# Best scissors???



## Rowan

Scissors/shears are a very personal thing. It's best to hold a few different pairs to see what you prefer. You have so many variations---short shank, long shank, drop forged, stainless steel, Japaneses steel. :ahhhhh: I realize that unless you have a grooming expo near you or a really good shop that carries shears, this isn't always plausible. You can always go to a beauty supply shop and handle the human ones to get a feel for the various shanks. (I think human hair shears come in short and long!)

Chris Christensen has a decent "Shears 101" section on their website:
Pet Grooming Scissors Education, Dog Grooming Scissors Education, Grooming Scissors Education - let us teach you how to choose properly



> The short shank allows you to use more cutting blade than other shears. It opens and closes with less hand motion than a long shank shear.


I own the Chris Christensen shears (both the original series short shank and a number of the Celestial line shears) and love them. I also have a pair of Geib shears (mid-range) and those are also good. Both make a good product from my experience.


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## kdias

Thank you! I will go watch this right now.


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## Eclipse

Hi kdias,

As Rowan noted, shears are very personal and there are many different kinds (as opposed to brands). What feels good in one person's hand may not feel right in another persons. Shears also are different weights depending on the brand and while it may seem funny to think about weight as in "how heavy can a scissor be" it does make a difference if you are going to spend a couple hours hand scissoring a spoo.

I also have several different brands of shears. When I groom my spoo I use my mid range ones for scissoring hair off before a bath and for touch ups in between. I only use my Chris Christensen shears on her when she is just bathed and blown out and I am finish scissoring. 

You might want to get a catalog from one of the mail order companies like Pet Edge and look at some of the brands available to give you some ideas. Maybe you could also try going to a couple grooming shops, see what they are using and see if they would let you hold some different ones so you could get a feel for them.


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## Rowan

Eclipse said:


> ...
> I also have several different brands of shears. When I groom my spoo I use my mid range ones for scissoring hair off before a bath and for touch ups in between. *I only use my Chris Christensen shears on her when she is just bathed and blown out and I am finish scissoring.* Me too! If I _have_ to scissor "dirty" hair, I use my cheap and cheerful shears.
> 
> You might want to get a catalog from one of the mail order companies like Pet Edge and look at some of the brands available to give you some ideas. *Maybe you could also try going to a couple grooming shops, see what they are using and see if they would let you hold some different ones so you could get a feel for them.*


Excellent idea!


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## lavillerose

I currently use little more than a two pairs of 10inch Dubl Ducks, straight and curved for Spoos and other big dogs which I doubt where more than $89 a piece, and a pair curved 8.5 inch Airius Eckarts for smaller dogs, which were around $129. I don't remember exact cost as I've had them all for 8+yrs. 

They're absolutely not top of the line, but they are good enough to take the sort of abuse they get from me, and through multiple sharpenings, and still give me a nice finish. Are more expensive shears better/nicer and would I like to use them? Sure. But I also know I tend to drop stuff a lot.  My cheap shears work for me.

One thing I've learned, finding a decent sharpener is a lot harder than picking out your shears. There are not many sharpeners out there who really know what they're doing when it comes to clipper blades and shears. If you're an at home groomer and don't need your equipment on hand all the time, you can send them out to a good one.

Also, if you want to feel the shears in your hand at purchase, go to a local dog show. There are always shear venders at dog shows.


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## kdias

Thank you so much for all of your recommendations. I am checking out every single one of these because I want to make a good choice. This is all new to me, so I'm trying to learn all I can and get the right tools to start with, so the advice I'm gaining here is the BEST-straight from those that do this every day. I've bought several how to books, including Shirley Kalstone's, and watched numerous videos, but the advice on the tools is always, "buy the best you can afford". How's one to know what that is without learning what those with experience have already learned? I live in a very rural area, so going to dog shows locally to learn about these is not an option.

Another question I have, which may seem ridiculous but I really don't know is, Petedge shows to be a wholesale supplier, can just anyone order from them? I can't seem to find any information about this on their site. I'm not a groomer, nor a business owner, I'm just wanting to learn to groom my own poodle.


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## Rowan

kdias said:


> ...
> Another question I have, which may seem ridiculous but I really don't know is, Petedge shows to be a wholesale supplier, *can just anyone order from them*? I can't seem to find any information about this on their site. I'm not a groomer, nor a business owner, I'm just wanting to learn to groom my own poodle.


Sure you can! I order from PetEdge all the time, along with KV Vet, Cherrybrook Supply and a few others. 

Kalstone's book is great and the Super Styling Session videos are very helpful. 
Super Styling Sessions || Instructional Dog Grooming DVD's || Home


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## dawns

Cherrybrook actually had Chris Christensen shears, I think they were called jasmine, on sale where you buy 1 and got a 6 in. shear for free. I think they were around 150.00ish I will try and see if I can find the link


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## dawns

dawns said:


> Cherrybrook actually had Chris Christensen shears, I think they were called jasmine, on sale where you buy 1 and got a 6 in. shear for free. I think they were around 150.00ish I will try and see if I can find the link


found it 
Chris Christensen Jasmine Shears INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL - Cherrybrook


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## FunkyPuppy

I used my crappy standard-issue Pawbrothers brand straights and curves for 5 years before suddenly developing a shear addiction. My current favorites are Aussie shears. They were fitted for my hand by a professional and they work like a dream. They were about about 85 apiece. It's important that your shears fit your hand... in my case I have large hands with long fingers, but my palm is longer than my fingers. This can make finding shears that fit me a challenge.

Since you don't have the advantage of a grooming background, I strongly suggest you buy a set of Wahl stainless steel clipper combs, a couple Buttercut 30 blades, and just a decent, inexpensive pair of scissors. You don't need the scissor equivalent of a sports vehicle when a humble SUV of a shear will suffice!


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## Ladyscarletthawk

I have the cc original line short shank curves, and the short shank saturns.. love them both.. I even tried some shark fins and really love thoses too.. just have to save to buy them lol. I have small hands and the short shanks work for me.. and the shark fins are def comfortable.. esp due to the swizzle thumb rest!


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