A Good, Trustworthy Place to Order Hair Shears

Hey, internet savvy hairdresser types. Sorry it’s been so quite lately… Life, you know how it is. I’m moving, most of my energy goes into work, had a number of side projects eating up my free time – Been recording the audiobook version of a friend and salon owner’s ebook, I tried making my own scissor pouch (Out of leather I cut out of an old trashed leather sofa I saw in a junkyard!), bought a ukulele… all sorts of distractions.

But I wanted to give my official bump to an online shear/accessory store I’ve dealt with a few times now. Precision Shears. Check it out if you’re in the market for shears. I really don’t know what to write about the store, I tried thinking of stuff but it sounded like the stupid customer testimonials you see on other websites. Plain and simple, every time I’ve dealt with Guy at Precision Shears I’ve been impressed, he really stands behind his store and the service he provides. And they always have the best prices on the things I want, which helps too.

And for the record, I’m definitely not being paid or bribed to promote them, I’m giving them my seal of approval because they really did impress me, and whenever anyone asks me where they should order shears from, I always recommend Precision Shears.

How good are they? Well, I ordered my Kasho shears from them, in the  States… When I live in the same city as the official Kasho importer for North America, because they have a better deal than I can get locally.

Anyways, there’s the second of my only two business endorsements. (The other being Hair Maven’s instructional DVD’s)

Cool Comb Flippy Thing

Here’s a little video (Little because I’m all bleeggghhh) showing you a cool trick.

Ps. I’m going to claim that the sickness is why I called the wrong finger my ring finger, and why I can’t talk. Definitely the sickness.

New Video On The Way!

I just recorded a video to show a cool little comb trick I picked up in my travels. I’m sick right now (I might even have to call in tomorrow…ugh…I hate calling in, I feel guilty and get all stressed out sitting in my room resting all day! o.O ) so… I doubt this video will win me any lovestruck young female fans… But what it might do is give you a cool little thing to differentiate yourself from other stylists!

 

A Look Into the Jaguar Shear Factory

Found this pretty cool lil video while browsing Youtube. I’m not a Jaguar fan, but I like seeing the nuts and bolts come together:

Check out the old school CRT (Cathode Ray Tube for all you young folk) monitors! Haha

Video Review: Sam Villa Shears

Watch in fullscreen to catch the annotations!

Since starting to shear-shop in August, I’ve played with everything I could get my hands on. You know in Wayne’s World, how Wayne asks to play with the guitar at the store and the clerk sighs “…again?”? That’s me at every salon store in this town, and the next one over.

My school has a shear dude and also carries a brand (which shall remain nameless) and I spent time  playing with a variety of those shears as well. I borrowed shears from other stylists whenever I could. I talked to every stylist I could find about what shears they use and why, and asked if I could play with them a bit. (I am a shear junkie now!)

When I started my search I knew nothing about shears or what I really wanted, and now I know what just about every shear feels like (in my hands, at least), and how a number of different brands and price points cut and wear.

I gotta say, out of all of them, these are the most comfortable shears to my hands. Of course, my hands are twice as big as the average hair stylist’s hands… So your mileage may vary.

And of course I’m not saying these are the “most comfortable shears ever”, I’m just saying I like them. You might hate them! And I can’t judge their functionality yet, because I just bought them, so maybe they’ll dull super fast, or something horrible will happen and they’ll disintegrate in my hands, to counteract how awesome the shears seem to be on the surface.

But there’s no reason to think they will, and if they do cut well, and wear well, I will certainly be getting a 5.5″ pair down the road, to go with my 6.25″ pair.

I’ll use them on clients at school for a month or two and report back on how they perform.

New Shears!

My new Kasho Blue’s are here!

They are fine shears, and with them I got a little Kasho razor and a leather Kasho holster. I was impressed with the place I ordered them from: precisionshears.com

After I had ordered, I had a question about shipping (because I was expecting to see more information in the ordering process, as you do in most online stores) so I emailed the company, and got a phone call back after the weekend, answering my questions.  That’s pretty good customer service in my opinion.

