ANCIENT CRAFTS: THE WHEEL GRINDER, THE SCISSOR SHARPENER

The scissor sharpener ul mulèta would enter the village on foot, pushing (as if it were a wheelbarrow) a sort of four-legged table on which a stone shaped like a wheel möla was fixed for sharpening blades.

When he placed the "work table" on the ground, the wheel remained elevated, allowing for a belt to be attached, which was connected to a pin linked to a pedal.

This setup allowed the stone to rotate in a sort of basin filled with water, essential for cooling the blade being sharpened.

In the "modern" era, the stone was attached to a motorcycle, thus it was operated mechanically.

To carry out the work, he would set up in a courtyard, preferably the one most "in view".

He would announce himself by shouting:

Oh women, the scissor sharpener has arrived, come get your small scissors sharpened.

When people heard this rhyme and needed to sharpen some work or kitchen tool, they would bring them immediately.

Equipment: the möla and the cote preda.

A kind contribution from Mariella of UILDM Sondrio: memories collected from her parents