How Often Should Scissors Be Sharpened?

There is no such thing as a self-sharpening pair of scissors, so how often should you sharpen your hairdressing or barber shears?

• Your hairdressing and barber scissors need to be serviced at least once a year to avoid permanent damage.
• If you cut hair with your scissors everyday, then we recommend a professional sharpening and servicing more than once a year.
• Both hair cutting and thinning scissors need to be sharper every two to four months by professionals for the best performance. 
• Cheaper scissors made from stainless steel require sharpening more often.
• Higher quality Japanese scissors require sharpening less often if they are well cleaned and regularly oiled.

Hairdressing and barber sharpening services point out the obvious that cutting more hair means the scissors will go blunt faster, so you need to watch when the scissors stop cutting sharply.

It is hard to know how often you need to sharpen your scissors, as only the hairdresser or barber will know when.

Japanese hair scissors use premium Cobalt, 440C and VG10 steel that require sharpening less often.

If you buy a cheap pair from Priceline or Chemist Warehouse, you will find these going blunt within one to two months.

These cheaper scissors require sharpening a lot more often and will eventually cost you more than the overall price of a Japanese hairdressing shear.

So save yourself the high cost of sharpening too often with a premium shear.

The average cost of sharpening scissors is $50-$100, and a cheaper $100 pair of Shears made from basic steel requires sharpening four to six times a year. At a minimum, you will eventually pair $200-300 a year to maintain their performance. 

Now an expensive pair of Yasaka Shears costs up to $400, but if you clean, oil and main these well, they only require sharpening once or twice a year. This saves you $100-200 a year. Well worth the investment for a pair that doesn't require sharpening often.