FAQ Page2019-02-19T21:43:43+01:00
The Most Important Aspects of a Scissor are:2014-11-20T11:41:09+01:00

STEEL – What type of steel alloy the scissor is made from. What grade of steel is it? 300 series, 400 series, etc.
This is the general metallurgical composition of the scissor.
PROCESS – The processing of this steel. Is it forged, cast, or sintered metal. Was it heat treated correctly, ice tempered, etc.? Even the best steel can be next to useless in a scissor if it is processed badly.
MANUFACTURE – The manufacture of the scissor. Is it convexed or beveled. Is it hollow ground? If so, is the rake angle correct, etc.?

What Does Ice Tempering Mean?2019-02-19T21:43:47+01:00

The word “ice” is so popular that a lot of regular carbon steel scissors and shears proclaim to be Ice Tempered, which does not make any sense technically.
Some people even think “ICE” is a brand name.
The important thing to remember is that ice tempering is only beneficial on stainless steel.

In a simplified form, stainless steel is regular steel with chromium added to make the steel more rust resistant, thus “stainless” steel.
The disadvantage of the high content of chromium in stainless steel is that the cutting edges dull quicker.
To overcome this, the steel is subjected to very low temperatures (frozen or “ice tempered”), to optimize the steel structure for hardness.

This is how it works:
To make steel hard, it has to be heat treated. With stainless steel, that means heating the steel above 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
At that temperature the structure of the material is at its optimum. To preserve this structure, the steel is cooled rapidly (quenched) and tempered at about 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now you have a pretty good hardness and flexibility on your tool except that the chromium in the steel will not permit a long lasting cutting edge. To make the cutting edge last longer, the steel is subjected to about 120 degrees below zero; in other words, “Ice Tempered”. The tool is not much harder, but the steel structure is at its optimum. It is virtually impossible to prove or disprove if ice tempering was done, without a steel analysis.

The only proof is how many cuts one can get with a scissor or shear before it dulls.
What is a drop forged shear?2019-02-19T21:43:47+01:00

Slide-testPieces of steel are heated up red hot and put in a die that looks somewhat like a cake form in the shape of the shear or tool.

Half of the form is fastened to a big anvil; the other half of the die is attached to the ram which acts like a hammer.

The ram comes down on the steel, forging the pliable steel into the die and giving the steel the form of the future shear.

These drop hammers are up to 20 feet high, standing on a 10-foot deep foundation.

The ram can weigh 1000 lbs. or more. Because of variances in dimensions of the shears, some of the hot steel is being squeezed out of the die cavity.

This creates a large burr which is cut off under heavy presses. Now the still hot shear forgings are cooled off under controlled conditions to eliminate any internal stress. They are then tempered and trimmed.

What is a Cast shear?2014-11-20T11:48:48+01:00

Molten metal poured into a mold that is formed to the desired shape.

The casting process leaves the molecules of the metal in such a configuration that the metal becomes very brittle and can be broken if dropped or if the sharpener tries to re-set the blade by bending.

Cast scissors are harder and the edge will last longer than a forged scissor but the drawback is that they can break easily.

What is a blanked shear?2019-02-19T21:43:47+01:00


Most less expensive shears are blanked out. Strips of steel are cut out in the form of a shear, like rolled cookie dough is shaped with cookie cutters. The cheaper version of the “Blanked” shears are then ground into shape. For a better quality the cut out “Blanks” are put into a powerful press and the blade is squeezed into shape. Thereby the steel near the edge is compressed and the cutting edges last longer. This means that not all cheaper shears are equally cheap. Drop forged tools and shears are far superior to blanked ones. The material flow of the hot metal being forged and pounded into the cavity gives the steel a much denser structure, better quality and ultimately longer life.

German or Japanese: What’s the Difference?2019-02-19T21:43:47+01:00

What is a Japanese Style scissor?

Is it different than a German Style scissor? Is one better than the other for different uses?

Is there a difference in caring for different scissors?

These are a few of many questions constantly asked in the beauty industry today.

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