Reaction to ON THE EDGE article by Bonnie Megowan

THE QUESTION:

Date: Sun, 7 Jul 2013 13:00:40 -0400
Subject: On The Edge Article
From: sharpshop39@gmail.com
To: bonikashears@live.com

Bonnie - I just read your articled "One Click Difference" in Jim O'Donnell's news letter and I have to differ with you on a couple of your statements.  I really did like that there is now a way of testing/proving/measuring the amount of pressure needed to cut through different material(s).  I'm sure that it was quite interesting.

But, my difference with your article concerns the setting of the 'blade tension' between the two blades (1st paragraph).  I was instructed at WOLFF Inc., by Tom, that the blades on grooming shears, 1) should NEVER clang together when drop tested and 2) should stop approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch before tips close completely.  I was also instructed that this tensioning is indeed different for the various applications, i.e., barber, beautician, groomer, stylist, etc.  Everything that I was ever shown/taught is directly opposite to what you have in your article.  Now, I know that I am only a novice in this business to most everybody else and I primarily only do groomers (Dog Shows & Horse Shows), with a few beauticians locally thrown in. But, now I have questions?  If the shears tension is to be tight enough that the shears don't move when drop tested, won't that lead to faster wearing/dulling of the edges?  If excess tension is placed on the edges in a drop test, what about the pressure/tension that a groomer puts on those edges when they close the shears?  This is particularly important when using convex shears, which most professional handlers, show groomers, etc., use.  Additionally, it also exerts additional pressure on the groomers, stylist, barbers, beauticians wrist further inflaming the nerves (Corpal Tunnel Syndrome)?

I have always taught/instructed my customers that I have set their shears tension to the standard (drop test) and they they have the choice to have that setting adjusted to their preference.  All Beauticians, Stylists that I have worked with wanted that tension "lessened" so that the shears almost 'clanged' when drop tested.  Their comment's are that they don't want any blade tension wearing out their wrists because of the amount of time they use the shears (exhaustive).  The animal groomers are also pretty close on that issue also, but not to the point that the Beauticians require.

So, you can see my confusion.  Guess that I will just have to continue in the methods that I have developed so as to continue satisfying the preponderance of my customers.

Thanks for your time

Gil Settlage

GIL'S SHARP SHOP

My Answer

Hello Gil,

I totally agree with you.  I was taught exactly like you for the same reasons. Then I trained with Casper Kiser with Eickert who made groomer and beauty shears. He said if a shear was in proper alignment (and most groomer shears are not) IF they were made well and properly aligned they should be one "click" TIGHTER than the movement. In other words they should not drop at all and be one click from dropping. This seemed totally wrong, but he had decades of experience with this. I talked to other manufacturers and they loosened the shears slightly, but did not fall below the half way mark. So I was in the same place as you. This equipment allowed me to test my hypothesis like a scientist and this was the results based on the particular well aligned, brand new, sharp shear I was using. The tension that used the least effort was when the blade just began to drop. The looser tension used more effort on the part of the user.

Would this work on a used dog grooming shear that was slightly out of alignment? there are other questions. However, I would rather err on the side of too tight than too loose since shears tend to loosen up.

What makes sharpening interesting is the new growth of knowledge. Although Casper was not at the sharpening convention, I think even he would rethink his ideas on tension. He was most likely taught by Uwe who is a mechanical engineer. I'm not sure where he learned. That would be a great question for him and a discussion for SharpNet.

The bottom line to me is the customer is the expert. If they think the shears cut best for them with them clanking shut or so tight you need pliers to close them we as their mechanics must make the shears work for them in the way they want to use them. If they do not express a preference, we must adjust them based on our knowledge of what would be best for the shears and the client.

Bonnie

Bonnie Megowan and Mystie Hunter

Scissor Mechanic, LLC d/b/a 

Bonika Shears

2385 Clower St Ste C, Snellville, GA 30078770-972-4332   Fax 770-972-4330                                                  Get our newsletter

 

Beware! Are you making a mistake on creating the rideline on your shears?

I just wrote an article for next month's ON THE EDGE called "Are You A Sharpening Sleuth?" (I'll publish it below) The jest of the article was recognizing and repairing a shear that had a rideline put on the shear using the flathone instead of a Shapton stone and not placing the pivot area on the wheel. I thought this was something everyone understood and would not do. However, I had a call from a sharpener that I really, really respect his opinion and has made suggestions in the past that have changed my sharpening style. This sharpener was experimenting with the very mistake I had addressed in my article. There are all sorts of correctable mistakes and sloppy errors that can be corrected easily on a ride. However, missing the pivot area in consequent sharpening is almost impossible. Don't work the ride without working the area under the pivot.



Here is the ON THE EDGE article.

Are You A Sharpening Sleuth?

Here are the clues. Let’s see if you can solve this sharpening crime.

The shears presented to me did not cut after a well trained sharpener sharpened them in the usual manner. Here are the clues. What was wrong with these shears?
Ñ The edge was sharp
Ñ The shears folded the hair
Ñ The screw would loosen after a few snips
Ñ The ride line appeared nearly perfect, shiny and even all the way down
Ñ The shears made a terrible noise, especially at the point where they were closed ¾ of the way
Ñ There were deep scratches inside the blade on the hollow around the pivot screw

What crime was committed on these shears in the past and how would you correct them?

Here was my judgment.

