Hairdressing Scissor Advice
A good philosophy is to buy the best you can afford. With this in mind establish your budget and then purchase a scissor that achieves what you want at a price you can afford.
Blade Material
The most critical aspect of scissor performance is the blade material and the manufacturing techniques to treat the blade under vacuum and heat to the correct hardness.
The softer bladed cast scissors are often finished with a bevel or serrated edge which is suitable for ‘scissor over comb’ barbering techniques, but little else.
Alloys such as molybdenum, are added to the steel of the Greenwich Green Sapphire range to improve the durability and hardness, enabling the scissor to be finished with a finer edge. The bevel is replaced with a convex /Hamaguri edge. The finer the edge the easier the stylist will be able to perform other techniques, such as slicing.
The Diamond range of Greenwich Green scissors have vanadium and cobalt alloys added to provide the finest edge possible.
Scissor Manufacture
It is generally accepted that there are three methods of manufacture for scissors, casting, forging, and the two-piece design method.
Casting is the least expensive but produces the poorest quality scissors. Molten metal is poured in to a mould much like moulding a desert jelly.
Forging is where the metal is hammered and folded numerous times under heat and pressure. This has the advantage of providing a blade with a soft ‘flexible’ core with a hard outer layer with superior wear resistance.
The Two-Piece Design combines the advantage of a forged blade with a handle made from steel more suitable to the application. Scissors made in the traditional two-piece design can be re-set should the need arise. Two-piece design scissors are the most expensive to manufacture but can be of the finest quality.
All Greenwich Green scissors are made in the traditional two-piece design.
Choice of Scissor Length
A senior stylist will have a range of scissors that they will use for different cutting techniques, so consider whether you are replacing an existing scissor or complimenting your scissor portfolio.
As a general rule longer scissors are more versatile, however, if this is your first scissor purchase you may like to ensure that the scissor ‘fits’ your hand. Borrow a scissor from a colleague and measure the length of the blade against the length of the inside of your index finger. When these are about the same the scissor will feel nicely ‘balanced’ in your hand.
Texturising Shear Selection
The better quality texturising shears have a toothed blade and a cutting blade. In the Japanese design the toothed blade is towards the stylist and the moving or cutting blade on the more powerful thumb. This configuration allows the stylist to ‘see’ the cut easier.
Texturising shears are referred to by the number of teeth. The more and finer the teeth, the better suited the shear to blending. A shear with fewer and wider teeth is used to create broader texture, disconnected choppy looks, cutting close to the scalp or as an alternative to chipping-in with a cutting scissor.
Many of the scissors in the Greenwich Green range have a multi-step tooth design which helps to break up the line often evident in the hair from a texturising scissor.