My stuff arrived quickly, and was very well packed. I’d definitely recommend them to anyone thinking of buying shears online.

Happy Birthday to Me! Kasho Blue 5.5″ Offset Shears

After all my lusting after the Sam Villa shears, I ended up ordering a pair of Kasho’s.

Kasho Blue 5.5" Offset Shears

I ordered from Precision Shears (precisionshears.com), a pair of 5.5″ offset handle Kasho Blue shears. I’ll report once I get them how the shipping and customer service from PrecisionShears.com is. I can’t wait! They have a special with Kasho shears, so I’m getting a leather pouch and razor too… Not that I need more, but hey, free stuff is free stuff!

I decided to go with the Kasho’s because they have a reputation for quality production and good steel, whereas the Sam Villas seem to me more likely to be less quality, for the same amount of money as a good pair of Kasho’s.

Papa Needs a New Pair of Shears

The more experience I get, the more I’m able to tell that my student shears are… student shears. (Seeing them at a local store for $50 didn’t help either)

So I’m on the hunt for a new pair of shears. Since it’s my birthday in a week, I figure I can treat myself to a nice pair!

But of course, it’s damn near impossible to find any good info on shears that isn’t coming from the people selling them. I’ve read through the reviews on what sites and forums I could find, and all I’ve really learned is that Japanese straight shears are usually the best, Kamisori isn’t as good as it should be for what they charge, and Hikari is pretty good. Other than that it’s hit or miss. Some people buy cheap shears on ebay often, and every now and then hit on a great pair of shears.

The more I read about shears, the more it seems like an RPG video game – you just have to grind and grind, get a lot of stuff that doesn’t fit the bill, hoping eventually some monster will drop an awesome pair of shears.

I’m really attracted to Sam Villa’s shears:

Sam Villa 6.25" Shears - $350

From his website:

6.25″ Wet Cutting Shear Features & Benefits:

• Shear made with 100% Japanese molybdenum alloy for strength and durability
• Crane Handle: Designed for ergonomic comfort and precision control
• Crane Handle Design: Keeps elbow in downward position versus opposing grip shear that forces the elbow in a raised, stressful position
• Neutral, Natural Position: Helps reduce repetitive strain injuries
• Handcrafted Convex Blades: Start out sharper and hold edge longer versus typical beveled edges
• Leaf Tension System: Extends edge life
• Teflon Lining In Pivot Point: Eliminates metal to metal grinding

The design looks perfect for me – the little finger cup thing on the end of the handle is exactly what I wish my shears had. I don’t like shears that only have one finger stabilizer thinger. But I suspect these shears are either great, or home-shopping-network-celebrity-endorsed type crap. And nobody seems to have a pair and have reviewed them (That I could find), so the only way to find out would be to purchase a pair.

Also, Sam Villa’s website/online store will not display the prices of his products until you register and log in – and they don’t make allowances for students. Only licensed professionals. Hmm….

But I’m still intrigued by the design.

For the same price point, I can get a smaller shear in Hikari’s lowest quality steel, cheapest line of shears:

5.5" Hikari "E" Series - $359

From their website:

Hikari E Series

• GOOD – Hikari’s entry level, an excellent entree to the world’s best scissors.
• Hikari’s proprietary blend of molybdenum, cobalt, and vanadium alloys (Hikari steel level 1) ensure this series performs powerfully with a sharp feel that holds up to aggressive cutting
• 5.5″ with offset handle and removable finger rest.

The salon supply stores around here are all full of Dannyco shears. There’s a million of them, in different configurations and cheesy coatings. They’re like the Swatch of the shear world.

Dannyco Shears

Dannyco Shears

Dannyco Shears

Dannyco shears (at least all the ones I’ve seen) are 440 stainless steel or Titanium coated, and cheap feeling. The texturizing shears I have are Dannyco… I’m not fond of them.

All of this might be a moot point though, if my wallet demands I buy cheaper shears… I have to check my finances to make sure I can afford to spend this much on shears. Or, I’ll have to part with a guitar amp…

Shears... or ROCKIN OUT. What would you choose?