Sharpening 2 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... Romans 1:16 I am Gabriel. I have been blessed by Jesus Christ with a passion for sharpening hairdressing scissors. I am what you could call a professional sharpener of hairdressing scissors. You might need me as a sharpener on occasion, but we all need Him - always and forever! Jesus Christ and the Art of Scissor Sharpening blade tip blade exterior (convex) blade interior (concave or hollow) ride screw mechanism bumper or silencer finger-ring finger inset finger rest (sometimes screw-in type) Popular scissor terms indicated on a pair of imitation Kasho scissors external (convex or ‘tear-drop) of blade internal (concave or hollow ground) of blade the ride cutting edge 100% horizontal plane Sharpening After receipt of your scissors I inspect  them, take them apart and clean them. I then enter unique markings with a very fine diamond drill and enter the particulars in a database. If damage necessitates grinding on the outside blades, this is done. Thereafter the rides are re-done. Then I polish the outside edges - a process which also sharpens the blades. Before reassembly I check each blade on a couple of points for sharpness - the test is it has to hack into my thumbnail under its own weight at a 20 degree angel. If I can see an edge, there is no edge, in other words they are still blunt! Then I clean them, oil them, set and balance them and before packing them I test them on human hair. They must be able to dry-slice up to the very tip. The final test is the ‘acoustic’ test - they must make a very smooth ‘swish’ sound when opened and closed very near my ear. The entire process is done under very good light conditions whilst frequently checking progress under a strong back-lighted magnifier and a if needed a digital microscope. outer blade ride line cutting edge inner blade (concave/hollow ground can be clearly seen) (10x magnification Celestron digital microscope, KIV 5.5 KASHO scissors) (not according to scale) The Ride - one of the crucial and most underrated parts. The ride is the edge of the concave of the inside blade. It is essential for clean and efficient cutting and allows the cutting edge to be made very sharp. It also protects the blades of good scissors to ‘hack’ into each other and thus creating a ‘nick’ which you can hear and feel and which, if not addressed immediately, might cause intense damage. Most sharpeners don’t pay attention to the ride as working on it is a specialized, time consuming and exact process. During sharpening the ride must be re-done, when there is no ride, either because previous sharpeners destroyed it or it has never been there (cheap manufacturing). Re-doing the ride is done by taking the scissor blades apart and whilst lightly pushing them with the concave side, making sure they are kept 100% flat, against two or more fine grit Japanese water-stones or whetstones whilst these are wet. I first take the 900 grit stone and give the ride a polished surface with a 4000 grit stone afterwards. The image to your right is a highly enlarged cross section of a closed pair of Kasho scissor blades and should give you an idea. Scissor Anatomy Although this is not a course on scissor sharpening, some basics have to be stated in order for us to at least speak the same language. The image should sort out this issue. All sharpening is guaranteed for 14 days (postage excluded) unless repair is attempted by a third party, the scissors have been dropped or cutting of something other than human hair has resulted in a nick on the edge, so treat your scissors with respect!