# Thinning shears questions



## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Hi. I have been grooming Lily on my own now for quite a few months, relying on the wonderful advice on this forum and Hedy's Maltese Obsession youtube videos.

I have been wanting to take the splurge on buying a pair of thinning shears for Lily. Scissors wise, the only grooming tool I have now is a scissors with a straight edge. Thought the thinning shears would be helpful for cutting the hair around her face. 

I see Zulily.com has a new sale today on shears for humans (Shears Direct). Seem to be good prices. Will this work the same or do I need shears made especially for dogs? If these are okay, what is the advisable "tooth size" if I am getting only one pair? They have 28 tooth, 30 tooth, 35 tooth thinning shears, etc.

Greatly appreciate any and all input!

Linda


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Oops, never mind. I just did some searching on the forum and realize I need to get a pair with forty-some teeth, and nothing like that is available on zulily's sale.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

I have these for around the face. I also use for the ears and top of Tyler's head. 

Aaronco 4.5" 24 Tooth Blunt Tip TinyThin Thinner

For the body, I use this:

https://www.petedge.com/zpetedgemai...P_TR&itemKey=005056A633791ED2B5864B5340C90FB3

My big splurge on shears were the straights. I bought Chris Christensen. I also use curved. I keep Tyler in a puppy cut and find that I utilize all of the shears that I have for his haircuts.


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks, Kim. I like how the thinning shears are only 4.5 inches. Seems easier to handle.


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## kd1212 (Nov 5, 2013)

They are and perfect for the eyes. I usually use the tiny thinning shears first and then straighten loose pieces with the straight shears. And they're not overly expensive and do a great job.



LovelyLily said:


> Thanks, Kim. I like how the thinning shears are only 4.5 inches. Seems easier to handle.


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Yes, they look great.


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi Linda === if you like shorter shears, which give you very accurate control (especially around the face)

Kenchii has some FiveStar 4.5inch ones (they give a steep discount for Superzoo and Hershey grooming show discounts)
CC has the Pixie curved, and thinners
Cherrybrook has the Merlynn 6" Thinners on sale right now and these are my favorite for around the face

If I were to splurge on one pair of thinners == I would choose the Merlynn 6" Thinners

I have tested a TON of blenders and thinners that range from $50-$350 and I love these Merlynn's the best for some reason!

Good luck!!


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Hedy, thanks. I ended up going with ordering the CC 6" Merlynn thinning shears. Thanks for the tip about the sale on Cherrybrook (ordered through there).


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

Fun times when you receive the shears as they are packaged so beautifully. I'm pretty sure they have a certain time frame to exchange them if you don't like them.

TIP -- depending on who last handled the shears before packaging them, the shears have a screw that can be adjusted. Usually we like to loosen a few notches so as not to DULL the edges of the new shears. You can then adjust the level of tightness to suit you and your dogs hair. Too loose will dull the edges in odd places == too tight will dull the entire edge.

With CC shears, they are usually pretty good right out of the box, but I still loosen just a turn or two before I test them out.

I think I may order an extra pair myself since these have been so good to me! 

Take care Linda!


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Didn't know that Hedy, thanks for the tip! Will be a little afraid to use them at first as I have never before used any type scissors/shears with anything other than a straight edge. Will have to prepare by rewatching some of your very helpful videos. Thanks again!


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## lydiatug (Feb 21, 2012)

Thinning shears are not so scary Linda, they are very forgiving. My favorite is the 57 tooth Sensei with the swivel thumb...Thanks to Hedy


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Lydia, glad to hear they are forgiving. Thanks!


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## LOVE_BABY (May 5, 2015)

I have the Chris Christensen blue 'Merlyn' 7" thinning sheers which I love, don't remember how many teeth they have though. Hedy-Maltese Obsession recommended them in one of her videos. I too use those videos as a reference for cutting Baby's hair -wonderful videos :thumbsup:.


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Thanks, Sandy. Should be receiving them soon. 

Linda


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## LOVE_BABY (May 5, 2015)

LovelyLily said:


> Thanks, Sandy. Should be receiving them soon.
> 
> Linda


Your welcome! I'd love to see a photo of your dog after you cut your dogs hair for the first time! The first time I cut my dogs hair it went from floor length to a korean-hybrid sort of cut. So much long hair came off his body that I didn't really finish the entire cut that day. I took a break then went back & finished fine tuning it about a week afterward when I washed him again & 'tweeked' the first hair cut I gave Baby. The 'tweeking' really fine tuned what I had initially done & it turned out great. So don't worry if you don't get it exactly the way you want it at your first try. You can always go back later & retouch it. After you cut your dogs hair a few times it gets easier. And if you mess up it will always grow back.

