On Point: Stories and Testimonials
A Stylist in San Francisco Who Was Disappointed in the Sharpening at Hikari Tries Diamond Sharp
A stylist in the Bay Area owned both Hikari and Mizutani premium scissors worth $500-$2000 each. Not trusting the sharpening of these to just anyone he had been sending shears to Hikari for sharpening and had been disappointed that they weren't coming back as sharp as he would like. After suffering through a few bad sharpening experiences he decided to look around for another option and found his way online to the Diamond Sharp Shears Service Center. He sent a pair of his shears to us and we returned them a few days later, razor sharp and ready to go. His text to us says it all, "Just want to tell you that you did a great job with my shears. I'll be sending all my shears to you from now on. Thank you."
A stylist in the Bay Area owned both Hikari and Mizutani premium scissors worth $500-$2000 each. Not trusting the sharpening of these to just anyone he had been sending shears to Hikari for sharpening and had been disappointed that they weren't coming back as sharp as he would like. After suffering through a few bad sharpening experiences he decided to look around for another option and found his way online to the Diamond Sharp Shears Service Center. He sent a pair of his shears to us and we returned them a few days later, razor sharp and ready to go. His text to us says it all, "Just want to tell you that you did a great job with my shears. I'll be sending all my shears to you from now on. Thank you."
The Case of the Mizutani Quandary
A couple of years ago, Gary visited the Mizutani factory in Japan while on a trip to the country. He toured the facility, met the president and staff and all were very friendly. While he was there he special ordered a new pair of left handed swivel thumb blending shears to be shipped to him back in the U.S. when they were finished.
When his new shears finally came, Gary excitedly opened them and put them to work. But, try as he may, he couldn't make them cut. After some time he was forced to relegate the new shears to paperweight status until his sharpener came by for a visit. The staff at the Mizutani factory had all been very helpful and granted him a large discount for being the first to visit at the factory in Japan and order a pair of scissors, so he was eager to find a solution to his cutting problem. The sharpener took a look at them and told Gary that they were not sharp. After sharpening the shears, the sharpener then returned and told him that they wouldn't cut correctly for him because, in fact, they were right handed shears.
Although he didn't necessarily believe this he decided to contact his Mizutani rep to get some answers. When the rep ensured him that Mizutani knows how to make left handed shears, Gary sent a photo of the blending shears. The rep replied, "We have a problem," and asked him to send the shears back to Japan to be fixed at no charge.
Some months later, Gary received his newly refined shears in the mail and opened them expecting to revel in their cutting supremacy. Again, the shears wouldn't cut correctly for him left handed, and again his sharpener told him they weren't sharp and that they were still right handed shears. The rep in Japan ensured Gary that they were left handed shears and that he would eventually figure them out, but he struggled to make them cut and was on the verge of giving up on them entirely.
On a return visit to Japan a friend asked him how the shears were working and Gary told him of his disappointment. The friend told him that it was standard practice in Japan to ship unsharpened shears so that they would have to be sharpened by a master sharpener. Desperate to find a solution to his problem Gary searched for a master sharpener upon his return from Japan. He found the Diamond Sharp Shears Service Center and contacted us on our Facebook page. He told us his story and said that he would be in the area of the service center and would love to stop by to see if we could tell him whether the shears were left handed or not and see if we could make them work properly.
During his visit Gary met with Norm Voller, our resident Mizutani Master Sharpener, who confirmed that the shears were left handed and showed Gary how he could tell the difference for himself in the future. Norm took some time with them and soon had them sharpened and operating perfectly. Finally satisfied that his long dilemma had ended Gary reached out to thank us on our Facebook page again:
"Thanks so much for making my Mizutani Shears finally work for me!!! I'm excited to get to use them now that they finally work. They just needed a little tlc it seems...bending the blade a bit, and a quality sharpening! Worth the flight to North Carolina and a little driving 😎"
One note on Mizutani: It is not standard practice for them to ship shears unsharpened. However, each pair of Mizutani Scissors is handcrafted and sometimes, even the masters make mistakes. That's what Diamond Sharp Shears is here for, we make shears cut as good as they are meant to cut, and we aim for perfection every time. We trust that Mizutani also aims for perfection and that is why we support them.
A couple of years ago, Gary visited the Mizutani factory in Japan while on a trip to the country. He toured the facility, met the president and staff and all were very friendly. While he was there he special ordered a new pair of left handed swivel thumb blending shears to be shipped to him back in the U.S. when they were finished.
When his new shears finally came, Gary excitedly opened them and put them to work. But, try as he may, he couldn't make them cut. After some time he was forced to relegate the new shears to paperweight status until his sharpener came by for a visit. The staff at the Mizutani factory had all been very helpful and granted him a large discount for being the first to visit at the factory in Japan and order a pair of scissors, so he was eager to find a solution to his cutting problem. The sharpener took a look at them and told Gary that they were not sharp. After sharpening the shears, the sharpener then returned and told him that they wouldn't cut correctly for him because, in fact, they were right handed shears.
Although he didn't necessarily believe this he decided to contact his Mizutani rep to get some answers. When the rep ensured him that Mizutani knows how to make left handed shears, Gary sent a photo of the blending shears. The rep replied, "We have a problem," and asked him to send the shears back to Japan to be fixed at no charge.