The last sharpener was not the sharpening criminal. He sharpened the shear in the correct way he was trained. The previous sharpener committed the crime. At first I thought there was a blade alignment problem but two clues sent me in another direction… the scratches at the pivot and the even rideline. A blade that is out of alignment will usually have an uneven ride. The noise from closing the shears was not at the blade, but at the pivot.

The scratches under the pivot most likely occurred because he honed the ride without including the area under the pivot. Possibly he used a sharpening stone but more likely he used a very fine micron disk on a metal plate and worked the ride on a flathone type system. As he held the blade in place, the metal edge of his plate created the scratches around the pivot. The scratches themselves did not cause the subsequent problems on the shears, they were the clue that allowed me to find the real culprit. When a rideline is worked or created without including the entire area under the pivot hole several problems are created. They may not be noticeable the first or second sharpening, but as metal is worn away the area under the pivot is thicker than the metal on the blade. Even if the shears appear to be adjusted correctly the blades may not actually come together to cut and hair folds. The blade will loosen and the area under the pivot will make noise. This was the problem with this shear.

Solution? I worked the ride very hard using a 1500 grit Shapton stone. I drew a Sharpie marker line across the entire ride and used more than my usual pressure to pull the entire blade across the stone including the pivot area. I gave extra pressure to the pivot and even worked it at the corner of the stone until I removed enough metal that the ride was flat and even all the way down. Then I moved to a 5000 grit Shapton to increase the smoothness and shine or the ride.

Afterwards I had to resharpen the outer edge of the shears because I had created a bur on the outside of the blade. Then I quickly removed the new bur on the inside with one swift pass on the 5000 Shapton stone. When I reassembled the shears they were quiet, smooth and sliced easily through a wet single ply tissue with minimum pressure. I felt the fact the shears were working were confirmation of my original verdict. Case closed.

How to Cure a Shear Bellyache

Have you had this problem? I had an email from a sharpener in Australia with this dilemma. He wrote, “I sharpened a pair of shears for a stylist yesterday & she called today and said that about 1/2 way down the shears do not cut the hair properly. The shear is a Sensei GSC 55 (long life)
I shaped the shear at a 40 degree angle with 30 micron paper, sharpened & shined it with 15 and then 9 micron paper. (no polish) I honed the ride line and it came back and looks good Do you have any Idea how I can solve this problem or what I did wrong?”

The section of the shear blade the stylist is talking about is referred to as the “belly of the blade.” It is hard to answer a question like this without seeing the shear. Also, I am not sure what sharpening equipment this sharpener is using although I can assume by his question he has a Flathone with a clamp. Here are my suggestions in order of easiest to correct to the hardest. They are into that sharpener in condensed form.
1. The first suspicion on ANY complaint is a loose screw. Often shears will loosen after a sharpening. Ask the stylist if the hair is folding in the center before causing her to use more side pressure to make them cut. If she answers yes, you may be able to correct this by instructing her over the phone how to tighten her screw. The Sensei shear you mentioned has a leaf shape spring mechanism. If the screw is not holding, you may need to slightly bend the leaf clicker plate to put more tension on the screw. Also check that you did not leave the washer protruding through the back.
1. Next possibility is that something happened to the shears after you left. Did she drop them or cut dirty hair? We give a 30 guarantee on our sharpening regardless of what happens. A guarantee like this allows the stylist to be honest with you if something happened to her shears after you left rather than blaming you for bad sharpening.
2. The third possibility that is an easy fix is you pushed the bur to the outside and didn't remove it. This bur worked its way back over and created a dull or nicked spot in the center. Sometimes a gentle strop with a nail buffer, a razor strop or a worn 9 micron pad will remove this bur and fix the problem. Polish would have also taken care of this as long as you don't roll over the edge and polish just up to the edge. Enough to remove that residual bur, but not so much as to knock off your edge. I suspect this is the case since you said you did not polish the shear. If stropping doesn’t work you can resharpen by removing just a small amount. You may want to start with a 15 or 9 micron and touch it up.
3. The angle you used in sharpening could be a problem. You said you used a 40 degree angle. Is this the Australian angle or American angle? 40 degrees on Australian equipment is the equivalent to 50 degrees in the US and would be such a sharp angle that the shear could immediately go dull. If this is 40 degree the way we measure it in the US, you may want to try a 45 degree angle which is a sharper angle and may solve her problem. Ask the customer if she slide cuts. If she does she may be feeling dullness in the center that would be corrected with a sharper edge.
4. You may not have pulled a bur up at the center or perhaps your rideline is missing at the center or “belly” of the blade. Check the shears closely. You could have sharpened the correctly and she tossed them in a drawer and nicked them right after you left. If you have either of the problems the only choice is to do a complete resharpening, although you may be able to start with a 15 micron instead of a 30 micron. Always test a shear on a single ply wet tissue with a minimum of pressure SLOWLY closing the blade. The shear should cut this cleanly and with little effort.
5. If you did not test them before you left by cutting with them and they felt sharp and “looked good” as you said, the blades may be out of alignment. This is often due to dropping. Correction of this problem is beyond the scope of this email, runs a risk of breaking the shears and is the worse case scenario. We will have a seminar at the Sharpener’s Jam in July to show how to fix it and a DVD of this seminar available by late August or September. Sometimes a shear that is out of alignment can be sharpened at a duller angle and this may make them cut where they otherwise wouldn’t. Do this one blade at a time. If you think they are out of alignment and you don’t want to risk trying to fix them, refund her money and tell her what is wrong with her shear and suggest that she buy a new one.

This is a longer article of the shortened version published April 2009 in On the Edge.