Thinners, Blenders and Chunkers Explained
As Dog Grooming evolves, so do the tools used. In recent years the humble Thinning Scissor has been reworked to create three distinct types of Scissor. Below you will find the differences in Thinners, Blenders and Chunkers explained.
Thinners
A true thinning scissor (or shear) will have two notched blades. They are designed to do bulk thinning and remove hair from close to the skin. Thinning scissors can be used to blend, and they work well for that – but they take off less hair than blenders do, so this can make the job more tedious than it needs to be. They are perfect for using underneath the top coat of hair, Pomeranians and Golden Retrievers are good candidates.
Blenders
Blenders will have one solid blade and one notched blade. The benefit of having the one solid blade is that more hair will be removed, getting the job done faster. You should be very careful if using these for bulk thinning. These scissors are ideal for blending shorter hair into long hair, on top of or underneath the coat.
You can use blenders over a comb to leave a smooth but textured finish on the coat. This will leave the appearance of a nice smooth natural coat and the comb will help ensure you have a consistent length across the coat. You can also use them like a blade, on top skull & muzzle areas.
Tip: When blending try to go from short hair to long hair, this will help blend effortlessly. It means you’ll have to angle your scissors down when blending a clipped back into longer legs/furnishings.
Chunkers (aka. Fishtails or Texturizers)
Chunkers are the newest addition to grooming shears. Chunkers are ALMOST a full bladed shear. The ‘T’ shaped teeth allow hair to be pushed away from the cutting blade, giving a much softer and natural finish. You can use chunkers on legs, underlines, ears and heads…. Pretty much anywhere you like! They are great for breeds like Shelties or Rough Collies.
When buying chunkers, buy the best pair you can afford! If the chunker is too long or flimsy, it will cross cut and nick the cutter – this will mean they’ll need to be sharpened. Avoid this by getting a quality, heavy chunker and try to avoid lengths over 7”.
What can I use them for?
Thinning – designed to be used to “thin” thick hair with a cut made close to the skin. Another application is to use near the hair ends for a more natural look.
Blenders – mostly used for finishing a groom, blending away straight scissor/blade lines. Used approximately ¼” or ½” from the hair tips.
Chunkers – used to finish/texturize a cut – brilliant for going over any scissor work to remove scissor marks.
Teeth
The more teeth a blender has the more hair they will remove and the smoother they will leave the blend, but the length of the shear is just as critical as the number of teeth. A 48T 6” scissor will cut completely different to a 48T 5” scissor. The higher teeth count scissors are perfect for around the nose and eyes (keep an eye out for the short shank scissor 5”).
If the teeth and the gaps between the teeth are approximately the same size you will get a nice even blending effect. If the teeth width is larger than the space between them you will get a more natural finish.
The ‘V’ notch at the top of each tooth determines how much hair will be trapped. The bigger the notch the more hair will be trapped and cut. These types of shears work best on soft coats as they texturize and remove scissor marks well, they are also idea for flag tails, furnishing and long ears.