Some months later, Gary received his newly refined shears in the mail and opened them expecting to revel in their cutting supremacy. Again, the shears wouldn't cut correctly for him left handed, and again his sharpener told him they weren't sharp and that they were still right handed shears. The rep in Japan ensured Gary that they were left handed shears and that he would eventually figure them out, but he struggled to make them cut and was on the verge of giving up on them entirely.
On a return visit to Japan a friend asked him how the shears were working and Gary told him of his disappointment. The friend told him that it was standard practice in Japan to ship unsharpened shears so that they would have to be sharpened by a master sharpener. Desperate to find a solution to his problem Gary searched for a master sharpener upon his return from Japan. He found the Diamond Sharp Shears Service Center and contacted us on our Facebook page. He told us his story and said that he would be in the area of the service center and would love to stop by to see if we could tell him whether the shears were left handed or not and see if we could make them work properly.
During his visit Gary met with Norm Voller, our resident Mizutani Master Sharpener, who confirmed that the shears were left handed and showed Gary how he could tell the difference for himself in the future. Norm took some time with them and soon had them sharpened and operating perfectly. Finally satisfied that his long dilemma had ended Gary reached out to thank us on our Facebook page again:
"Thanks so much for making my Mizutani Shears finally work for me!!! I'm excited to get to use them now that they finally work. They just needed a little tlc it seems...bending the blade a bit, and a quality sharpening! Worth the flight to North Carolina and a little driving 😎"
One note on Mizutani: It is not standard practice for them to ship shears unsharpened. However, each pair of Mizutani Scissors is handcrafted and sometimes, even the masters make mistakes. That's what Diamond Sharp Shears is here for, we make shears cut as good as they are meant to cut, and we aim for perfection every time. We trust that Mizutani also aims for perfection and that is why we support them.
The "Twig" That Wouldn't Cut
A customer in South Carolina had always used cheap brands when styling hair at her salon. About eight months ago she bought a Mizutani Twig expecting to be blown away by the premium shear's superior cutting ability. After all, she had spent ten times what she was used to spending on cutting equipment. Unfortunately, the Twig she bought didn't cut well from the start. She called in a local guy to grind and finish them but his efforts only made matters worse. The shears were useless to her now.
Before giving up she did some digging and located the Diamond Sharp Service Center and mailed the scissors to us in a last ditch effort to get them to cut correctly. When we got them, Norm Voller says, the shears were in bad shape and it took a long time to fix them. The blade angle, cutting surface, nearly every aspect of the blade had been misshapen by the previous sharpener. Norm patiently and methodically whipped the tiny Twig back into shape and returned it to the customer. After using the newly sharpened scissors for the first time she sent us this text:
"You're the best! Didn't know they could be that sharp. You have exceeded every expectation I had. You're the (best) Norm!"
The text was followed by four smiley face emoticons.
A customer in South Carolina had always used cheap brands when styling hair at her salon. About eight months ago she bought a Mizutani Twig expecting to be blown away by the premium shear's superior cutting ability. After all, she had spent ten times what she was used to spending on cutting equipment. Unfortunately, the Twig she bought didn't cut well from the start. She called in a local guy to grind and finish them but his efforts only made matters worse. The shears were useless to her now.
Before giving up she did some digging and located the Diamond Sharp Service Center and mailed the scissors to us in a last ditch effort to get them to cut correctly. When we got them, Norm Voller says, the shears were in bad shape and it took a long time to fix them. The blade angle, cutting surface, nearly every aspect of the blade had been misshapen by the previous sharpener. Norm patiently and methodically whipped the tiny Twig back into shape and returned it to the customer. After using the newly sharpened scissors for the first time she sent us this text:
"You're the best! Didn't know they could be that sharp. You have exceeded every expectation I had. You're the (best) Norm!"
The text was followed by four smiley face emoticons.
On Sharpening: Texts from hairstylists
First time customers:
"I am super happy with your work! Thank you so much! I'm already looking for other things for you to sharpen. I will definitely be referring you to other people."
"The shears feel amazing now. Thank you!"
Repeat customers:
"My shears cut like butter! You are awesome! Thank you again! We are going to send more out soon!"
"I am super happy with your work! Thank you so much! I'm already looking for other things for you to sharpen. I will definitely be referring you to other people."
"The shears feel amazing now. Thank you!"
Repeat customers:
"My shears cut like butter! You are awesome! Thank you again! We are going to send more out soon!"
On Mizutani Shears
CASE STUDY:
A stylist had been "very disappointed" with his $1200 HH-4 7" Hitari Hanso shears that he only recently finished paying off. We lent him a $500 pair of Mizutani Solid 7" shears to try out and see if he could tell the difference in the cutting ability. This was his reply: "I love the solids. Amazing amazing tool. I won't able to purchase until next week sometime. I had to replace my water heater yesterday!"
RANDOM CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
"I really love these scissors! I'll be in 8-6 tomorrow, I'd love to make the purchase."
"Got the (2 pairs of Mizutani DB 20's). I cut myself just looking at them."
A stylist had been "very disappointed" with his $1200 HH-4 7" Hitari Hanso shears that he only recently finished paying off. We lent him a $500 pair of Mizutani Solid 7" shears to try out and see if he could tell the difference in the cutting ability. This was his reply: "I love the solids. Amazing amazing tool. I won't able to purchase until next week sometime. I had to replace my water heater yesterday!"
RANDOM CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
"I really love these scissors! I'll be in 8-6 tomorrow, I'd love to make the purchase."
"Got the (2 pairs of Mizutani DB 20's). I cut myself just looking at them."