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Japanese hair shears for considered cutting choices

VG-10 Steel in Hair Shears

Read VG10 and VG10W separately, then look at the shear.

By JapanShears EditorialUpdated

A materials technician examines an unmarked steel coupon through an optical microscope while a complete generic hair shear rests separately on a mat.
Generated editorial materials scene with an unmarked steel coupon. It does not test, identify or grade any alloy.
On this page
  1. What the W adds to the name
  2. A real six-inch comparison
  3. What to do with the specification

VG-10 is a material name you will find on several Japanese shear listings. It helps you read the specification, but it does not tell you the handle shape, edge construction or blade length. There is another detail worth catching early: VG10 and VG10W are separate labels.

What the W adds to the name

Takefu’s VG10 reference lists a stainless cutlery steel with chromium, molybdenum, vanadium and cobalt among its alloying elements. The maker calls the published composition representative data. You do not need to memorise the percentages to compare shears.

Takefu describes VG10W as adding tungsten, represented by the W, to VG10. Retain that suffix when it is part of a model’s specification. Shortening every VG10W listing to VG10 loses a stated material distinction.

These material references explain the names. They do not, by themselves, identify the supplier of an individual shear or transfer the reference’s hardness data to a finished tool. A model’s own material and construction statements still belong beside them.

A real six-inch comparison

The Juntetsu VG10 Offset, 6.0 inch lists VG10, a polished convex edge and a 3D offset handle. The Kasho Green Semi-Offset, 6.0 inch lists VG-10W. Kasho’s Green series description also specifies hollow-ground convex blades and a ball-bearing tension system.

Both selected options are right-handed cutters at the same nominal size. You can now compare useful differences: the stated material, the handle layout, blade construction and pivot. You cannot attribute a different cutting feel to the W alone when those other parts change too.

If you favour an opposing layout, the Juntetsu Classic, 5.5 inch provides a VG10 example with that handle. It is a different size and model from the six-inch Offset. The handle guide can help you describe the layout you want without turning a material preference into a grip recommendation.

What to do with the specification

Keep the full material name in your shortlist, then write the change you are buying beside it: a particular size, blade form, handle or pivot. If the only difference you can explain is “VG10 sounds better”, there is more useful comparison work to do.

For two actual six-inch Juntetsu cutters with different materials, see VG-10 versus 440C. If the word cobalt has caught your attention, cobalt-bearing stainless and cobalt-base alloys need a separate explanation. Cobalt in a grade does not turn every such shear into the same alloy family.