My main pair of shears just gave out mid-fade yesterday

I was doing a high skin fade on a regular, right at the point where you blend the 0.5 into the 1 guard line. I felt a weird grind, then the left shear blade just stopped moving against the right one. They were my trusty 6.5 inch Matsui shears, bought them about four years ago. I had to finish the cut with my backup pair, which just don't have the same feel or balance, and the blend wasn't as clean as I like. It threw off my whole rhythm for the rest of the day. I think the pivot screw finally wore out or something got jammed in the mechanism. I'm sending them off to be serviced, but it's a real pain. What's a good, quick fix pair to use while you're waiting on your main shears to come back from sharpening?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_abby12h ago

Matsui shears lasting only four years is surprising. My main pair are basic Joewell shears from a decade ago that still cut fine. Maybe the pivot screw just needs a proper cleaning instead of a full service. What kind of maintenance were you doing on them?

gray_nguyen27h ago

Seriously, I'm with you on this. My old pair of basic shears are pushing fifteen years now and they're still my go-to. I just wipe them down and put a tiny drop of oil on the screw every few months. It sounds like a full service might be overkill for something that just needs a good clean.