Having your Hair cutting shears serviced professionally, correctly
and in a skilled, timely matter is extremely important. Stylist can find this
as confusing and sometimes misleading as it was when going through the process
of buying new shears. We expect this topic to generate a large amount of
questions, and we will do our best to answer them all in easy to understand
terms.
Getting your professional Haircutting shears serviced can be
a frustrating and sometimes scary process, we hope to arm you with info on The how and
who and where you can find proper service. And know how to recognize good
service.You will learn what questions to ask before handing them over to any service company or person.
Why is service important?
Why it must be done correctly?
How to find a quality service company.
Common myths and misconceptions about servicing your shears.
What is the Stylists responsibility in keeping their edges in top notch shape?
All these questions and more will be discussed and answered,
one at a time under this topic.
Current topic under this post - why it’s important to service your shears.
Next topic - How to find or get quality service, What to look for and ask your service company.
Current topic under this post - why it’s important to service your shears.
Next topic - How to find or get quality service, What to look for and ask your service company.
16 comments:
First let’s tackle why it’s important to service your shears.
All Professional shears were designed and manufactured to be sharpened as needed. Doesn’t matter if it’s a cutting shear or Thinner’s/Texturizer’s, doesn’t matter if it’s right handed or left. Curved blades and stacked sets should also be serviced
As many of you know shears can be very expensive, in order to get a greater return on your investment you want to be able to use them as long as possible.
All shears go dull over time, every single one. There are a few company’s and or salespeople that will try to tell you their line never needs sharpening and that is incorrect and very untrue!
You will run into Stylist that will state
“I’ve had my shears sharpened and they never work right or worked at all, so now I buy cheap shears and throw them away when they go dull”
This statement in their case can be true, but unfortunately they used the wrong service and they were not happy with the results. It does not need to be this way. Most of you would rather not use cheap throw away tools.
There is nothing worse than wrestling with dull shears or improperly sharpened shears. Repeating the same cut over and over again because the hair is sliding or folding in the blades is no way to spend your day. Attempting to do razor cut styling techniques with dull shears is no walk in the park. Cutting with dull shears is bad for your clients hair and very bad for your hands, wrist etc. Believe it or not most Stylists tend to cut themselves more often when their shears are dull then when nice and sharp.
Cutting with a razor sharp and a great performing pair of shears is pure pleasure and makes all your Haircutting fun and easy work. When your shears do what you want and expect them to do, this allows you to apply your skills and experience to the task at hand. Not to mention, you get your work done faster and with better quality. Hair cut with Razor sharp edges is healthier and reflects directly on your skills.
We have customers who have used the same pair of shears for 20 years or more and have had them serviced numerous times. Now that is a huge return on their original investment.
Having a quality pair of shears followed by quality service can make your job much easier. You will not be forced to purchase shears in order to keep cutting. In fact you can purchase more shears and add them to your collection if you so choose, instead of just replacing what you have.
How many sharpening’s you can get out of a pair of shears matters on the quality of shear you purchased, how well you take care of them and the type of company you use to service them. A quality pair of shears that are used correctly and not damaged by abuse, neglect or improper service can be sharpened dozens of times.
This is just a little bit of info for you to soak in and digest, there will be plenty more as time goes by.
Thank you and enjoy.
Ed
I had my scissors sharpened a few weeks ago and they are just not right, I called the guy back and he came in and adjusted them and said they would be fine, they are not! I'm done with using his service. What can I do and can they be re sharpened? They are sharkfin 6 inch. I cant see what's wrong with them but honestly I do not know what I am looking at.
Anonymous @October 5, 2013 at 4:54 PM
First of all you have every right to demand that your shears are sharpened to your satisfaction or your money refunded. You paid for a service and you deserve satisfaction.
If this does not work out you can send them to Totally Shears and we will make them right and we guarantee our work. But its not right you will have to pay for this twice.
What kind of service did you use? was it portable at your salon, out in a van or a pick up and drop off service? I know it wasn't mail order because you said he came back in. Was it a specialized Hairstyling shears service or general grinding company that sharpens anything and everything?
More info from you can help me answer you with more detail.
Contact us anytime info@totallyshears.com
Thanks
Ed
I'm in desperate need of sharpening, But I only have 1 pair of cutters, not counting my thinners etc. How can I give them up or send them back to the company who sold them to me. I really do not want to invest in another pair they were 500$ when I bought them 1 year ago.