Just last week Hubby & I brought Baby to an 'Ice cream social' at a pet store & we got lots of compliments about Baby's hair cut. I didn't mention to anyone that I did it myself because I wanted people to judge his hair cut purely on 'looks only' & not because of any preconceived notions about what a 'home' hair cut might look like. My relatives also loved his new haircut when they saw him with it.


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Received them yesterday, and tried them out last night for the first time when trimming her muzzle before her bath. Like them so far. ?. Seems to lay better by her chin. Hedy, they are pretty and had pretty packaging. Sandy, don't plan on changing her cut style--keeping with the short torso and long legs with top knot. 

Gave Lily her bath a bit too late this morning to have a chance to do the after-bath followup trim. Needed to get going to drop her off at vet office for first dental cleaning. Will hold off for a day or so before trying to finish trimming her fur.


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## LOVE_BABY (May 5, 2015)

LovelyLily said:


> Received them yesterday, and tried them out last night for the first time when trimming her muzzle before her bath. Like them so far. ?. Seems to lay better by her chin. Hedy, they are pretty and had pretty packaging. Sandy, don't plan on changing her cut style--keeping with the short torso and long legs with top knot.
> 
> Gave Lily her bath a bit too late this morning to have a chance to do the after-bath followup trim. Needed to get going to drop her off at vet office for first dental cleaning. Will hold off for a day or so before trying to finish trimming her fur.



You wrote in your last post: *"Like them so far. ?." *
I'm assuming there was an error in punctuation & can't figure out it you actually like your new shears or not due to the punctuation. A 'period' would mean that you like them, but a '?' question mark would meant that you don't know, are unsure, or maybe don't like them. 

Which brand/type did you wind up buying? Curious to know if it was the "CC Meryln" which I recommended, or one of the other choices from someone else? Hedy at Maltese Obsession had said in her video that the Merlyn was a bit more affordably priced but she loved it, which I why I bought mine. I never used any other type of thinning shear before the Merlyn, so I'm happy with the Merlyn because I have nothing else to compare it to. If you don't like your Merlyn I'd be curious to know what you dont' like about it & sorry about recommending it to you if you don't like it. Wonder if you could possibly return it to the store if you don't like it?


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Sandy, sorry for the mixed message. I wrote the post with the confusing "?" from my iphone. Evidently when I put in the iphone smiley face it translates to a ? in the post. I caught this in another post I recently made--where I typed a bunch of smiley faces on the iphone and saw that it typed as a bunch of question marks.

I bought the 6 inch Merlynn thinning shears. I bought them on online at Cherrybrook on sale. The hair under her chin angles in a bit when I use the thinning shears. I like them a lot. First pair of quality shears I have ever used. Have not used them elsewhere on her so far (not sure that I am supposed to). When I get a free moment I plan on going back and reviewing some of Hedy's Maltese Obsession grooming videos for a general refresher and tips on how to best use these shears. 

August was the month of changes for my little Lily--she now has pearly white teeth again after her teeth cleaning last week, I got these thinning shears that will hopefully enable me to be a better groomer of her hair, and she got her snazzy orange doggie stroller from Target a couple weeks back. :thumbsup:


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## MalteseObsessed (Mar 7, 2010)

Glad you like the shears Linda. If you flip the shears the angle of the hair lie will also be flipped since these shears thin with only one blade.

I don't have any tips on shears in any our videos yet, but I do like to tell friends to loosen the knob when they first get their shears to make sure that the blades don't get dulled (i.e.. you should NOT hear the 'crunching' of the shears === means they are too tight and/or not enough oil. I like to loosen that little KNOB in the middle and find that perfect slippery action where the hair slices NICE like sushi, but without any jarring/scratching blade sound. 

I try to add the oil to the joint every month and wipe the excess off with a very soft kleenex to keep the blades nice and slippery (oiling every other month is good too) Add the oil by opening shears all the way and placing a drop of oil as close to the joint as possible and let gravity drip the oil into the joint == then wipe off excess.



Happy to hear Sandy likes them too. I know Lydia and I both own the Sensei Swivl shears and they are pretty sweet too, but I don't use them on the muzzles as much. I like the Sensei blenders for the body and legs.

Fun times playing with new shears!!!


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## LovelyLily (Mar 26, 2013)

Hedy, thanks for the explanation on how to use the oil and loosen the blade. I have not done either to my shears yet, just put the included oil container away and thought I would figure it out another day. Now I know how to oil them.  Thanks so much for all your help!


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