Shears are a crucial tool in a stylist's arsenal. The steel those shears are made of determines the durability and dependability. Read on to find out what types of steel are the right choice for your shears.
All hair cutting shears are made with stainless steel that is manufactured in either Japan, Korea, Germany, China, India or Pakistan. The steel made in Japan is regarded as the best scissor steel in the world. Korean and Chinese steels are good, but tend to be a little softer metal and do not hold an edge as well as Japanese steels. German steel is very hard steel, usually too hard to sharpen to a razor edge. Pakistani and Indian steels are the poorest quality and do not sharpen or hold an edge well.
The process of making good scissor steel is the result of an exact recipe in which several ores, alloys and elements are combined in a well-balanced mixture that gives you just the right cutting tool. CARBON is the principal hardener in steel. The more carbon that is added, the harder it gets. Carbon content should be between .95 and 1.2% of the finished steel. A steel that is too hard will not perform well for slide or dry cutting. MOLYBDENUM adds toughness and increases corrosion resistance to chemicals that can cause pitting and dulling. MANGANESE contributes to the tensile strength of the blade, so that it will retain its edge longer. CHROMIUM protects against corrosion and also adds heat resistance so that the steel will maintain its desired properties during forging and finishing. VANADIUM adds toughness and fatigue resistance so that the scissor will maintain its set and balance. COBALT and TITANIUM are also added to some steels to increase hardness and decrease weight, and adding these alloys will result in the finest scissor steel. Keep in mind, however, that COBALT and TITANIUM are only additives to stainless steel, No scissor is made of 100% cobalt or titanium or any other alloy. That would be like trying to make a chocolate cake out of nothing but cocoa powder.
Good quality stainless steels are divided into categories depending on the alloys used in their production. Good stainless steel categories range from 440A to 440C, S-1 to S-3 (also called “Silver”) Tooling Steels, the “V” steels ( ranging from “V-1” to “V-10 Gold”), to the highest grade of Japanese steel: Hitachi’s ATS-314. The ATS-314 steel is the finest, most expensive scissor steel in the world. Don’t be misled by terms such as “Damascus Steel” (a steel that has not been produced since the 1700”s) or “Miracle Steel” or Smart Steel”. These do not represent actual steel categories and are just hype. When purchasing your shears, you will get the best cut from a shear made with Japanese 440C, or higher grade, stainless steel. All categories above the 440 grade are considered “Cobalted” steels.
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