PROFESSIONAL PET GROOMING SHEARS - SETS AND SINGLES

There are a few differences between human scissors and dog scissors. The biggest difference is the length of the scissors. For pet grooming you want a longer cutting edge to cover more area faster. The most popular length for pets is an 8 inch shear. You can also get much smaller or even longer to suit the size of the pet being worked on. The other big difference is the weight and hardness of the metal used. Pet grooming requires a very strong metal to handle all kinds of textures of coats. Dog scissors will be heavier than human shears and strong enough to handle each pet's differences.

In order to keep your shears working well you must do maintenance on them. Having a professional sharpener work on your shears is very important. The frequency depends on your usage. For professionals it is normal to have their shears sharpened on average every 4-6 months depending on the type of metal and if they are exclusively used on clean dry hair. When dropped they must be taken to a sharpener to be repaired.

The shears best suited for face trimming truly depends on the size of the dog and the type of finish you are trying to achieve. For large breeds like Doodles you would want a 8-9 inch curved shear to take off volume and set shape. Then you might want to use chunkers or blenders to give a more natural finish.On a small breed like a yorkie you might want to use 6-7 inch curves to set shape and take off volume.Then you could use thinners or blenders to soften scissor lines. The length of the shear and shape of it will be determined by the breed and finish desired.

When it comes to grooming cats you DO NOT want to use shears to demat. The skin and coat on cats are different from dogs. They tend to have loose skin and it is very easy to catch it with your tools and injure them. Matts are dense areas of tangled / dead hair that make it very challenging to be able to differentiate where the end of the hair meets the skin. To avoid injury we recommend clippers or combs and brushes to use depending on the specific situation.