Why is it so important to find the right pair of shears? Because using the wrong shear can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, bursitis, rotator cuff, and other RSI symptoms that affect your hand, arm, shoulder, neck and back.
However, using the right ergonomic shear can prevent, or even eliminate pain throughout your body. This is why, with the hairdresser in mind, Sam Villa has invested a great deal of time designing his tools to be ergonomically correct. Take the Sam Villa Shears as an example, Villa consulted a doctor to ensure that they actually feel good in the hand and reduce and eliminate pain — something that is essential to every hairdresser.
To learn more about why it's important to find the right pair of shears keep reading.
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Eliminate Neck & Shoulder Pain
Do you feel pain or soreness in your neck or shoulder while cutting hair? For many stylists this happens because traditional shear handles force you to raise your elbow while cutting hair.
Imagine cutting hair pain-free! It's possible with Sam Villa shears. The ergonomic thumb position on Sam Villa shears forces your elbow down while you cut, eliminating neck and shoulder pain.
What To Look For When Buying New Shears
HANDLE DESIGN
One important way that shears differ from one another is in the way their handles are designed. The three most common handle designs are opposing grip, offset grip and crane grip. What are the main difference and why does the handle design matter?
Opposing Grip Shear
When cutting with an opposing grip shear, the cutting finger and thumb are in alignment (in a stacked position). Since the thumb is being forced back slightly, many stylists find these shears to be less comfortable that offset grip and crane grip shears.
This cutting position forces your elbow up while you cut and also requires more thumb movement to open and close the shear. Also, notice how the wrist is bent in an unnatural position, placing additional strain on the hand and wrist.
Offset Grip Shear
Offset grip shears are a much more common style of shear, because many stylists find them to be more comfortable than opposing grip shears. Why? Because the thumb does not need to travel as far while cutting as it would with opposing grip shears.This reduced distance of travel reduces stress on the thumb tendon, and helps reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.
While this handle design provides more ergonomics and comfort compared to opposing grip shears, this design still forces your elbow up while cutting and also requires significant thumb motion when opening and closing the shear.
Crane Grip Shear
Crane grip shears are the most modern and ergonomically healthy design that offers the most benefits. The extreme offset thumb opens the hand and forces your elbow into a dropped position. This design relieves stress on both the shoulder and wrist for stylists who use the classic palm-to-palm cutting technique.
The crane grip design is the most ergonomic of the three handle designs, allowing you to cut in various positions with your hand relaxed and your elbow in a lowered position.
BLADE MATERIAL
The material your shear is made from will determine how long it can go without sharpening and how fine the edge can be (sharpness). There are other factors that impact the lifespan of your shears such as how often you clean them and check that you're using proper tension. If you are unwilling to maintain your shears on a regular basis, then no matter how much you pay for your shears and/or the quality of the blade material, they will not perform as well as they could.
FORGED VS CAST BLADES
What is Casting
In this casting process, liquid metal is poured into a mold and then allowed to cool and harden into one piece. The downside to casting is that as the metal cools in the mold, it expands leaving the molecules more separated. This can allow the shears to become brittle and chip or nick more easily.
What is Forging
During the forging process, the handle and the blades are made separately, often in different grades of steel. They are then welded together. Compression force is used to shape the metal pressing the molecules closer together. This process creates a longer lasting edge.
It is virtually impossible to tell the two apart by sight. Both types of shears can be made poorly and end up in your drawer never to be used again. This is where the integrity and reputation of the company you are buying from comes into play, since there is no way of knowing exactly what it is that you are buying. You have better chances of buying quality shears when you buy them from a reputable company that has been around for many years. Also, be sure to check out the reviews and what people are saying about how they perform.
All Sam Villa shears are compression forged to ensure excellent balance, proper blade alignment and a sharper and longer-lasting edge.
What Size Shears Should I Use
Many new haircutters and even some experienced stylists are under the common misconception that the length of their shears should be determined by the size of their hand. In reality this is simply not the case.
Different sized shears are used to perform different cutting techniques. See below for our shear recommendations based on the technique you're using.
ONE-LENGTH CUTTING
(such as cutting a bob line)
When cutting a “bob line” the hair is combed down against the neckline. Here a longer blade will allow the stylist to make fewer cuts to connect the line all the way across. This allows for a ‘cleaner’ line and will significantly reduce the time this effect will take you to create.
Shear Recommendations:
CUTTING ON THE SKIN
(hairline)
As with "bob line" cutting, when cutting on the skin longer shears will allow a stylist to cut longer sections and get cleaner looks more easily. It is also worth mentioning that a forward set thumb handle also helps when cutting on the skin as it lifts the hand away from the body due to its innovative design.
Shear Recommendations:
SCISSOR OVER COMB
For this technique the comb will pick up a wider section of hair than your fingers. By using a longer blade you will be able to cut the hair cleanly without it falling out of the comb. This benefits the stylist as it requires less effort and most importantly less time. Another benefit of a longer blade on shear over comb is that the weight of the blade allows the shear to do the work as well.
Shear Recommendations:
SLIDE CUTTING
If you attempt a slide cut with a shorter blade, your hand will move through the section you have just cut due to it being in close proximity to the blades. Because of this it is necessary to comb it again to see what you have accomplished. This hassle and time consuming practice can easily be eliminated with longer blades as it will allow you to slide your blades into the hair without having to move the hair with your hand.
Shear Recommendations:
CUTTING AROUND THE FACE
With short scissor blades your hand will no doubt be in your clients face and in some cases can leave the finger rest of some shears dangerously close to the individual’s eye. A longer blade here will allow you to cut your clients hair with your hand a comfortable distance back from their face. The benefits of this are that you can see what you are doing better and the client has a more comfortable experience. Plus you are able to leave the hand and wrist in a neutral position while cutting in many different angles.
Shear Recommendations:
Better: 6" Signature Series Swivel Shear
How many shears do you need and what purpose does each serve? Watch Video
