Shear Service, Restoration and Manufacturing

BladeLAB provides the most complete shear service, restoration and post-manufacturing upgrades available.  Part of Kagawa, worlds oldest, largest and most trusted manufacturer of professional shears, BladeLAB has the knowledge, experience and equipment to perform all levels of service, repair and re-manufacturing … and, the experience to know when it is better to replace than repair.  BladeLAB is the world’s only source for shear sharpening and service that is operating inside a shear manufacturing plant, not any shear factory, the world’s largest and most advanced plant. 

Send your shear(s) to BladeLAB for a FREE detailed evaluation and repair quotation.  If the cost for repairing your shear warrants replacement we can offer you a new shear.  You can choose a production model like you would purchase from a show or others, or one made to your exact hand, finger, thumb size as well as your specific blade shape and length specification directly off our production line(s). 

Many shears have a concaved shape on the inside of each blade ― the hollow grind.  The hollow grind is simply a cosmetic feature and serves no functional purpose.  While many claiming to be experts have stated the hollow grind is important, over 50 years of manufacturing professional shears both with and without hollow grinds, has shown it is clear the hollow grind is neither a necessary nor functional element.  If you feel the hollow grind is important to your needs we will gladly re-apply it to your blades.  Thank you for considering BladeLAB.

Hair or beauty shears will often have a sloping curvature to the outer section of each blade; this is often referred to as a convex shape.  Other shear’s blades will be flat and referred to as a bevel ground blade.  The differences between the two grinds have proven to be purely cosmetic.  For the 50+ years Kagawa has made professional shears, some with convex and some with bevel shapes, neither configuration has demonstrated performance advantages over the other.  Again, some claiming to be experts have stated there is a difference, the evidence simply does not support this claim.  The differences rest with the blade’s edges, their geometry and finish, not the shape of the top sections of each blade.

Either way, if you have a convex shaped blade and feel you need it returned to original manufacturer specification BladeLAB will gladly provide this service, and provide it better than a company having never made a shear possibly can.  Thank you for considering BladeLAB.

BladeLAB expands and contracts finger and thumb sizes on a daily basis.  Depending on your shear’s overall condition and quality of manufacturing this service may or may not be recommended.  For those stylists having unusually large or small fingers, hand and thumbs the only option has often been to have a shear modified to fit.  This is an option so long as your hand size is proper for the shear, but this is rarely the case.  Using a shear lacking the proper fit will quickly lead to finger, thumb, hand, wrist and arm injuries and fatigue such as Gate Keepers Thumb, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis or one of the many other conditions only your doctor can diagnose.  BladeLAB recommends considering the markets only shear FDA registered, approved and clinically certified to eliminate the shear related conditions listed above that every other shear ever sold is proven to cause ― RazorCUTz Shears.  RazorCUTz are available in an unlimited combination of finger, thumb and hand sizes and configurations as well as many blade lengths and bevel, convex and facet grind … your choice.

Either way, if you choose to have your finger or thumb sizes changed, BladeLAB is the best choice for the service.  Thank you for considering BladeLAB.

Occasionally, shears will be made with the finger rest either to high on the finger ring or to low … or, not have one at all.  Finger, thumb, hand, wrist and arm injuries are proven to be caused, in part, due to incorrect positioning of the finger rest or worse, not having a finger rest.  The last three fingers of the hand are serviced by a single common tendon bundle traveling from the forearm to them.  This bundle separates two times (branches) immediately past the wrist.  Incorrect positioning or support of the pinky (fifth finger) can, and often does, cause inflammation (tendonitis) at the points where the branching occurs.  This inflammation can easily lead to carpal tunnel and other career ending conditions, if not properly addressed.

BladeLAB recommends, when possible, stylists consider the purchase and exclusive use of RazorCUTz AT/M model shears.  Designed to eliminate these biomechanical inconsistencies RazorCUTz AT/M model shears are FDA registered, approved and clinically certified to eliminate 100% of the shear related caused of carpal tunnel, tendonitis and other finger, hand, wrist, thumb and arm injuries every other shear ever sold is proven to cause.

If purchase of a RazorCUTz shear is not an option, it is highly recommended stylists get the positioning of the finger rest correct … your health and career may well depend on it.  BladeLAB is experienced in the proper positioning of the finger rest and can complete the drilling, tapping or welding on of another finger rest, as needed.

Send your shear(s) to BladeLAB for evaluation; include detailed instructions and your contact information.  BladeLAB can send you the necessary positioning tube needed to measure your hand and fingers to assure your finger rest is properly positioned.  Thank you for considering BladeLAB.

Customizing a shear can be challenging, even for an experienced manufacturer, like Kagawa.  A number of critical issues can affect the outcome and can, in extreme cases, require the shear be annealed (softened), modified and then re-heat treated.  If your shear is a hybrid ― blades and handles TIG welded together ― this can present a considerable amount of effort … but, it is doable and BladeLAB has the most experience and capability at performing such intricate customizations.  Other modifications such as tip narrowing/blunting, blade shortening/thinning or other grinding related changes can often be accomplished quickly, easily and economically.  Modifications require a careful examination of your shears manufacturing quality. 

