henry Gibbins (1852-1908).  Samuel, ‘scissor smith’, and publican of the Bridge Inn, London Road, died on 12 December 1875, aged 46.  He left under £300.  John Gibbins, aged 63, died on 18 April 1878.  Joseph Gibbins Jun. and his son, Arthur, launched Joseph Gibbins & Son, scissors makers, Belgrave Works, Sarah Street.  According to the Census (1881), Joseph Jun. employed six men and two women.  The firm was listed until about 1890.  Joseph Gibbins Jun., Barber Road, died (aged 66) on 19 December 1893.

Henry Gibbins continued to run the original firm.  By the 1880s, he lived at Darnall Hall.  J. Gibbins & Sons moved to Oxford Road Works and made scissors, knives, and razors.  In 1892, Thomas Radford (aged 58) was killed there by a shattered grindstone (Sheffield Independent, 1 June 1892).  Henry Gibbins, Potter Street, Worksop, died on 13 January 1896 (aged 76), leaving £5,529.  He was interred in the General Cemetery.  After his wife, Ann, died in 1901, his son Thomas Henry inherited the business, which was based at Moore Street.  However, Thomas Henry died (aged 57) at his residence Chantrey House, Norton, on 8 November 1908.  J. Gibbins & Sons became ‘Ltd’ in 1909 with £5,000 capital.  It continued in Moore Street after the First World War under Henry Gibbins (the son of Joseph Gibbins Jun.).  The firm was listed until the 1950s. Henry Gibbins died on 16 March 1956, aged 86, leaving £10,583.