Glossary

Here you will find absorbing facts concerning our cutting tools. Feel free to choose the subject you are interested in:

Hairdressing tools	Razors	Scissors	Manicure and pedicure instruments	Manicure sets

General information
Examinations of the material, hardness, pattern and extent of grinding of the scissors are essential parts of the quality control process at DOVO, along with functional and optical checks.

Examples of composition of materials:
Material C45 0.45% C, 0.30% Si, 0.55% Mn, 0.35% P and S
Hardening: 830° - 860°C,
chilled in oil Tempering: 180° - 250°C
Hardness after tempering: 52 HRC

Material 4034 R 0.48% C, 0.37% Si, 0.27% Mn, 13.73% Cr
Hardening: 1060°C,
chilled in air (partly in oil) Tempering: 160°C
Hardening after tempering: 52 HRC

Deviations in the hardness (i.e. higher values) apply if C60 or non-corrosive 4125 is used. The consistent quality of the steel with regard to structure and analysis is essential for a good grade of hardness and elasticity in a pair of scissors. For this reason, the material used for every batch is checked on the basis of test certificates, the hardness of the scissors is continually examined by checking the first from each batch by hand, and particular attention is paid to determining the exact "twist", i.e. the fine adjustment of the variation in the angle between each half of the scissors.

Surfaces
In the case of simpler qualities, e.g. C60 normal steel, the scissors are ¾ Nickel plated and burnished (i.e. not including the inner side of the blade). In addition, it is possible for the scissors to be plated with chromium (because the layer of chromium is so thin, every part of the scissors is plated, i.e. including the inner side of the blade), to be partly or completely plated with gold or to have so-called tempering colours applied to create a blue effect. A few of the scissors are offered with bronzing.

Scissors made of non-corrosive stainless steel are either burnished, sandblasted to give a fine matt effect, coated in Teflon (black or coloured) and in some cases given a hard gold plating or coated in nitride.

 

 

 

 

 

  Hairdressing tools:

	Razor sharp edge So-called "razor cuts" are made by aligning the cutting edges at a flat angle of max. 40° and subsequently fine-grinding and polishing them. This ensures that the hair is not pushed forwards, but can be gripped with minimum effort and cut more easily and cleanly.
	Hollow ground and honed The hollow grinding is carried out in a radius of 60/80 mm. The honing must be carried out very carefully and over several degrees of fineness, using an abrasive wheel coated with diamond dust. This ensures that the scissors can be moved easily and smoothly.
	Hollow ground Professional hair scissors are hand-ground and honed.
	Convex blade
	Corrugation In many cases, hair scissors are micro-serrated and are ground using a special grinding wheel. The serration should be angled from the point of the scissors to the joint, so that even fine hair can be held firmly.
	Adjustable screw Adjustable screw systems allow the user to set the scissors to meet his individual requirements, i.e. to determine the load pressure on the blades.
	Screwed-in finger rest Finger hooks, which can be screw hooks or forged hooks are preferred by export customers in America or Asia. The hook ensures that the scissors are balanced more easily between the index and little fingers, which means that they can be guided more easily.
	MICRO MOTION The Teflon pressure plate is spring-loaded in a rubber micro ring and provides for particularly precise cuts.

NI	= Nickel-plated
R POL	= Stainless steel
R SAT	= Stainless steel satin finish
R TEF	= Stainless steel, teflon coated

Thinning scissors
These are available with 21, 23, 40, 42 or 46 teeth on one side (shaping scissors) or on both. Double-sided thinning scissors with 21 or 23 teeth are preferred by private customers and are particularly suitable for cutting the top hair close to the head. Shaping scissors with 40, 42 or 46 teeth are used by hairdressers to make an exact, clean, layered cut at the ends of the hair. Good-quality thinning scissors can be recognised by the fine, exact equal angle cutting of the individual teeth, the equal distance between each tooth and the even action, i.e. not too strongly curved and with a good support behind the screw.

