If you're an apprentice — or you just want a proper scissor without spending a fortune — this is the one I'd put in your hand first. The Young Genius is a Japanese Cobalt Alloy convex edge at an honest price: it cuts clean, glides smooth, and teaches your hand the right habits from day one. Plenty of stylists keep theirs for years and still reach for it without a second thought.
It’s light, sharp and beautifully easy to cut with — the scissor that proves you don’t have to spend a fortune to hold something genuinely great. Real Japanese steel, hand-finished, made to last.
From Matt Grumley, Australian scissorsmith: “The Young Genius is a scissor I’m genuinely proud of. Real steel, real convex edge, finished by hand — it performs.”
Every Young Genius Professional Hairdressing Scissor includes
- The scissor in your choice of screw colour — Black, Indigo, Blue, Red Diamante, Pink, Silver, Pearl, Pink Diamante, Blue Diamante, Black Diamante, Magenta
- Hand-finished at Matt’s Lake Wendouree bench and inspected by Matt before it ships — no batch passes
- Presentation case
- Personal sizing guidance — not sure which length suits your hand? Call Bec on 0487 391 647
- Free shipping Australia-wide
- The ShearGenius Lifetime Manufacturing Warranty — covering defects in materials and workmanship
Made by a real Australian scissorsmith — not a marketing company reselling someone else’s steel. ShearGenius carries a 4.9-star average across 2,900+ verified reviews, with more than 40,000 scissors in stylists’ hands since 2007 and over 100,000 sharpened on the bench.
Own it from 10% today, then 20 easy weekly payments — zero interest with SlicePay.
Sizes 5.5″ · Japanese Cobalt Alloy · screw colours Black, Indigo, Blue, Red Diamante, Pink, Silver, Pearl, Pink Diamante, Blue Diamante, Black Diamante, Magenta · forged in Japan, hand-finished in Lake Wendouree, VIC.
ShearGenius — Australia’s most trusted scissorsmith since 2007. The scissors stylists actually recommend.
The Young Genius is the first serious scissor — honest pricing, real steel, and the pair you'll keep as a trusted backup for decades.
What that means at the chair
- Japanese Cobalt Alloy at 58 HRC — real steel with a genuine convex edge, forged in Japan and hand-finished at Matt's Lake Wendouree bench before it ships.
- True convex edge — it slices instead of pushing, so wet-cutting and blunt lines come off clean without folding the hair.
- Offset ergonomic handle — the thumb ring sits lower than the finger ring, changing the relative position of thumb and fingers compared with an even handle.
- Single flat bearing — the tension stays where you set it, so the blades meet the same way on the first cut and the five-hundredth.
Who it’s not for: If you're after a long barbering blade or a sliding/point-cutting specialist, this 5.5″ blunt-cutting and everyday-layering scissor isn't the pick — call Bec and we'll fit you to the right pair.
The right first professional scissor — not a stopgap
Apprentice pricing doesn't mean an apprentice-only tool. The Young Genius runs the properties that decide how a scissor cuts and how long it serves: Cobalt Alloy steel at 58 HRC, a true convex edge, an offset ergonomic handle and a single-bearing flat tension system — for $250. It teaches your hand the right habits from day one, and years in it's still the pair stylists reach for on busy days. A scissor that stays useful for a whole career, not a placeholder — and it carries the same Lifetime Manufacturing Warranty as every scissor we make.
Building a first kit? The matched Young Genius scissor and thinner set ($350) covers cutting and texturising in one go, and the Apprentice Range has the full line — including genuinely left-handed apprentice scissors. Still weighing it up? Read Matt's guide to the best scissors for apprentice hairdressers.