CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Grooming => Topic started by: silke on September 23, 2007, 05:13:14 PM
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Can anyone help me with how to use thinning scissors properly, please? :blink: I use them on Charlie's legs and top of head and know to cut and brush, but wondered how I should use them? Which bit should be closer to his skin - the straight edge or the other one; and should I cut going with the fur or against it; and should I cut close to the skin or nearer the end of the fur?? (Does that make sense? :shades:)
Thanks a lot, :D
Silke
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Don't be afraid to experiment, thinning shears can be used in all sorts of ways with different effects :D
I don't find it makes a huge difference which side of the blade is closest to the skin. In doing heads, if the toothed side of the blade is closer then the cut will be just a blades width longer (miniscule)
You can lay the scissors flat against the coat and scissor with the blade pointing in the same direction as the coat, for blending and taking bulk out of the head and fron legs, for example.
You can follow ridges in the coat with the scissors, such as the one that runs down either side of their necks where the hair changes direction an smooth it flat with the thinners.
You can use it in place of a regular shear to take length off or trim up "wispies" to give a more natural look. For example some dogs ear feathers get a bit tatty at the ends, you can neaten this up with thinners.
You can go underneath the coat, with the blade pointing up to take out bulk and get sections to lay flat however be aware that it can often make the coat underneath a bit more wooly (and stick up as it grows back in, because now you will have short hairs underneath long ones) so use sparingly.
You can use it like a human hairdresser and hold the hair up and cut across, good for waves, ridges and cowlicks, taking off length, blending, etc
When I use it on heads and front legs I lay it against the hair, blade poining in the same direction as the hair growth, and a bit of pressure on the blade (how much depends on how much I want to cut) and cut, cut, slicker, and check the results before making the next cuts. Cuts would therefore be nearer the end of the hair, that way you are cutting down through the layers so you can contol how much you take off. If you start close to the skin, then you could end up going much shorter than you had planned. As you gain experience you will know how deeply to press the thinners to get what you are after.
Play around with it, they don't take out much hair at a time, so you can't really make a mistake :shades:
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Thank you, Michelle - you are a star!! :blink: