A video I did by request on YS Park combs, the best combs out there. It may seem silly to make a video about combs, but they really are the Rolls Royce of combs! And it’s difficult to know which combs to get when you’re looking online!

 

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A video rundown of my everyday kit in the salon. I’m hoping to get other hairstylists to make some videos of their kits too!

You can follow the threads on Hairbrained and Hairmaven to see if other stylists share their kits.

 

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Ego Kompressor Blow Dryer:

 

 

At First Glance:

It’s very very small. It’s like Austin Powers’ little Walther PPK parody gun.

The packaging is elaborately lush. (Which is nice, but I don’t really care about the packaging)

It feels very solid, very well made.

Nice satin finish that feels good, not cheap.

Very well balanced.

Nozzle snaps on.

You don’t get a diffuser with it.

 

The Deets:

It’s an 1800 watter, very well built. It puts out pretty hot air on it’s highest settings – hot enough you wouldn’t want to let it sit on the hair for longer than a second. It goes from hot to cool pretty quick when you hit the cool button, which is nice.  Good air pressure, it’s not a “travel size” dryer, it’s a full size dryer in a smaller package. The nozzle snaps into the barrel very easily, and is easy to remove, but is very secure and doesn’t feel like it’s going to wear out and start falling off. I had to buy the diffuser seperately, which is annoying, but the diffuser is well built and I like it.

There’s a filter on the intake that you can remove and clean by flipping the grill thing down. The cord is a smidgen longer than every other blow dryer I’ve had – not much longer, just a couple inches. But that actually makes it less likely to get stuck on the chair when you’re working around the client.

Other than that, there’s not much to speak about… It’s just a great dryer. It’s my favorite dryer! It just feels great, works great. It’s not cheap, but I really like it.

 

Where It Sits In My Kit:

It’s the blow dryer I use at work. Been using it for about 6-7 months now, and I’m still just as happy with it as when I got it.

 

If This Blowdryer Was A Musician, Who Would It Be?

 

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I recommend this dryer to clients? For sure. It’s beautifully made, beautifully packaged, it feels lush and high class and it works great.

Would I buy this dryer again? Absolutely. I’m not even tempted to try any other dryers.

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Sam Villa Signature Shears 6.25″

 

 

At First Glance:

Neat handle.

A bit loose feeling – I ended up tightening it a bit more than the norm for shears.

Teflon liners in the ride area of the shears. Are they needed? Probably not.

Reasonably sharp, stayed reasonably sharp for a fairly long amount of time. (How long is fairly? It’s a reasonably long amount of time, by any fair estimate.)

They’re so offset, you’re going to clunk the thumb ring into the spine of the still blade at least once.

You barely move your thumb at all when you use these shears.

They’re heavier than most shears.

 

The Deets:

The steel is an unknown molybdenum alloy. I’ve asked, they won’t tell me what it is, or who manufactures the shears. The steel feels a bit softer than other shears I’ve used. (Meaning it takes a razor edge, but loses it faster)

They’ve got a leaf spring tension system. It’s not my favorite – it doesn’t loosen often, but it loosens more often than higher end tension systems. And the tension knob! (Grr! Always catching on things!)

They’re bigass shears, for people who like bigass shears.

The handle design looks silly, but it’s actually more well thought out than I had originally thought – the super-offset thumb ring is great, but the open thumb groove behind the thumb ring (which, btw, is in the exact position of where the thumb ring is on almost all regular crane handle shears) gives you excellent control if you want to open the tips of the shears just a tiny bit, or cut away from you, almost like using shears with a pivoting thumb ring.

They don’t hold a super sharp edge as long as other shears – but they’re not not-sharp. Better than Dannyco or Cricket/Centrix, not as good as high end Japanese shears.

They are fantastically “choppy” shears – meaning that there is a lot of power in the tips, you can notch cut like nobody’s business.

They have a lot of power and weight to them, so they’ll go through thicker hair or larger sections better.

They are a full convex edge. (I should hope so!)

The hollow grind is pretty deep – consequently I find these shears are a magnet for hair. It just gets sucked into the pivot point, and I end up having to clean them more often than my other shears.

The length, and weight and guillotine-like “chop” factor these shears have make them excellent for scissor over comb. Also, the extreme offset handle makes the blades open wider, which just makes scissor over comb easier too.

They’re a bit too big and bulky for detail work.

 

 

Where They Sit In My Kit:

I bring these out every time I do scissor over comb.

I bring these out every time I’m in a hurry. They let me get through more hair, quicker.

I don’t use these for slide cutting. They could probably do it, but they’re really big, and I have shears with a better edge for that.

I use these for dry cutting. Half because their edge seems to do ok with it, half because their weight and mass gives them the power for it, and half because I don’t want to dull the super sharp edge on my other shears. (Yes I know that’s three halves. Don’t nitpick!)

I use these whenever I’m going to notch cut most of a haircut.

