Caring for Your Japanese Cutting Shears - Here’s How You Do It
Japanese shears are known for their extreme precision, razor-sharp precision, and detailed craftsmanship—simply the peak of quality that one can ever find in a cutting tool. Provide the proper care and maintenance to make its performance second to none.
This guide will explain practical tips and techniques to keep your Japanese cutting shears in shape. With the following recommendations, you can be confident that they will be as effective and efficient as the first day you handled them, leaving you with perfect results every time you cut, at any time.
Regular Cleaning and Maintenance
Daily Cleaning
It is important to clean your Japanese hair-cutting shears after every use to maintain their sharpness and durability. Here is the step-by-step process to effectively clean your shears:
- First Wipe Down: This calls for a soft, dry cloth. You should gently wipe the blades after every use; this helps remove hair that has lifted, dust, and any other debris accrued during cutting.
- Detailed Cleaning: Dampen the isopropyl alcohol cloth or the special shear-cleaner liquid cloth and gently run it over the blades. This is to help the blades remove resistant residue, such as products and hair from the blade. This prevents the knife blade from going blunt and prevents rusting and corrosion by sanitising the blades.
- Blade Care: More careful cleaning on the pivot point and the meeting point of the blades, as most dirt will accumulate around those points. Use a little brush with small and soft bristles or a swab of alcohol to clean between blades or any other unreachable area.
Lubrication
Lubrication is crucial when it comes to your Japanese shears. This will reduce the friction and give you that seamless run with the shears every time. Here is how:
- Daily Lubrication: Apply a single drop of high-quality shear oil to the pivot point of the shears daily. This is where the blades are joined and where the majority of the shearing friction occurs.
- Spread the Oil: Again, with the shear blades fully oiled, open and close the shears repeatedly, allowing the oil to spread evenly between the blades. This makes the scisors work smoothly, reducing damage.
- Oil Residue: Wipe any residual oil with a clean, dry cloth to avoid catching dust and dirt.
Use a Protective Case
Proper storage helps prevent the accidental damage of shears and keeps your shears in the utmost condition. Follow the following tips to store your Japanese cutting shears:
- Storage Case: Always keep scissors in the accompanying case after use. This way, the blades will not be nicked or damaged, and they will be safe from dust and moisture. Extra padded protection provides additional safety.
- Hitting hard surfaces: Never lay your shears on a precarious surface, for example, countertops or altogether a place where they can easily fall on, damaging them. Damage may include misalignment of the screw or nicks in the blades.
Avoid Moisture
Moisture is the biggest enemy of your Japanese cutting shears. It may lead to rust and cause damage, decreasing the performance and a decrease in their lifetime. Below are ways of protecting them from moisture:
- Dry Environment: Store your shears in a dry environment and keep them away from places with humidity. The latter causes the formation of rust. Rust dulls the blades and completely ruins the cutting performance. Silica
- Gel Packets: If you live in a very humid area, put some silica gel packets inside the shears case. These little bags absorb excessive moisture around a set of shears, keeping them dry and rust-free.
- Dry Shears Completely: After cleaning, ensure the shears are dry before storage. With even the smallest amount of left moisture, they tend to rust over time.
Handling and Usage
Use for Intended Purpose
Japanese shears are developed merely for cutting hair. Using them on other materials such as paper, fabric, or anything else will, in reality, dull the blades, thereby reducing their effectiveness. Always use your shears only for hair to keep them sharp and top-performing.
Professional Sharpening
Sharpening Frequency
Even with the best care, your Japanese cutting shears will occasionally need professional sharpening. How often it will require this varies per individual usage, but a general guideline would be every 3 to 12 months. Regular sharpening keeps the blades in optimal condition and ensures clean, precise cuts for you.
Picking Your Professional Sharpener
Not all sharpeners are equal; choose a professional with experience sharpening Japanese blades. They know the proper tools and techniques to retain integrity with your blades. Ask for credentials, and references, but don’t settle on the first one you see. Choose one that colleagues have brought back glowing referrals on.
Moderate Tension Setting
Importance of Proper Tension
Proper tension is crucial to allow your Japanese shears to work. If it's too weak, the folds and bends will make the shears flex instead of cut. If it's too tight, that will add wear and tear for no reason, plus it will make cutting very tough on your hands.
How to Set Tension
Most Japanese shears have a tension adjustment screw. To check the tension, hold the shears by the ring finger hole and let the blades fall open halfway. If they close completely, the tension is too loose. If they don’t move at all, it’s too tight. Adjust the screw gradually until you achieve the correct tension, ensuring smooth and effortless cutting.
Routine Inspections
Check for Damages
Always inspect your Japanese shears for nicking, misalignment, or denting. With issues detected early, it can be fixed in a timely manner, avoiding reduced performance.
Blade Alignment
Sharp blades are required for clean cuts. Open the shears and then hold them up to the light to see any space between the blades. If they are out of alignment, have them professionally realigned so that they will cut with accuracy and ease.
Investing In Good Shears - Importance of Quality
High-quality Japanese shears will yield the best results and ensure proper durability in their lifetime. Quality shears are made of superior materials and forged precisely for better performance and durability.
Popular Brands
Shop from the best brands known to produce quality and craft in all shears. Research and read reviews to find the best Japanese cutting shears that meet your needs and criteria. Investing in a good pair of shears pays back with quality, dependable cuts.
OSAKA: Premier Provider of Japanese Cutting Shears
OSAKA is a top manufacturer of professional, high-quality Japanese cutting shears. We offer a diversified range of precision, durable shears specially designed to suit the high demands of experienced stylists. Also, besides providing one of the finest shears, we give maintenance services to keep your tools in perfect condition.
Various scissor accessories can be purchased online through our shop to complement your toolkit. You can explore the collection and get the finest to enhance your salon. Shop now and experience quality and craftsmanship with OSAKA Japanese cutting shears.
Conclusion
Proper care for Japanese cutting shears involves the regular cleaning of the tools, proper storing and handling, and professional maintenance. With these tips, you should be able to keep your shears sharp and accurate and in good condition for long-lasting performance—the best experience you will ever want. Keep in mind that the care bestowed on shears goes hand-in-hand with their performance and durability; therefore, treat them with the attention they deserve.