Brenda,
You are in the same boat as a few other stylists out there. I can understand you not wanting to spend tons of un-necessary money on multiple shears, but every single stylist out there MUST have at least 2 cutting shears minimum. Besides the getting them sharpened what will you do if you drop them or damage them in some way that you cant finish the hair cut or the rest of the days or weeks cuts?
And yes this happens every single day. And most stylists do not like lending their shears out and that's understandable for sure.
Many stylist have several shears of all types, for those that don't you have a couple options.
What were you using before you bought the last pair? can they be serviced so that you end up with another cutting shears with a very small investment. We haven't come across to many shears we couldn't make like new again.
Option 2 Purchase another pair, It doesn't have to be another 500$ pair, but get something you will like using, feels good in your hand and performs well. You can find decent back up pairs for 100$ or more or less. Just don't get something so inexpensive that you dread using them when you send your good pair out for service. A second pair has other advantages also, use them for your bulk cuts, dry cuts, beards etc. and keep that type of work away from your favorite pair and they will last longer :)
But I will stress 1 last time, every single stylist MUST
2 cutting shears MINIMUM.
Thanks
Ed
His card said sharpening services for salons, barbers, groomers and restaurants. When I go back to work Tuesday I will call him and see if I can get a refund. I know I have 3 old shears at the salon 1 is a old Jowell, another one is a centrixe 575 and I cant remember the other one, I never had them sharpened, when they wore out I just bought another. I really liked my newest one and had a hard time deciding to buy them because they were so expensive, I really thought they would last longer its only been a year.
You say some or all of my old ones can be saved? That would be far better than buying another one. The Joewell was my favorite at the time. I will contact you after I find my shears and call him Tuesday.
To: October 5, 2013 at 9:20 PM
If you have never had your old shears sharpened and they do not have any severe damage We can guarantee you we can make them like new again. Sounds like we will have full factory edges to work with and just dull. Dull shears are a piece of cake, Damaged shears are more work.
Go to our web site and print out our shear service form and mail them right in.
Ed
www.totallyshears.com
Did you know Not servicing your shears as needed actually shortens their over all life span.
Although there is some truth that having them sharpened shortens their life span, this is only true if they are not serviced correctly.
Using your shear long into being way dull rounds your edges over and damages them more.
Meaning the work to restore a severely dull shear will remove more material than a normal honing service will.
Example- If you keep using severely dull shear constantly and only service them twice they can die within a few years, But if you service them as needed and keep them in tip top shape they can live for a decade or longer, even with a dozen services or more.
Ed
www.totallyshears.com
What about if I drop my shears quite often. Can you do anything ?
Unlucky,
Of course I could say DONT drop your shears, but lets be realistic here, everyone drops their shears at one time or another, some more than others but it happens. And points out the reason all Stylists must have more than 1 cutting pair.
First, If your tension is set properly it will help your blades stayed closed as they are bouncing around on the floor, If the blades stay closed the chance of damage or nicks is far less. If your tension is to loose the shears will most likely open and the chances for damage is far greater.
Second, Invest in the rubber matts for the floor around your chair, Helps cushion your tools when they fall and they are very good for you with for standing on your feet all day.
Now for the silly things that were tried and failed in the past. Many moons ago when Kasho and Kikui
ceramics were being promoted someone tried selling a bracelet that had a fine chain attached to the bracelet and your ceramic shears, preventing them from hitting the ground, It failed to impress Stylists and did not sell. It was a real pain to work with, as you can imagine.
This question will fit in with safe storage of your shears, and that will be coming up soon.
Ed
www.totallyshears.com
Don't be afraid to sign in and use your Google I.D. or any other Acct. I.D. you wish to use. As you can see this will be a respectful sharing of information and education. No one needs to be shy.
We are all professionals here.
Of course you can use your Harry Leee ID Abe, I've enjoyed answering your questions. This is why this site exist, to help you learn about your Haircutting shears.
Why is it better to send my shears off to a full service sharpener versus a guy & a van who comes to my salon?
Hair Again,
I could write a novel answering your question, I will try to condense my answer and maybe break it down into separate post.
To start with, Most of the mobile sharpeners are general grinders/sharpeners, meaning they travel around grinding anything with an edge. Knives, axes, lawn mower blades, garden tools, barbers and groomers etc. Hairstyling shears are very unique in design, steel and function. No other tool out there with an edge is even close to your Haircutting shears. There are a very small few of the mobile companies who specialize in Haircutting shears exclusively, out of these few even fewer have had the right training and are using the right equipment. We believe there is a very small amount of these mobile companies who can do good sharpening on a shear with no damage and just dull. But if your shear needs major work because of abuse, neglect or bad sharpening, you can even add bad design and manufacturing to this list, we don’t believe mobile sharpeners have the equipment or training to handle these situations properly.