 

If These Shears Were A Musician, Who Would They Be?

 

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I buy these again: Probably not – I already have one pair. I got them for the handle. I might consider it if I lost them, because I really like them for scissor over comb.

Would I recommend these: Not as a first shear, or mainstay shear. As a niche shear, or if you specifically want a bigass shear, then yeah. Beats a pair of Roc-it-Dogs.

Is it worth the price: That’s up to you – personally, I wish the craftsmanship and steel were a little higher quality. You could get a plain pair of Kasho shears for the same price made to higher standards. (But they’d be just plain, regular shears.)

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Kasho Design Master 30-t Thinning Shears

 

At First Glance:

These are pretty darned smooth for a lower price bracket thinning shear.

They do not grab hair at all.

They’re well balanced – they close as smooth as butter. You don’t feel the teeth as you close them.

 

The Deets:

The steel is… I have no idea. I’d guess a regular stainless steel, maybe molybdenum alloy (maybe – at this price point might not be). They feel solid, and well built though.

I feel comfortable closing them and pulling them through hair closed – and I don’t usually do that.

They’re smooth and cut well enough to point cut with them easily.

They are surprisingly high quality for such a low price point – You can find them for around $250. The quality you get for that is fantastic. They are leaps above the cheap thinners I was guilty of using before, and the cheap thinners a lot of stylists I know still use. (They just buy a new pair when the old pair “wears out”)

They’re much better than similarly priced thinners from a few “vanity shear” brands. (Kamisori for example)

My only gripe is the tension knob (It’s not bad, I just hate tension knobs. They should all die in a fire!), but for the quality of the shears vs the amount they cost, I can overlook that.

 

 

Where They Sit In My Kit:

They’re the only pair of thinning shears I use anymore. I don’t use thinning shears that often (I prefer to remove weight with a razor or with my regular shears), but they still get used a fair bit and they’ve held up admirably.

 

If These Shears Were A Musician, Who Would They Be?

 

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I buy these shears again: Yes.

Would I recommend these shears: Yes.

Is it worth paying more for Kasho thinners, instead of getting a cheaper thinner: Absolutely. Maybe not texturizers, but thinners definitely.

 

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Chi Hand Shot Blow Dryer:

 

 

At First Glance:

It’s tiny. Like, not just for having no handle – it could be a portable blow dryer no problem. It’s only a bit bigger than the folding travel dryers.

Feels decently well made. Nice finish on the plastic.

The case does not get hot.

Comes with a concentrator nozzle and a diffuser (one of my pet peeves is when you have to buy a diffuser seperately. WTF?!) and a comby…thingy… For when you want to concentrate on what you’re combing…

Little red leather hand strap is a bit annoying. Could be used as a carrier handle for weinerdog puppies though, I suppose.

It puts out ridiculously hot air.

 

The Deets:

Like the rest of the Chi family, it’s 1500 watts. It puts out an ok airflow (I like dryers that can push some hardcore air though), and it has no shortage of heat – in fact, it puts out really, REALLY hot air. Even on the low setting. The cool setting is more like “warm”. I don’t think it was meant to be like this, I think they insulated the exterior case of the dryer really well (so that it wouldn’t burn your hands holding it) and didn’t realize that all the extra heat it was keeping off your hands would be shot out the front of the dryer.

The heat this thing puts out is so intense that you really have to be careful when you start using it. I’m sure at least once we’ve all  been chatting away, had our blowdryer on high, and accidentally gotten the client’s scalp a bit too hot. Well, with this dryer you could be paying attention, hold it still for a fraction of a second too long, and make your client jump. It’s an adjustment, is what I’m saying.

The cord seems strangely short. I compared with other dryers, and I guess it’s maybe just the added length of having a handle on the dryer – but it seems like no matter what, I’m always clotheslining my client with the cord when I use this dryer. Very annoying.

They at least made the nozzle snap in, instead of pressure-fit on, so that’s one good thing on their part. And the blowdryer is cool. I mean, it’s cute, and flashy, and just place cool.

It’s so small you could sell them as travel blow dryers – you could fit it into a duffel bag, carry-on luggage bag. They’re totally retail friendly.

Good for clients at home, scrunching curls. It’s just easy to hold in that position.

 

Where It Sits In My Kit:

In the bottom drawer of my trolley, along with the clippers I don’t use and the other stuff I’ve retired.

 

If This Blowdryer Was A Musician, Who Would It Be?

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I recommend this dryer: To clients only. And I would tell them about the excessive heat on the high setting.

Would I buy this dryer again: Probably not.

 

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Wasabi 7 Tooth Texurizing Shears

 

 

At first glance:

Mine feel a bit clunky. That might just be the way all texturizers feel with big’ol chiclet teeth like that, but I was hoping for something a bit smoother.

They’re a bit thick – they seem meatier than a lot of other shears.

They’re 5.5″, which is just fine for what I use these shears for.

