When choosing a scissor always take into consideration your dog grooming experience. If you are a student or home groomer starting out, look for a scissor that offers a serrated edge. The serrated edge will help you grip the hair and give you a better feel and finish. The weight also plays a part, as does comfort and control.
For feet, face and delicate areas, start with a small blue nose scissor for safety, only when you feel confident can you upgrade to a small pointed scissor for those areas.
A scissor that is more than 7" long from tip of the blade to the end of the finger ring, not including the finger rest will be classed as a finishing scissor. The finishing scissor is designed for body and legs, giving a much better finish than a small blade scissor. If you use a smaller scissor you stand the chance of making an error and then will have to correct, which could lead to a bald dog.
The correct way of holding a scissor is by placing your third finger in the finger hole with your first two fingers resting on the shank and the little finger on the finger rest. The thumb is placed in the thumb hole and provides the scissoring action. No other finger should move. It is recommended for all students to daily exercise the thumb to encourage a better scissoring action.
To help with hand fatigue choose a scissor that has a short shank with a long blade, this way the scissor will work better for you, than you working the scissor. Bent shanks are designed to run parallel with the body to enable a better eye line., keeping your fingers out of the way. However they are not very popular.
Scissors are now manufactured in a range of different steels and processes which can be very confusing when choosing a scissor. The most popular is stainless steel which is a good work horse and will last for years if care is taken. Carbon steel is an economical metal which gives a good edge, however as the metal is quite porous it is advised that after use the scissor should be wiped, oiled and stored away.
An Ice Tempered scissor is given the name from the manufacturing process and creates a longer sharper edge. To make the cutting edge hard it is subjected to a heat process, whereby it is heated to around 2000 degrees F and then preserved by cooling the steep rapidly to 450 degrees F.
To enable a good cutting edge the scissor is manufactured by having two curved blades facing one another. The blades should have a point of contact the whole way along the blade, right up to the tip. If the tension is adjusted take care as this could cause the scissor to be over tightened or become loose resulting in the hair folding.
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