How do you sharpen your hair cutting scissors?

[sakuramoon08]

I was just wondering if and how you should sharpen scissors. What do you use to sharpen them? I don't plan on trimming soon, but I want to S&D and I really want to take care of my hair.

[jojo]

most key cutting places will sharpen scissors for a few quid in the UK. check these places out in the US. I probably sharpen once a year.

[Regan]

cutting through some fine-grit sandpaper

[jeanniet]

Knife stores will sharpen blades, and sometimes fabric stores can send them out for sharpening, but it's probably not worth it unless you have pretty decent scissors because of the cost.

ETA: By "pretty decent," I really meant "expensive." Some cheaper scissors can be quite good as long as their blades stay sharp, but you probably wouldn't want to spend $20 or so sharpening a $15 pair of scissors, whereas if you had a $100 pair it would definitely be worthwhile to pay for sharpening.

[CrystalStar]

My dad does mine for me a few times a year, and I think he uses a huge belt sander machine. Whatever it is he uses he gives them back within 5 minutes of taking them!

[Qadupae]

I haven't sharpened mine yet, but we have one of those rods for sharpening knives, so I might use that. I also have a stone for sharpening daggers, so I could use that too and do it the old fashion way ^_^

[Sundial]

Actually the specialized store that I bought mine from said that sharpening isn't really required frequently for scissors that you use for your own trimming because good quality scissors stay sharp for quite a number of cuts. She said that only hairdressers that go through a few customers a day will need to have their scissors sharpened more often. That's what she told me when I asked her for advise on how to look after mine

[Phexlyn]

Actually the specialized store that I bought mine from said that sharpening isn't really required frequently for scissors that you use for your own trimming because good quality scissors stay sharp for quite a number of cuts. She said that only hairdressers that go through a few customers a day will need to have their scissors sharpened more often. That's what she told me when I asked her for advise on how to look after mine

That's what I've heard as well. If you only use your scissors to trim your hair once in a while and don't cut anything else with them (which you shouldn't do anyway), they will probably stay sharp for years, depending on how often you trim.

[Bitstuff]

Honing steels are often incorrectly called sharpening steels. They are normally use on knives and all they really do is straighten the edge. They cannot be used for sharpening, although it is possible that some ridged honing steels can sharpen softer metals. I wouldn't use one on hair cutting scissors. I would use a sharpening stone, if it came to that, but like folks have already said, your scissors are unlikely to require sharpening if you only use them for S & D.

[kwaniesiam]

I heard you can sharpen them on a glass jar. I usually sharpen mines this way after ever 1 or 2 trims since I've also heard dull scissors can cause splits

That is a good way to ruin your scissors. They don't need sharpening that often if they're a good pair to begin with.

I cut hair professionally and I have my scissors sharpened every 6-8 months. They begin to dull around that point but not so badly that I cannot work with them and they get a LOT of use in that time. If you're just using scissors on yourself for small trims, you probably will never really need to sharpen them. If you do though, get it professionally done. Call the company and ask them for recommendations or you can check out a blade store as was suggested already. Hair scissors need sharpened differently than others and can be easily ruined if the balance is set off.