What To Do When You First Get Your New Haircutting Shears

It's everyone's favorite time of day ! The postman has dropped off a package for you. It's your new pair of haircutting shears. We know how excited you are ! Those Matsui's you ordered are a great pair of high quality shears, so it is important to treat them right! Here are a few things you need to do to prepare your shears for a big day of hair cutting!

Let's Clean Those Shears

Your hair cutting shears have been sharpened properly by a professional blade smith before sent to you. They were handcrafted from Japanese steel and then checked over and sharpened by our blade smiths. These scissors are sharp and ready to go. However we recommend giving them a good cleaning first. Regular cleaning of your scissors will help ensure they stay nice and sharp for you. It is especially important to clean them before using, as sometimes in the sharpening process a little metal dust can be left on the blades. Without proper cleaning this may affect the first haircut.

When you opened your scissors you may have noticed a little scissor maintenance in your protective case. This kit is there to help you care for your hair cutting shears. Inside you will find a soft cloth. Use this cloth to wipe your blades clean. Make sure to do this as soon as you get your shears, but also multiple times throughout the day. Leaving hair or moisture to sit on your scissors can damage them or rust them.

Oil Your Shears

We have oiled your haircutting scissors before they left to come to you, however you may want to do it yourself as well. This is why we include a scissor oil pen in your kit! Oiling your hair shears should be done everyday ! We usually recommend doing it after your last client.

To properly oil your hair cutting scissors, place a small drop of oil at the pivot point of your hair cutting scissors. The pivot point is where the two hair cutting blades meet. Often hair and other dirt can get trapped in here. Open and close your scissor blades slowly. This will move the oil around and loosen any debris that is stuck. Use your soft cloth to wipe any excess oil off the scissor blades. Always be careful not to use too much oil and to make sure you remove any leftover oil.

Check That Tension!

Often if your hair cutting scissors are not feeling right or giving an unsatisfactory cut , it's because you do not have the right tension. Cutting hair with hair cutting scissors that are not properly tensioned can often mimic dull blades.Your new pair of scissors may feel off, don't panic ! Check your tension.

Hold your hair cutting scissors from their handle, blades pointing up. Lift the thumb rings until the scissors open completely. Drop the thumb ring. If your scissors close completely or anything less than 20 degrees your scissors are too loose. If you drop the ring and it doesn't move very far, or your blades are more than 45 degrees, your tension is too tight. The proper tension will have your blades at about 45 degrees.

In your scissors case we have included a tension adjuster. These are one of your important scissor maintenance tools. To adjust the tension use this adjuster at the screw at the pivot point of your hair cutting scissors. To tighten it, turn it one small step to the right. Always do this part slowly, as not to over tighten your scissors. To loosen the tension, turn the screw slightly to the left. Again be careful not to over loosen your scissors.

Get the proper fit !

In your kit you will find a few rubber rings. These are your finger inserts, they are there to ensure you get the best fit of your shears. It is important that your hair cutting scissors fit properly. If they are too loose there is a risk of you dropping your brand new shears ! Dropping your hair cutting scissors can lead to damaged blades and lots of tears! If your hair cutting scissors are too loose your scissors will move around on your fingers. This can lead to you changing your hand and wrist placement as you cut hair. Cutting hair like this can lead to pain, discomfort and even injury of your wrist, a stylists worst nightmare!

Your hair cutting scissors have two holes for your fingers, one for your thumb and one for your ring finger. Your ring finger hole should always sit between your first and second knuckle. It is important to make sure you have a little wiggle room so that you can move your scissors around as you cut hair. Your thumb ring should sit by the cuticle of your nail. If this ring is too tight you may struggle to remove your thumb when holding your hair cutting scissors.

Other Tips for your Shears

We want your quality haircutting shears to last you for as long as possible , which is why we always stress how to maintain them! Here are a few more tips.

• Always properly store your haircutting shears in a protective case. Too often hairdressers leave their shears on their station and accidents happen!
• Always use a professional sharpening service to sharpen your shears! If you feel your shears bend, push or pull hair, call for them to sharpen your shears!
• Get your shears sharpened at least once a year!
• Consider a station mat or scissor pouch/ holster. A station mat will give you a safe place to keep your shears at your salon station, preventing slips or bumps and keeping them away from moisture. A pouch will keep your scissors, comb and other tools on you at all times!
• Proper use of your shears is a must ! Do not use your fancy scissors to cut paper, string or anything else but hair !

Now get to cutting!

As a hair stylist or barber we know you are so ready to use those haircutting shears! Following these simple steps will keep your hair cutting shears in their best shape for many years to come !