Choosing Shears: Steel, Edges and Size

Choosing Shears

Shears are the tool where the difference between a good pair and a poor one shows on the hair rather than in the hand. A dull or badly made pair pushes hair ahead of the blade instead of cutting it, which leaves a ragged line and split ends that appear weeks later. They are also the one item in a kit worth buying once, properly, and then looking after.

Convex or beveled edge

A convex edge is ground to a curve and is extremely sharp, which is what makes slide cutting and slicing possible; it glides through hair with almost no resistance and is the standard for most salon work. A beveled edge has a flatter grind, often with micro serrations that grip the hair and stop it sliding, which makes it forgiving for blunt cutting and for anyone still building control. Convex edges cost more and need a specialist to sharpen.

What the steel changes

Shears are usually stainless steel of varying grades, sometimes with cobalt or other alloying added for hardness. Harder steel holds an edge longer and takes a finer edge; it is also more brittle, so it chips rather than dents if you drop it. Softer steel dulls sooner but survives handling better. What you are paying for beyond the steel is the grinding and the finishing, which is why two pairs described with the same alloy can cut very differently.

Size and how they sit in your hand

Measure from the tip of the blade to the end of the longer handle. A shorter pair, around five inches, gives control for detail and for cutting over the fingers; a longer pair, six inches and up, covers more hair per cut and suits cutting over the comb and scissor-over-comb work. The blade should reach roughly to the end of your middle finger when you hold the shear in your palm. Offset handles let your elbow drop, which matters over a full day.

Thinning and texturizing shears

A thinning shear has teeth on one blade and removes a proportion of the hair in each cut rather than a line, which softens weight and blends. Fine teeth, forty or so, remove a little and blend invisibly; coarser teeth with fewer, wider notches remove chunks and create texture. Used close to the ends or too often in one place they create flyaway short pieces that stick up for months, so work higher up the section and check as you go.

Looking after them

Wipe them dry after every cut, since hair and water together corrode the edge and the pivot. Oil the pivot regularly and adjust the tension so the blade falls slowly under its own weight when you open it and let go rather than closing shut or sticking open. Never cut anything but clean hair with them, never use them on wet hair if they are a dry-cutting pair, and keep them in a case on their own. Sharpening is a professional job on a stone wheel, not a home one, and a good pair will take it many times.