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Oh no what do I do?? is the first reaction for any hair stylist or barber that may not have dropped their scissors before. Well firstly, we are going to advise you to relax and calm down because unless the blades have actually snapped, then your scissors may be fine.
Good quality hair shears are made from a stronger steel so unless they have been dropped on the point of the blade, most hair shears will not break in half, but simply chip or damage slightly.
What do you do? Well, keep reading and we will cover every scenario for you and what you should do if you ever drop your scissors.
Check for visual damage
Checking for visual fall damage means checking if the scissor blades are not snapped off. If the handles are not snapped off or the finger rest hasn't broken. Checking if you can see damage to the blade tips.
All things that are visible and you can tell right away that they are broken and that you cannot use them anymore. This would be your worst case scenario and if the blades have snapped or anything has broken that would literally need to be welded back together, then this would mean the scissors are completely done.
Check for Knicks
Cutting hair with a nick in the blade could cause you to pull out the client's hair which is not very pleasant for your customer.
A nick in the blade is when you open and shut your scissors and feel a crunching sound that almost feels like your cutting sand. The only way to detect an even finer nick is to open your blades very softly and slowly to find any pulls in the blade. Your scissors blade should never catch on one another, so anytime you feel a slight pull then they could be damage to the blade.
If you have a nick in the blade then your professional scissors sharpener will be able to fix this for you. Continuing to use scissors that have fall damage means that you can cause even more damage to the blade.
Check the tension and alignment
Checking the tension on the hair shears after a drop is important. The way you check your scissors tension is to hold your hair scissors out in front of you at eye level. Having the blades pointing up in the air, next you will lift one handle then drop it to see where the blades close. If the blades completely shut then the tension has been loosened, where if the blades hardly move or close to one third shut then the tension is too tight.
Alignment could have been compromised from a fall which means the screws could have been damaged, this may be noticeable if you try to tighten or loosen the tension screw. A Bladesmith will be able to repair this for you.
Book in for a Sharpen and Repair
If you're not completely confident after all your checking that your scissors are totally fine then your next option would be booking in for a professional sharpening service or repair.
There is a difference between a sharpen or a repair. not all sharpeners know how to repair damaged scissors for you. A Professional Bladesmith can sharpen any Knicks or check for any physical damage. A Bladesmith will also be able to check things like your alignment, tension and pull apart and clean your scissors carefully.
A Bladesmith will be able to determine if your dropped scissors are perfectly fine or if they will need replacing.
Your scissors should always have that sharp cutting edge that can slice through a tissue, so even if they don't appear damaged and you can't remember the last time they were sharpened, just book them in regardless.
Always have a backup pair of hair scissors
So what happens if you need to send your scissors off for repairs? but you need to continue on cutting? Well we always suggest you have an old pair of scissors or a back up pair of scissors for this very occasion.
You never want to be stuck without any scissors, so having multiple pairs of hair scissors is always a smart move.
Protecting your hair scissors
The best way to protect your hair from a fall off any surface area is to store your scissors in a scissors case, when you are not using them of course. Storing your scissor case away from wet areas and water bottles is wise too as water can cause rust to your scissor blades and most scissors cases are not waterproof.
Maintenance
Making sure any sticky reduce or oil is wiped away from the shears will prevent you from dropping them. Cleaning your scissors at least 3 times a week and oiling the blades is important. Through the day you can have products on your hands that can become sticky or slippery on your shears.
Always be aware of washing your hands and wiping down your shears so they don't slip right out of your hands while cutting.
So now we expect that if you drop your shears that you don't panic and you feel confident about what to do. If you have already dropped your shears and have stumbled across this blog for advice then we also hope you felt this was helpful too.
So remember to Check for visible damage, check for Knicks in the blade, check the tension and alignment, book in for a professional sharpening with a professional Bladesmith and take preventative measures in the future to protect your shears for further falls. Also be prepared with a backup shear for the future, you don't want to be stuck without those trusty shears.