Send your shear(s) to BladeLAB with a detailed description of your customization needs and how to contact you.  We will evaluate your shear and request and provide a FREE quotation.  Thank you for considering BladeLAB.

BladeLAB is co-located at Kagawa’s shear manufacturing Plant #1, Suwanee, Georgia.  This allows us access to Kagawa’s and RazorCUTz’s world famous shear engineers.  Stylists desiring a unique level of customization or wanting a fully customized shear, designed to their specifications, can visit our facility and work directly with a shear engineer to design your shear.  Once finalized, your shear will be manufactured and ready for you within one to two days, typical.  The cost for a customized shear (blade length, blade grind, finger/thumb/hand size, handle shape, finish, steel used, pivot system, bumper system, presentation case, etc) is often less than $800.  Highly sculptured or heavy engraving can raise this price to virtually any level.  Call BladeLAB to discuss your needs with one of our shear engineers.

BladeLAB is Kagawa’s commercialization hub for all shears, salon chair & interiors and other manufactured products intended for the Health & Beauty Market, including the award winning RazorCUTz line of shears.  Branders and marketers wanting to purchase production quantities of shears can contact BladeLAB to discuss your specifications and other needs.  Sharpeners needing shears for re-sell to salons, stylists and others are encouraged to contact BladeLAB to discuss your needs.  Many sharpeners will choose to establish their own shear brand by having BladeLAB manufacture shears to their specification and then place their name on the shear.  All BladeLAB shears are manufactured in the United States and certified to ISO9000 standards as well as many other national and international standards.

If you’re purchasing and importing shears you, like others, know most of each shipment lacks a reasonable blade edge and often simply does not work correctly.  BladeLAB’s technicians disassemble entire shipments, DiamondHONE sharpen the blades, tune blade cambers, adjust the tips (sizes, shapes, cross, etc), correct alignment and fit of the shear’s mating and sliding surfaces … essentially re-manufacture the product batch.  Many importers will cull the lot for the best of breed (typically, under 15%) and sell these low quality shears to schools or at shows.  The balance they will send to BladeLAB where our technicians determine which items can be economically re-manufactured (typically, 40%-50%).  Following re-manufacturing these items are then branded as a higher quality shear, marked with “USA” country-of-origin markings and sold to dealers, salons and through others.  The balance of the lot will be sold to a metal smelter and melted down.  OEM’s, Brander’s and Marketer’s using BladeLAB’s “value-add” service report that batch-to-batch profits increase by up to 50%, or more.

In cases where the item’s value is substantially increased due to the extensive changes needed country-of-origin is often shown to be “USA”.  BladeLAB “value add” services will improve your products performance by up to 500%, or greater.  Blade edges will be over 2X sharper, stay sharp for over 2X longer (many remain sharp for well over one year), reduce nicking by up to 99.3% and each will have a buttery soft feel stylists will identify with as “high quality”.  BladeLAB also issued DiamondHONE certifications for those items tested and proven to comply with proper heat treating protocols and meeting Kagawa “value add” standards.

Stylists, surgical centers and others users of professional shears now have a way to identify their shears and other assets. BladeLAB’s BLAST# (BladeLAB Asset Security Tracking) program provides each account and item a globally unique encryption identifier that is non-destructively laser and/or chemically deep etched into the metal of each item. Once marked, BLAST item’s service records and owner identification information is updated each time the item passes through any BladeLAB Sharpening Center. BLAST information is securely tracked and never placed on the company’s network or system computers. BLAST information is securely held by BladeLAB’s security center and available only to a select few personnel.

For persons having the proper means, removing the encryption identifier is possible, but doing so will always leave traces that only BladeLAB can detect. In virtually all cases of BLAST identifier tampering or even total removal, BladeLAB’s security section can still identify the rightful owner. BladeLAB will not service or return items having BLAST identifiers suffering signs of tampering until the rightful owner has been identified. BLAST identifiers also have a four digit alphanumeric code attached that can be used for general visual identification.
Note: BLAST identification may require advance notification period of up to 10 days, call for details.

• BLAST marking and tracking: $10 per item (one-time fee)
• Re-application of altered or removed BLAST identifiers: $12
  (one-time fee; requires proper removal and re-issuance of a new identifier).

BladeLAB offers personalization services for virtually all items to stylists and other users of professional shears and other items.  Using laser and/or chemical deep etching methods names, initials or other markings can be applied to an item.  A nearly unlimited number of fonts, sizes, symbols or artwork can typically be applied to an item.  Send details of what is desired (rough sketch, or other method telling BladeLAB’s Art Department where to start).

While these markings can be removed by persons having the proper equipment and knowledge, doing so will typically leave traces identifying tampering has occurred.  Costs for personalization services vary based on detail, artwork and other considerations.  BladeLAB will gladly issue a FREE quotation for personalization services. 
Notice: Persons wanting personalization services should notify BladeLAB 10 days prior to sending item(s) for sharpening and/or service.