A barber’s shears and scissors are his livelihood and the tools of his trade. Caring for them is easy but important. Maintaining them can ensure that you get the most life and functionality from your shears. The longevity of a shear decreases with poor care so sharpening should be done by a qualified technician who uses sharpening equipment designed for today’s styling shears. There are a few ways to care for your shears and the most basic is to sharpen shears as often as needed.

A good way to tell if your shears need to be sharpened is when it starts to pull hair or doesn’t cut all the way to the tip. Your shears should cut in all areas on your blades. Good quality shears will do about 700 hair cuts before they need to be sharpened. That number decreases when they are used to cut coarse hair, dirty hair or chemically treated. It is always a good idea to keep your shears in sharp condition as a dull shear can cause problems.