What does it mean for a Dog Grooming Scissor to be well balanced?

A dog grooming scissor should feel well-balanced in the hand of a dog groomer. But what does 'well balanced' mean?

It means the weight of the handle and the weight of the blades of the scissor should be equal and neither should feel more heavier than the other. This applies to when the groomer is just holding the scissors and whilst the shears are in use. 

Whist cutting, a dog groomer should not feel that they have to work hard to keep the tip of the blade level with the area that they are working on. Nor should they feel that the handle is heavy and uncomfortable to hold in their hand. 

Working with grooming shears which are unbalanced can negatively affect either the finish they produce and/or have a negative impact on the dog groomer's own physical well-being, such as fatigue in the fingers, wrist and hand.

How to check the balance of a dog grooming scissor?

The weight of the handle and the weight of the blades act as counterweights to one another, so whilst resting the scissor at the pivot (tension screw)on a flat surface, the scissor should remain still and not tip backwards or forwards. 

This test is suitable for all straight scissors, curved scissors, thinners, blending scissors, chunkers and texturising scissors.

Is the scissor's tension and the scissor's balance the same thing?

Simply, no. A scissor's tension and a scissor's balance refer to two different aspects of a dog grooming scissor's anatomy.

A dog grooming scissor's tension refers to the 'force' applied by the pivot to ensure that the blades of the scissor, glide smoothly passed one another in order for the cutting edges to cut the fur. The tension can be adjusted manually by the dog grooming and is a vital aspect of the scissor's performance and longevity. For more information on how to check and adjust a dog grooming scissor's tension, please click here.

A grooming shear's balance refers to the weight of its handle compared to the weight of its blades. A correctly balanced scissor will have equal-weighing blades and handles to ensure that the groomer can hold it correctly and have the cutting edges of the blades, cut the fur accordingly.