Frequently asked questions

Salon stylists: every six to twelve months. Barbers and pet groomers: every three to eight months, because of higher closure counts and more abrasive working conditions. Before booking a service, check tension and clean the pivot — those two account for a large share of shears that seem blunt. Full detail in our sharpening guide.

Cutting shears have two solid blades and remove everything in the section. Thinning shears have one toothed blade, so some hair is held clear while the rest is cut — removing weight without removing length. Tooth count determines how much comes out per closure.

They will cut, but they are the wrong tool. Human shears are shorter, lighter and pointed, which is a genuine puncture risk on an animal that can move without warning. Coats also carry grit that dulls fine convex edges quickly. See our grooming guide.

In order of likelihood: tension is too loose, the edge is worn, or debris is packed around the pivot. Run the drop test first — it takes ten seconds and solves the problem more often than anything else.

Hold the shear vertically with tips upward, open the top blade to about 90 degrees and release it. It should fall roughly half to two-thirds of the way closed and stop. Falling fully closed means too loose; barely moving means too tight.

Up to about $400, clearly yes for full-time professionals — you get hand-finished convex geometry, better ergonomics and much longer intervals between sharpenings. Beyond that the returns narrow. The steepest value in the whole market is the step from $50 to $150, where a shear becomes serviceable rather than disposable.

Rest the closed shear's finger ring in your palm crease with the blade along your fingers: the tip should reach the end of your middle finger. Most salon stylists land at 5.5"–6.0", barbers at 6.5"–7.0", groomers at 7.5"–8.5". Between two sizes, take the shorter.

Yes, and it is mechanical rather than a preference. A true left-handed shear reverses the blade orientation so your natural closing motion presses the blades together. A flipped right-handed shear does the opposite — hair folds, and you compensate with a sustained inward thumb pull that loads the tendon.

A continuously curved blade face running to a very fine edge, which lets hair slide rather than catch. You need it if you slide cut, point cut or texturise dry. If you cut mostly wet and blunt, a beveled edge will serve you longer for less money.

Look for a complete specification: steel with origin, hardness, edge type, length, handle type and weight. Check for an adjustable tension system rather than a rivet. Check the listing names a specific model rather than just a brand. And check the price against authorised dealers — a 40% discount usually means counterfeit, grey market or a different model.

Loose tension is the most common cause, followed by a worn edge and then pivot debris. On notched shears, hair packed into the tooth gaps also causes pulling. Work through the diagnosis table in our maintenance guide.

Wipe both blades dry after every client, wipe with a barely damp cloth and dry fully at the end of the day, put one drop of shear oil at the pivot, and store closed in a case. Check tension weekly with the drop test. That is roughly forty seconds a day and it is the difference between a three-year shear and a ten-year one.

Shear oil specifically. Not clipper oil (too thin to stay at the pivot), not sewing machine oil (gums over time), and never a penetrating spray such as WD-40, which strips lubrication and leaves residue that attracts debris.

30–35 for general weight removal — that is the one to buy first. 40–46 for fine hair and soft finishing. 14–20 for visible texture. Under 16 with wide T-teeth for chunking. Counter-intuitively, more teeth removes less hair.

Both, in order. Wet gives control and clean lines for structural work; dry shows how the hair actually falls and behaves, which is what refinement needs. Point cutting and slide cutting are dry techniques — done wet, the effect disappears as the hair dries.

6.5"–7.0" offset shears, usually semi-convex, because scissor-over-comb rewards covering more comb per pass and dry coarse hair is hard on edges. Most barbers keep a 5.0"–5.5" shear alongside for beard work, necklines and around the ears.

A genuinely sharp convex edge at 5.5"–6.0", with no micro-serration. Curls are structurally weakest at every bend, and a blade that pushes rather than slices frays them. Use notched shears very sparingly and never near the root.

Not convex ones. Restoring convex geometry requires a flat rotating wheel, the correct abrasive progression and the skill to work the blade angle through the curve. A bad sharpening — particularly a flat bevel ground onto a convex blade — is permanent damage.

A well-made shear that is cleaned daily, oiled, tension-checked and professionally sharpened on schedule will stay in service for a decade or more. The practical limit is usually fifteen to twenty-five sharpenings before the blade geometry is spent.

The polished band behind the cutting edge on the inner face of each blade, where the two blades bear against each other as they close. If a sharpener grinds it away, the shear will never hold tension properly again.

Not functionally. Shear Damascus is a decorative cladding of folded layers around a hard core alloy — usually VG-10 or a cobalt steel. The core does all the cutting. Buy Damascus because you want the object, not because you expect a different cut.

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