There’s nothing precision, smooth, or luxury about these texturizers – they’re a tool to get the job done, and that’s it.

 

 

The Deets:

Not sure what steel these are made of – probably plain old stainless steel, maybe an alloy with molybdenum. (Hard to tell with the lower price point these have.)

They are semi-convex, which is like kinda, sorta convex…ish. But better than a bevelled edge.

The pair I bought, I had to send to be serviced because they caught on the first tooth. Obviously they were bent, or out of alignment in some way. They repaired them under warranty at the Kasho service center (Wasabi is/was distributed by Kai, Kasho’s parent company) and when I got them back, they worked fine. I could see they removed some steel off the first couple teeth, but I really didn’t care – these are budget priced shears that fit a narrow niche in my toolkit, so they’re adequate for what I need.

They don’t grab hair, but then I don’t haphazardly cut and yank my shears out of people’s hair with them still closed. At least, not with big texturizers.

They’ve stayed sharp, but I don’t use them often.

 

Where They Sit In My Kit:

They don’t get out much, I  really only pull them out on select heads of hair and certain types of haircuts. A lot of the time I texturize with a razor or just with my regular shears, but every now and then I like to use some big fat chiclet-teeth texturizers. Mostly on my friend Colin.

If These Shears Were A Musician, Who Would They Be?

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I recommend these shears? Not if there were better options.

Would I buy these shears again? Probably not – I’d be willing to gamble on something else.

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Drumroll please… This is the first installment in a (probably neverending, given my addiction to tools) series of reviews of shears & gears. Well, not actual gears. You know. It just rhymes better that way. $!$# I shoulda hired a ghostwriter for this stuff.

First up:

Kasho Silver Series 6.0″ Offset Shears

 

At first glance:

They’re a little smaller than I was expecting – they’re very dainty, lightweight shears. They actually seem shorter than 6″.

They’re super smooth feeling, like all the Kashos I’ve used. That’s one thing all Kasho shears do very well.

They’re ultra sharp – so sharp I don’t like using them on dry hair. It’s like a razor on dry hair, it can grab and skin the cuticle. Still this sharp even after many months of using them daily.

They aren’t very powerful. Being so lightweight, you aren’t going to get through thick sections with these. If your client has dense hair, you’ll have to take thinner sections.

Not very much power at the tips. If you like to notch cut or “chop” everything, these might not work well for you.

Very precise shears, great for detail work and “precision cutting”. (A term I loathe to use because it almost doesn’t mean anything anymore, but y’all know what I mean.)

 

The Deets:

The silver series are right below the Green series in the Kasho lineup, and I actually prefer them over Greens (which are a bit fatter, and have a rounder profile). I don’t like a tension knob, it bugs me when I’m putting my shears away or taking them out of their case. These are super slim since they use a tension screw that uses a 2 pronged key to adjust. It’s quality made, I almost never have to readjust it. It’s not a plain old screw, like cheaper shears have.

These shears collect hair less than the rest of my shears do. Probably due to Kasho’s smoothness – everything is really tightly engineered, there’s probably just less space for hair to get stuck in.

I’m not entirely sure what the steel used in these are, since I can’t find out from Kasho directly, but I’ve heard it’s a cobalt alloy and I’m willing to bet it’s VG-10 from the random info I’ve found on the net. VG-10 is a high quality blade steel Kai has used in it’s kitchen knives (Kai, the parent group of Kasho, also makes kitchen knives under the name Shun). It’s got all the good stuff: Chromium, Carbon, Molybdenum, Manganese, and Cobalt. That really doesn’t need to be in this review, but I was bored one day so I started looking up various steels, and dammit, I’m not wasting trivia! (Wootz steel is fascinating btw…)

If anyone knows what steel these shears are made of for sure, let me know!

The design of the handle is fantastic imho. That’s a personal opinion, but I love it – they just feel like I’m not even holding anything.

The edge is convex (of course – not sure, but I think only the Design Master line of shears is semi-convex?), everything is superbly crafted – beautifully polished finish, tiny little hone line, the hollow ground is pretty shallow (which I like – keeps gunk from getting in there).

 

Where They Sit In My Kit:

I grab these whenever I’m cutting fine hair, or thin hair, or doing any tiny-section precision cutting. If I’m doing thick hair, bigger sections, or dry cutting, I’ll grab different shears.

Their super-sharpness makes them great for slicing wet hair.

Detail work: hairlines, around the ears, fringes, etc.

 

If These Shears Were A Musician, Who Would They Be?

 

 

The Bottom Line:

Would I recommend them? Yes.

Would I buy them again? Yes.

Was it worth spending a few more bucks for these compared to Blue or Ivory series Kashos? Yes.

These shears vs ______: Different tools for different jobs, see how they feel in your hand, yadda yadda. (That’s like comparing Ginger Spice to Posh Spice. Both have their pluses and minuses!)

 

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