Skip to content

Japanese hair shears for considered cutting choices

440C Steel in Hair Shears

One grade, several ways to build a working cutter.

By JapanShears EditorialUpdated

An open steel shear beside a finger insert, finger rest and pivot part on dark cloth.
Generated editorial component scene. The photograph does not identify a steel grade or show how to dismantle a named model.
On this page
  1. What the grade tells you
  2. Two 440C cutters with different builds
  3. Put the grade into your working brief

440C tells you which stainless steel a listing names. It leaves plenty still to choose: a short opposing cutter, a longer offset model, a convex edge or a different edge construction. Start there rather than treating 440C as a verdict on the tool.

What the grade tells you

Böhler’s N695 reference identifies that material with the AISI 440C designation and describes a stainless steel used in a hardened and tempered condition. Its published data applies to long products. That is useful grade context; it does not establish Böhler as the supplier of every 440C shear or give a hardness measurement for a finished pair.

A maker still has to turn the material into a blade, finish the edge and fit the two halves around a pivot. Keep those details on the same comparison sheet as the grade. You can read the separate edge, blade profile and blade-line terms if a listing mixes them together.

Two 440C cutters with different builds

The Juntetsu Classic II, 5.75 inch and Juntetsu KS, 6.0 inch both list 440C and a convex edge. They are right-handed cutters, but they do not offer the same layout.

DetailClassic II, 5.75 inchKS, 6.0 inch
HandleTraditional opposing layoutOffset layout
FinishPolishedPowder-polished
Other local sizes5.25 inchFixed 6.0-inch model

If you already work comfortably with opposing rings, the Classic II belongs in that shortlist. If you want to compare an offset layout, the KS gives you that alternative. The nominal sizes differ too, so this is a comparison of complete cutters rather than a steel-only experiment. Our size guide explains why overall length and usable blade length are separate measurements.

The KS’s powder-polished description belongs to its finish. It does not establish a powder-metallurgy production route for its steel. That distinction matters when you put it beside a maker-labelled powder-alloy model; the powder-metal guide explains the two claims.

Put the grade into your working brief

Write down what your current cutter is missing. Is it reach, a ring layout you want to try, or an edge suited to the cutting movement you are learning? A 440C model may offer that change without requiring a new material preference.

For a worked comparison with another stainless grade, follow VG-10 versus 440C. Once you own the tool, use its construction and cutting symptoms to guide care and inspection; the grade alone cannot set its next sharpening date.