SALON SHEAR MAINTENANCE
Getting The Most From Your Shears
Keep them clean and oiled
At the end of every day wipe your shears off with a towel, removing any hair and product residue. Then apply a drop or two of lightweight oil to the pivot area while the blades are open. Open and close with the tips pointed down, causing the oil to flush out the area under the tension screw. Then wipe off the excess oil, close the shears, and store away. Now the shears are clean and lubricated for the next day.
Maintain proper tension
With your shears clean and oiled, hold the finger side of the shear in your left hand. Then lift the thumb handle with your right hand until the blades are fully open and let go. If the shears are clean and oiled, the blade should drop to around the 4 or 5 0'clock position. Tighten the tensioning system by turning the knob or screw clockwise. It will not take much, just a click or too. Too tight is when you feel too much resistance when you open them. You don't want to fight any tension with your thumb to open and close the blades.
Keep 'em sharp!
We recommend having any shears that you use on a regular basis serviced at least once a year. They need to be cleaned, set and balanced, even if they are still sharp within that year period. If you purchased poorer quality shears, they may need to be sharpened as many as 4 times a year. Some signs to look for that could mean your shears need sharpening:
The shears pull and tug at the hair when you go to cut it. This could be due to loose tension. Adjust them and if the tugging persists, then it is time to sharpen them.
Hand or wrist pain. Shears can become difficult to work with as the blades gets duller and it requires more effort to do the job.
Cutting sounds “crunchy.” This is usually the result of tiny nicks on the blade that are preventing it from delivering a smooth and silent cut.
The shears push the hair. This often means that the shear needs sharpening but could also be an indication that the last time they were sharpened it wasn’t done very well.