hairdressers/ barbers scissors

[bobl]

Can I sharpen barbers/hairdressers scissors with the tormek t7 using the normal scissor jig.
do i need a different stone like the sj250 ?
Cheers.
Bob

[Rob]

The generally accepted advice is not to sharpen hairdressing scissors as they are a) extremely expensive and b) highly specialised.

[Herman Trivilino]

I agree with Rob. If they are just shears you can sharpen them, but if they are the expensive salon scissors I wouldn't dare try it. From what I've seen, they require a machine designed especially for that purpose.

[Rob]

...and as I recall those machines are pretty dam expensive in their own right.  Its a very specialised area.

[Ken S]

Good question, Bob. This question comes up from time to time. Tormek AB has never mentioned sharpening barber or salon shears in their advertising. I'm sure if the Tormek was adaptable to these, it would be an advertising point.

The very little I know about salon shears is that they are very expensive. I recall seeing the specialized machines being sold with training. This is not something a wise beginner would just jump into. This should be a serious business venture backed by enough capital to get set up AND properly trained. I would emphasize properly trained. These shears represent a major capital investment for barbers and hairdressers. They need them for their livelihood and being trusted to sharpen them should not be taken lightly.

I believe many people look at sharpening equipment the same way many people look at expensive photographic equipment. (I was the same way with photo equipment years ago.) The belief is that they can at least make enough side money to cover the cost of buying the equipment, if not make some extra. Rarely is the cost of proper training factored in or the time factor necessary to learn the craft.

You seem to have found a good niche with restaurant sharpening in your area. I would suggest you work at building that business before adding more gear or training.

Ken

[bobl]

Thank you all for your replied and advice. I shall stay well away from the Barbers. ( not just because I am bald ) haha.
Thanks.

[Allen B Sowinski]

Bobl,  Hair cutting scissors require specialized sharpening equipment similar to a surface grinder.  If you were to examine an expensive quality pair of hair cutting scissors beneath a low powered microscope, you would see very fine parallel transverse grooves lining one of the the cut edges.  The tiny grooves trap hair shafts so they cannot roll as they are cut.  A specialized hair scissor sharpening grinder actually has very tiny ridges crush dressed into a fine grained grinding wheel.   If you were to resharpen both cut edges with the scissor attachment on your Tormek, you would remove the grooves and the scissors would not perform well even though they were very sharp because the hair shafts would roll as the scissor blades closed. This same thing applies to some better quality kitchen/poultry shears that are heavy enough to cut chicken flesh.  The grooves on the kitchen/poultry shears are considerably larger but sharpening them on your Tormek would also cause them to be less aggressive with soft poultry flesh, bones and skin because the blades would tend to push the bone, flesh & skin outward as they closed - they would still cut, but not as efficiently.

[Rob]

What a brilliant response. Many thanks for taking the trouble of sharing your expertise Allen. That's the first time I've actually understood "why" salon scissors are different from normal ones

[stevebot]

To expand on these scissors/shears, there are two types:
Barbers mainly use bevel scissors that can be sharpened on a Tormek.  A dedicated scissor machine is much faster. If they have a corrugated edge leave that edge alone. Not a complete solution, but an improvement.  Charge half what you would for a regular scissor. The corrugations can be done by hand - corrugating file and fixture about 1/2 the price of a Tormek - or with a machine - cost more than a Tormek with all the attachements.
Beauticians mainly use convex style scissors developed in Japan. The inside is concave and the outside convex, coming together to form an edge with no bevel. These cost $200 (beginner) to $1000 a pr. The machine of choice to sharpen them is a flat hone with a convexing fixture. They cost $1500 to $6000 with a sweet spot at $3000.  The ride (inside) is honed by hand on waterstones.
Groomers are leaving their bevel scissors and adopting convex shears faster than barbers are.
Full disclosure: I sell dedicated scissor and convex salon shear sharpening equipment.

[Rob]

Lol

Well many thanks for that extra clarification Steve. If I may be so bold, that is precisely the kind of content and discussion the forum will respect and applaud. Intelligent, relevant and topical. Thankyou. Can I politely suggest that given your signature contains a clear link to your commercial activity, it's completely unnecessary to frame the post with the disclaimer in the last sentence

[grepper]

Steve,

Are you accomplished at sharpening convex scissors?

How difficult is it to learn?  Can you learn it just by watching a few videos and some practicing or does it really require hands on instruction?  I've seen places offering classes for what seems like an extraordinarily large, inflated fee.

The equipment sure seems pricy for what you get.

[stevebot]

I do alright but do not consider it my speciality. I recommend a min of the one day class that my vendor offers at his factory in SC, then one of many seminars that are offered every year. The equipment is pricey but you can DIY for under $1000.

[Herman Trivilino]

If they have a corrugated edge leave that edge alone. Not a complete solution, but an improvement. 

That is what I did with my kitchen scissors. It worked well. Following Jeff's direction, IIRC, I also lightly lapped the inner side of that one blade after sharpening.