How to Sharpen Professional Hair Scissors
Keeping beautician scissors sharp is essential to properly cutting hair. When the scissors are sharp, they will cut the hair better and not leave jagged ends. When the scissors are dull, they can "tear" the hair leaving it looking frayed and frizzy at the ends. Professional hair scissors can be extremely expensive ($400 and more); instead of buying a new pair when the old ones dull, learn to sharpen the scissors to continue receiving great cuts while saving money. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Open the scissors blades. Hold the sharpening stone in one hand and place the edge of one of the blades against the stone.
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Strike the blade, carefully and slowly, forward and diagonally against the stone.
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Move the scissors from the point of the blade forward to the pivot, not back and forth. Always move the blade against the stone and away from your body.
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Place the second blade onto the stone and repeat the sharpening process.
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Open and close the scissors quickly. This will discard stone shavings from the blade.
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Run a damp paper towel over the blades to wipe them clean, then run a dry paper towel over the blades to dry them.
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Test the sharpness of blades by simply cutting a line on a piece of paper.
Look closely at the cut on paper: If the paper is cut with ease and the line is perfectly straight and clean, the scissors are sharpened properly. If the paper has to be cut with slight pressure or the line is jagged, the scissors are not properly sharpened and need to be resharpened.
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Tips & Warnings
Sharpening stones can be found most hardware stores.
A new sharpening stone should be soaked in a pot of light machine oil overnight.
Always sharpen the blade away from your body to avoid injury. Never hold onto the blade; hold the scissors at the pivot point.
When cleaning blades, always dry them thoroughly. Even the slightest bit of moisture left on the blades can cause them to rust and/or dull.
References
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Comments
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Don't forget step 8.... where you take this weeks paycheck and replace the shears that just got destroyed following the last 7 steps. Sharpening shears is hard, even with years of experience. It's why you need to find a GOOD sharpener that specializes in scissors, convexing, and maybe clipper blades. Once the steel is removed there's no putting it back, and the geometry that the manufacturer provided to give you max performance is lost. Truth is that only about 1 in 10 sharpeners should ever be allowed to touch your tools, and that includes the factories. (Factory sharpening is a sales scam). Ask around to find who is good in your area. It would be a mistake for me to cut my own hair, but at least it would grow back, your edge won't. I've made quite a bit of money over the years fixing blades and scissors that husbands and boyfriends tried to sharpen!
