Finding Your Size
サイズの選び方
A professional shear lives in the hand for eight hours at a time. The wrong size turns a career tool into a source of fatigue; the right size disappears in your palm and stays there. This guide walks through how to measure your hand, how to match a size to your cutting style, and why the small differences between 5.5 and 6.0 inches matter.
Still not sure after reading? Every Juntetsu order ships directly from our Tokyo workshop — write to the bench and a craftsman will help you choose.
How to Measure Your Hand
Place your ring finger in the ring hole of your current shear as you would to cut. Measure from the base of your thumb knuckle (where it meets your index finger) to the tip of your middle finger, in inches. This is your cutting length.
Most professional shears are sized in half-inch increments — 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0. Your cutting length plus a half-inch of blade tip is the shear size you want.
If you're between sizes, round up for general cutting and down for detail work.
Hand Size → Shear Size
A starting point based on hand measurement alone. Cutting style refines this in the next table.
| Hand length | Shear size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Under 6.5” | 4.5” – 5.0” | Small hands, precision detail work, fringe cutting |
| 6.5” – 7.0” | 5.0” – 5.5” | Detail work, fringe, precision layering |
| 7.0” – 7.5” | 5.5” – 6.0” | Universal — most stylists land here |
| 7.5” – 8.0” | 6.0” – 6.5” | All-round salon + scissor-over-comb |
| Over 8.0” | 6.5” – 7.0” | Barbering, bulk removal, long-blade cutting |
Cut Style → Shear Size
Regardless of hand size, your primary cutting technique shifts the recommendation up or down from the hand-size starting point.
| Cutting style | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Precision cutting | 5.5” – 6.0” | Shorter blade = more control per stroke, less wasted reach on small details. |
| Slide cutting | 5.75” – 6.5” | Mid-length blade carries the draw motion without wrist compensation. |
| Scissor-over-comb | 6.0” – 7.0” | Longer reach matches comb width; saves passes on bulk work. |
| Barbering | 6.0” – 7.0” | Heavier cutting loads favour longer blades with more stable pivot mass. |
| Thinning / blending | One size up from cutting | A thinner one size above keeps wrist mechanics consistent across both blades in a kit. |
Handle Style
Juntetsu's catalog uses two handle positions. The offset handle is our standard; the ergonomic offset adds a deeper thumb angle for stylists with longer days or wrist sensitivity.
Offset
The default premium handle position. Thumb ring sits slightly forward of the index ring, letting the thumb rest in its natural open position instead of pulling inward. Reduces thumb strain across a full shift and is the baseline for almost every Juntetsu cutting shear.
Ergonomic Offset
A deeper offset angle than the standard position — the thumb ring is set further forward, which straightens the wrist further and is especially helpful for barbers doing long over-comb sessions, stylists with mild wrist conditions, or anyone running 10+ hour days. Slightly less neutral for detail work; better for sustained volume.
On Weight
Most professional shears weigh 50-60 grams. At that range you feel the blade in your hand all day without noticing — until you don't. Juntetsu's Aero-Pro Cobalt at 36 grams is our answer for stylists who do notice: the aluminium-cobalt alloy shaves ~25% of the mass off a standard shear while holding the same cutting authority. It's the right choice if you've ever ended a shift with wrist pain that felt like it came from nowhere, or if you work with smaller hands where the leverage of a heavier blade starts to work against you.
Outside of the Aero-Pro line, weight differences between Juntetsu shears are small — we tune the pivot mass distribution instead of chasing raw grams. A well-balanced 55g shear feels lighter in practice than a poorly-balanced 45g one.