 

 

 

 

 

  Razors:

We distinguish between the following handles: 3/8" flat or 1/2 hollow ground for salon and clinic use, eyebrows 4/8" flat or 1/2 hollow ground for salon and clinic use, light beard growth 5/8" 1/2 or 1/1 hollow ground for general removal of beard growth 6/8" square or sharp point for the experienced shaver 7/8" 1/1 hollow ground with for very strong beard growth double- stabilising piece

Cross-section of razors -degree of hollowness- A flat ground B full hollow ground C 1/4 hollow

Care of the razor
Correct care is essential for the maintenance and long life of this traditional gentlemen's accessory. Each time it is used, the entire razor must be rinsed in clear water and dried thoroughly. If the razor is not used for a longer period, it is advisable to coat it lightly with oil. Never store the razor in a damp, unventilated place.

Razor strops and honing
While flat razors are sharpened using strops with wooden handles where the razor can be "pushed" along the strop, ½ or full hollow-ground razors are sharpened using hanging strops, in some cases with a knob made of fine cow-hide or smooth Russian-type leather with which the strop can be hung up. Some of these strops have a hemp tube on the reverse side which serves to position the sharp edge in the direction indicated by the razor. If necessary, the leather side can be coated with a thin layer of fine grinding paste (red paste), and with polishing paste (black paste) for polishing on a separate strop, and subsequently worked in with the palm of the hand. Sharpening is effected at a plane angle with the back of the razor on the razor strop; it should be first be drawn away from the body. When changing direction, the razor should be turned with its back to the strop and then drawn towards the body. If the cutting edge of the razor faces the strop while the razor is being turned, it will become round and lose its cut. In this case, only regrinding by a specialist will help.

 

 

 

 

 

  Scissors:

concave stem	convex stem	goose-neck
with straight eyes	with angled eyes

Board, nose and ear scissors
This group of scissors is less well-known but are part of the cutting tools important for body care. All hair scissors of up to 4½" (12 cm) can be described as beard clippers. Micro-serration is absolutely necessary for these scissors, so that the beard hair cannot slip from the blade. Nose and ear clippers are small, handy, ball-pointed scissors for the removal of irritating hairs in the nose and ears. Please note that sharp scissors should never be used in these areas, as the sensitive skin can easily be injured.

 

 

 

 

 

  Manicure and pedicure instruments:

