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Sugar nips
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<p>Sugar nips are a large pair of <a href="/facts/Pincers_(tool)/yKYIPuFM">pincers</a> with sharp blades, designed to cut sugar from a block. Before the introduction of <a href="/facts/Granulated_sugar/9qpD1vl5">granulated</a> and <a href="/facts/Cube_sugar/jb5KXRHT">cube</a> sugars in the second half of the 19th century, the domestic consumer purchased sugar in the form of a <a href="/facts/Sugarloaf/PkHm7mPN">sugarloaf</a>, or at least a part of one, and pieces were cut from it by hand using sugar nips and other tools, such as <a href="/facts/Sugar_hammer/PkHm7mPN">sugar hammer</a>. Greater leverage and improved safety was provided by heavier sugar nips set in a wooden base for counter- and table-top use. </p><p>There was also an all-in-one version; a box that could serve as container for the sugarloaf with built-in pliers and collector drawer for fine-grained residues from the sugar cutting. </p>