Many of you have seen the ads in beauty magazines, “ learn the art of scissor sharpening” This usually means a person off the street answers the ad, buys a “sharpening machine” and anything from a few hours to 1-2 days of training, sometimes the training is a video or pamphlet. First, we don’t believe in shear sharpening machines, believe us when we say the factory is not using machines like this when they do the finish work on your shears. 2nd promoting the fact that you can teach someone a skill like this in hours or 1-2 days cheapens our profession and is false.
Factory services, like ours for example, are always in a complete service environment and non-mobile, in our case, our founder and master craftsman worked in manufacturing handmade shears and running a large service center for sharpening and repair work. We use the same equipment and machinery the factory’s used when doing the finish work and finish sharpening on your shears at the factory, Now add 25 years of perfecting those skills and we believe we offer one of the best shear services in the country. We have no desire or reason to be mobile, so we are never limited in the amount and size of the machinery we have and use. Do you think if you visited a manufacturer you would find the finish craftsman out in the parking lot in a van finishing the shear with a “sharpening machine”? No, you won’t.
If you currently are using any kind of sharpening service and you are happy with the work and your shears always feel like brand new every time, stick with them and stay loyal to them. Good service is very hard to find and you are one of the few lucky ones.
Part 2
But here are a few things to look for and ask about.
1-A proper service will always restore your edges to feeling and cutting as good or better as the day you bought them. There is absolutely no need for the statements you here from many stylist like “ once my shears were sharpened they never cut like when they were new and they just don’t feel right” This should not happen.
2-Professional shears should be able to be sharpened many times, 12 or more easily, making your investment last for a decade or longer. If your sharpener has only serviced them 2-3-4 times and then gives you “they are worn out and you need a new pair” This is also wrong.
Be very careful about words like “factory trained” or “certified” being used by a sharpening company. We will have a separate post and discussion about these terms soon. But most of the time these words are not what you think they mean.
In closing, Profession haircutting shears with the correct service can last you for a decade and longer, they can and should be serviced many times. After service they should always feel and cut like brand new. You should never struggle with a cut or not be able to do razor cutting after having them serviced.
Don’t let the convenience and lower price of “on the spot” sharpening be a determining factor on how you have your shears serviced. You will learn that sending your shears off to a qualified full service company, even if it involves mailing them in, will be well worth the extra effort and wait on your end. Our service center has a very fast in shop turnaround time, 24 hours and many times same day. And every stylist should always have more than 1 cutting shear, so having something to use while they are gone should never be an issue.
We will add another comment right after this comment about how to test your shears when buying or after having them serviced. We urge you to read this one also because it fits in with this topic.
I’m sure this topic will generate many questions, so fire away.
Ed
Totallyshears.com
Our post on Hairbrained on testing shears for sharpness.
A good point in looking for if your shear is sharp or sharpened correctly is testing it in many ways.
There is a thought that if you can cut without hair pushing your shear is razor sharp! Not true, there are many things that can make a shear cut without hair pushing but still be a dull shear and cannot do razor cutting techniques like slide cuts and slither cuts etc.
First example, Serrated edges! They will cut through any hair without pushing the hair but they are by no means sharp.
Second example, Sharpeners who grind a bevel into your blades and create a burr on the inside blade, This burr will act like a serrated blade and will allow the shear to cut without any hair pushing but they will not do any razor techniques well, or at all sometimes. And when the burr brakes away after a few cuts they usually will not perform at all. I think this is one of the biggest reason's so many stylists say after sharpening their shears never cut the same again. Not true with the correct service.
When you get your shear's back from service company's like I just mentioned, try to slide cut, try to shave the hair on your arm. This will tell you if they were done correctly and are razor sharp. Many shears that pass the no push test can still fail these test. If you have a magnifying glass or jewelers loupe available look at the outside edge carefully, If you your shear was a convexed edge before it was serviced it should still be one after, look very carefully to see if a bevel has been ground into your edge. Many shear services grind bevels into convexed edges, make sure yours does not.
there is no such thing as a semi convexed edge in my opinion. Blades have a convexed edge or a beveled edge, no matter how small the bevel is, its still a bevel.
Ed
totallyshears.com
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