Excerpt from the Hollow and the Honelecture by Casper Kiser Oster / Eickertat the 2010 Sharpeners Jam

Click screen to play short 8 minute video.

Excerpt from our new 2 part DVD. This is the most complete video presentation of the complexities of shear manufacture and function made to date. This 2 DVD set, each part 50 minutes will explore with clear illustrations the
honed and non-honed shears and how and why they are made and sharpened differently
the "twist" in shears, what it is and what it isn't
the importance of the hollow grind and how it affects the performance of shears
what correct and in-correct honing looks like and how it affects the cut
angle selection, the pros and cons of sharp vs strong edges
how and why shears are put back into correct alignment
and much, much more.This is one of those videos you will watch over and over and learn something new each time. This is an essential part of every scissor sharpeners library. You will have a new appreciation for the complexity of the beauty and groomer shears.Casper Kiser is the plant floor supervisor in McMinnville, TN for the Oster factory. He has had over 15 years experience in the manufacture of beauty and groomer shears with the Arius Eickert company. This lecture was presented to sharpeners at the 2010 Sharpeners Jam in Atlanta, GA. Here their questions and comments as Casper clearly shares with a small select group of sharpeners his years of experience. Call 1-888-290-3393 to order this DVD set or order from our website http://www.beautystoreworld.net/vhh.html (Use ID: sharpener Password: Guest)

Born in the USA

Some things are still made in America. We saw that first hand when we were granted a tour of the Oster Plant in McMinnville, TN. The logistics were worked out in the spring through Casper Kiser, the plant superintendent of Oster. Gene and I have known Casper since 1997 when he was with Arius Eickert in Fremont, OH. We were delighted when we heard he was in charge of the shear production at the Oster plant facility. Frank Davis, Ed Wozniak and our Bonika staff, Harry, Jay, Mystie, Gene and I along with a handful wives were able to see the entire facility. This was made even more exciting since tours are rare and we had never seen photos of their operation since photography and videography are strictly forbidden.

What did we see? We saw skilled, efficient friendly Tennesseans each with decades of experience making shears and clippers. Stanley Gross, the business team leader of the blades department proudly gave us a tour of the clipper production area. The facility was enormous and all the Oster clippers are made right there with the exception of the screws and some of the newer small trimmers. The housing and parts were created from raw materials to the final product. We watched heat treat process and cryogenic freezing process of the clipper blades and individually hand sharpened, assembled and tested. Modern machines wound copper wire for the motors and lasers etched the name on each blade.

What did we learn? The comb or upper blade of the Oster clipper is ground flat and the lower blade or cutter is ground hollow at an incline angle on the plate that is a proprietary secret. We also learned innovations are coming based on feedback from the customers and clipper repair folks.

We ended our tour in the area of my interest, shears. Since Oster purchased Arius Eickert a few years back the scissor factory there went through a lot of changes and innovations since they were in Ohio. Now, only the finishing operation, the part that makes the shears cut is made in the factory. We were told the shears are coming in semi-finished from Asia (none from Pakistan). In other words, the 440C shears come with handles attached and polished before they reach the states. The hone, hollow and finishing is completed there in Tennessee. That means the part that actually does the cutting is in fact made in the US.

Although we were not allowed to see the actual clamping mechanism we had a general demonstration on how the hollow is put in the inside of the blade and how the so called “twist” is formed. I was impressed with the small size of the wheel (about 3” diameter), which is much smaller than those I’ve seen in other factories. The deeper hollow makes the ride or hone line easier to create and for us sharpeners to maintain. The initial convex shape was created free hand on a large flathone and the final edge precisely ground using a modified clamp on three smaller 6” stone flathones using progressively finer and finer grit. Final alignment tweaking was done with a brass bending block rather than hammers. Between each step of the operation, an inspector tests every shear before in proceeds to the next step on the production line.

Our observation of the shear making process impressed on us the importance of the hollow and the hone as well the skills and abilities of the scissor workers. Casper will be giving a more in-depth understanding of the process when he speaks at the Sharpeners Jam the last week-end of July in Atlanta.

Private Factory Tour at Oster

Last Monday on our way back from the Nashville Sharpeners Workshop we had a stop in McMinnville, TN. It is rare to get a tour through the Oster facilities and we were delighted when Casper Kizer graciously extended an invitation to tour the factories. We have known Cas for over 12 years when he was a sharpener at the Arius Eickert plant in Ohio. At the time, Eickert was private labeling several of our popular shears including the ProMaster and the currently discontinued International Twister.

Since Oster purchased Eickert they have moved the scissor making factory into their clipper factory, making Cas the manager of the scissor factory section. Not everything was in place, but we were super impressed with what we saw. Their factory was very different than some of the videos we had viewed about overseas operations. Most workers I talked to had been with Oster for 20+. Every step in the scissor making operation had a check before it was allowed to move on to the next phase. Cas showed me a large rack of their reject scissors. Nothing was allowed out except the best of the best. (Note: Many of the Arius Eickert and Oster scissors are imported. However, their top-of-the-line shears are made with pride at the North Carolina plant.)

Cas gave up his whole morning for us. We not only viewed the scissor making process, but the clipper making, forging, warehouse, shampoo factory and the sharpening / warranty facility. What a morning!

I had a whole list of questions he asked which he answered including: Which is first the bend or the rideline? How is set put into the shears? (His answered floored me!) Is there really a negative angle on the ride of thinners? How is the ride put on the shears? and so forth. I plan to cover these answers at my Scissor Sharpening Boost class a week from Saturday at the Sharpener's Jam.

Unfortunately, Oster would not allow us to take photos in the factory. But in all phases from the Cryo-Freezer to the flathone sharpening system I was as impressed with the skilled, dedicated workers as I was with the modern, efficient machinery. Walking through a USA factory like this, made me proud to be an American.