Good sales advice is essential for these types of scissors: on the one hand, because nothing is more annoying than bad or even painful results when using scissors for skin and nail care; on the other, because of the relatively high price of good-quality cutting tools. This is because from the blank to the finished product, these scissors are put through more than 120 processes, most of which are carried out manually. Skin Scissors Good skin scissors have to be particularly sharp (for cutting through the finest pieces of skin), sufficiently pointed (to reach and lift the tiniest particles of skin) and sufficiently curved (so that they point away from the cuticle and do not dig into it). It is important that the scissors are easy to open and close, despite their curved shape. When closed, the points of the scissors should lie exactly on top of each other. The fine tips of the slender-point blades are particularly sensitive. These scissors should be kept in a protective pouch. Skin scissors should never be used for cutting nails or other materials! Nail scissors The structure of nail scissors is much more stable than that of skin scissors, which is necessary for them to be able to meet the demands placed on them. Nail scissors also have to be curved in order to follow the shape of the nail. It is also an advantage if the scissors are micro-serrated, especially if they are a heavier model, because the nail is then not distorted and the cut can be controlled better. Stable toe-nail scissors can make toe-nail care easier if the user does not want to use pliers. Cuticle nippers There are two types of cuticle nippers: eye nippers (with a scissor grip) and handle nippers with a leaf spring. Because of the relatively small load-bearing area, cuticle nippers should be box-jointed. However, the most important difference is in the cutting lengths: 1/8 cut (ca. 3 mm) ¼ cut (ca. 5 mm) ½ cut (ca. 7 mm) 1/1 cut (9 mm)         (1) (2) Nail nippers Here it is possible to distinguish between manicure nippers, pedicure nippers, headcutters and a wide range of ingrown nail nippers. In the case of manicure or pedicure nippers, the blade design can be flat, hollow (with a concave dome) or "high-nosed", where the end of the cutting edge is clearly raised. The blades of pedicure nippers are generally hollow, sometimes also high-nosed and flat. As toe-nails should be cut straight across, the cutting edges normally dictate the slightly curved cutting angle. Because of their narrow and precise blades, ingrown nail nippers are normally used by experienced chiropodists for clipping the edges of nails in places where they cannot easily be reached. The types of blades used are simple, sharp or sharp/sharp (sharp and relief-ground). In contrast to the other types of nail nippers, the blades of headcutters first close at the points and then up to the middle when pressure is exerted. These nippers are not used at a 90° angle, but directly "head on". Production From a cropped piece of steel to the finished quality product, a pair of pliers is manufactured in ca. 90 to 120 largely manual stages, the number of which varies depending on the design. Before being hardened, the pliers are milled, assembled, riveted, profile milled and the outer contours are milled and filed. Afterwards, they are only hardened from the cutting edge to the joint. The handles are not hardened before being levelled. Depending on the material used, the hardness after tempering is around 48 HRC for C45 steel and about 52-54 HRC for non-corrosive 4021. Afterwards, all surfaces are ground, buffed and polished. The cutting edges are then seal filed (see picture on the right), i.e. depending on the type of pliers, it must be possible to close the pliers from the point to the joint by exerting light or moderate pressure. Once they have been closed, there should be no light visible between the cutting edges. At the back, the cutting edges must be freely ground or filed in such a way that nail and skin debris does not adhere to them. Pliers made of normal steel are then galvanised, normally with burnished nickel, sometimes also with chromium. Afterwards, the cutting edges are sharpened using fine files. The crests of the blades are filed at the same time so that the blades meet each other precisely. The cut of each pair of pliers is checked individually: in the case of nail clippers, the entire cutting edge should make a clean cut through cardboard of postcard thickness and let the card fall away. Fine cuticle clippers are tested on tissue paper. After mounting the screw, leaf or double spring, the trademark is added to the pliers by laser, stamping or etching. The pliers are then burnished and carefully cleaned. Box-jointed or lap-jointed Both types of joint are used for nail and cuticle clippers. The lap joint, in which the two halves of the pliers are placed over each other and connected with a rivet (with a decorated recess) is considered to be sufficient for the simpler quality products, the so-called standard clippers and the clippers provided with manicure sets. However, the rivets of lap-jointed pliers constitute a weak point, because in time the pliers become loose and the two blades no longer lie exactly on top of each other. Box-jointed pliers are better suited to more stringent demands, although more craftmanship is needed in their production. First of all, a slot has to be cut in the outside box blade, and then the between blade which lies on the inside has to be milled flat on both sides. Afterwards, the box blade is heated so that the between blade can be inserted during the annealing stage. Immediately afterwards, a hammer is used to bring the box blade back to its original shape. The blades are then drilled and riveted. Because of their significantly higher torsion resistance, box joints are recommended for professional models and for fine cuticle clippers.

 

 

 

 

 

  Manicure sets:

The robust, elegant and precisely worked DOVO manicure sets are a suitable setting for high-quality nail care instruments. Each instrument has its fixed place in the case and the fine blades and points are protected from damage.

The manicure sets are available with
zip cases, hard-frame cases, cases fitted with tongue and loop, cases with a press stud
and cases which can be rolled up.

For professionals, we offer a manicure case containing all instruments needed for a professional manicure and pedicure. Less expensive cases are generally fitted with a press stud, gentlemen's cases with a zip, and the elegant luxury models are largely supplied with hard frames. As a competent supplier of high-quality manicure tools in non-corrosive stainless steel, it is only logical that our range of manicure sets should be just as well presented, including an attractive matt look for the tools and stainless steel frames which signifies "Quality for Life" from the design alone.

Attention should be paid to the following details:
- The loops should be concealed so that the points of the scissors are protected
- The inside of the case should be lined with fabric or more lavishly with leather
- The frames must be stable
- If appropriate, double seams, padding or decoration may be present

The price is calculated in accordance with these guidelines, although the instruments themselves are naturally the deciding factor.
Skins tanned with plant-based agents are preferred; we ensure that only leathers tanned without PCB and chromium are used.

The various types of leather used for DOVO manicure sets are:
Calfskin - deerskin - cowskin - Napa lambskin - genuine Russian leather - Napa leather - elk - Buffalo skin

Leather colour scheme:
011	021	031	041	051	061	141
black	burgundy	red	green	brown	tan	blue

R POL	= All pieces of finest stainless steel
R SAT	= Stainless steel satin finish
R SAT V	= Set of manicure implementsentirely made of stainless steel
NI	= All pieces of carbon steel, nickel-plated
Handles of instruments available in white, black and tortoise