Hairdressing Scissors
With the number of professional hair stylists and barbers increasing every year, advice on hairdressing scissors is becoming more and more important. Often seen as one of the most essential pieces of equipment for a hairdresser, the sheer volume of different scissor types in today’s market is staggering. So with all this choice and many different manufacturers claiming to have the scissors for you, how do you know which to buy? Luckily help is at hand, our hair care and beauty team have a staggering 40 years of combined experience within the hairdressing industry and are perfectly placed to offer advice and guidance on which shears will be right for you.
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Contents [Hide] 1 Blade Materials2 Types Of Scissor Blades 3 Scissor Tempering And Shaping 4 Miss Chloe Recommends |
Blade Materials
The most critical and important factor when deciding which hairdressing scissor to buy and when trying to assess your shears performance is its blade material. Scissor manufacturing techniques have evolved tremendously over time and the innovative and modern forging techniques mean that hairdressing shears can now be produced harder material than ever before. Here is a list of the five most common materials used in professional hairdressing scissors and shears today:
1) Nickel And Cobalt Alloys
These types of scissor steels are very hard but unfortunately also very brittle. Lower ranged scissors and those shears produced in student kits are predominantly made of these. Although hard and sturdy, cobalt alloys chip and nick easily meaning one drop could see the end of your hairdressing scissors. Shears created using this usually have a relatively short life and can no longer be adjusted after multiple sharpening. Despite all these drawbacks, scissors made from these materials are entirely suitable for the novice hairdresser as they will no doubt be affordable and make great starter shears.
2) Triple Tempered 440 Stainless Steel
Stainless steels such as those at the 440C level provide a gentle compromise between Cobalt alloy hairdressing scissors and high end professional scissors and have a medium price range to match. Here the stainless steel used to produce each pair of hairdressing scissors undergoes cryogenic tempering to bring the steel to the highest level of durability. This gives the scissor a higher level of resistance to knocks and bumps and extends their life significantly, however many types of cutting such as 'slide cutting' may remain difficult as these scissors cannot achieve an edge as sharp as those made from higher grade materials.
3) Molybdenum Alloy
This type of hairdressing scissor steel is usually found in high end scissors and thanks to this ingeniously treated material, scissors made from this are strong and flexible. If properly hardened it can be as hard as Cobalt alloys, but will steel maintain its durability, making it more resistant to chips and nicks.
4) Cobalt/Molybdenum Alloy
For the absolute professional and with the price tag to match. Hairdressing shears made from this hybrid material will see the hardness of Cobalt combined with the toughness of Molybdenum produce hairdressing scissors with high strength and maximum durability.
Types Of Scissor Blades
Once you've have your eye on the scissor forged from the material that you thinks right for you, the next stage is to see what type of blades the shears have been crafted with, here there are two types:
1) Bevelled Edged Hairdressing Scissors
Bevelled edged scissors are usually found in the cheaper scissor ranges, as this design is one of the oldest scissor designs and secondly because bevelled edges are not suitable to perform advance cutting techniques such as slide cutting. Scissor produced with bevelled edges can cut well but require more force than convex blades as they cannot achieve a high level of blade sharpness. These scissors are more suitable to the novice or hairdressing student.
2) Convex Edged Hairdressing Scissors
These edges are state of the art and are found on nearly all professional hairdressing scissors, State of the art, with a smoother cutting action these scissors allow you to perform all advanced hair styling techniques including slide cutting! Scissor such as these are perfect for the experienced or professional hairdresser.
Scissor Tempering And Shaping
So you've picked out the scissors that are right for you, you've checked that the scissor blades are right for you AND you've checked the materials right too, now what? Well the final thing that is crucially important when deciding which hairdressing scissors will suit you is how they are shaped and forged. These is important when choosing the hairdressing shears as these processes have a direct impact on the scissor edge and strength. There are three types of scissor shaping and forging, these are:
1) Scissor Casting
This is the most common and most inexpensive way to produce scissors. Liquid metal is poured directly into a scissor mould. When properly hardened the hairdressing scissors made during this process will be durable but will not hold their edge as long as the two other types of shaping and tempering.
2) Scissor Drop Forging
Here a weighted mold is dropped onto a hot bar of steel. The shear alloy is then pounded into the desired shape which makes the metal more dense. This density in turn then ensures the hairdressing scissors hold their edge for longer and they are more malleable.
3) Scissor Cryogenic Tempering
The ultimate method of scissor shaping and tempering. Here the temperature of the steel is reduced to -300 degrees fareinheight. This pulls the randomly spaced molecules into a tightly compacted form. After this the steel is then slowly returned to room temperature, whilst this is occuring the steel molecules relax and seperate into an evenly spaced, uniformed structure which increases strength and durability.
Miss Chloe Recommends
So now you have learnt the three most crucial attributes you must look for when deciding on a pair of hairdressing scissors. Below are a few ranges of hairdressing shears which are recommended by our team for novice hairdressing students and the discerning professional hairstylist alike, these scissors range from lower end scissors right to the ultimate professional hairdressing scissors.
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