The Best Australian Hairdressing Scissor Brands
Australia has a substantial domestic scissor industry: companies that develop and sell their own models, some with in-country manufacture and some with Japanese production. The six picks here cover the range from The Scissor Shop's entry-level 6.0 inch cutting scissor from Sunshine Coast, QLD to SHEAR GENIUS's ATS-314 cobalt professional shear from Lake Wendouree, Victoria. Each is an Australian business with its own catalogued models.
What are the best Australian hairdressing scissor brands?
K5 International's Silver, around $60, is Australian-manufactured with Japanese 440C steel and a convex edge — the accessible entry from a Wollert, Victoria company. OBU's Minarai Centurion, around $140, is a Port Melbourne brand's apprentice-tier scissor in Silver Minarai steel at 59–60 HRC, made in Japan. exclusive shears' DYM-57, around $250, is a VG-1 Japanese steel 5.7-inch cutting shear from a Watsonia North, Victoria company with a three-year warranty. Tru-Blu's Phoenix, around $350, is individually handcrafted in Morwell, Victoria with Hitachi 440C blades and a double-mountain hollow-ground edge. SHEAR GENIUS's Cosmos, around $400, pairs ATS-314 cobalt steel with a hand-honed convex edge and lifetime guarantee from Lake Wendouree, Victoria. The Scissor Shop's Kura Cutting, around $56, is a 6.0 inch convex-blade offset scissor from a direct-to-consumer brand founded in 2019 on the Sunshine Coast, QLD.
Australian scissor brands differ in where the scissors are manufactured. K5 International and Tru-Blu document Australian country of manufacture on their product pages. OBU, exclusive shears, and SHEAR GENIUS are Australian-owned businesses that source production from Japan. Each pick below lists the country of manufacture from its product page.
Verified Jun 2026
Six Australian brands from $56 to $400
| Attribute | K5 International Silver Hairdressing Scissors K5 International | OBU Minarai Centurion Apprentice Scissor OBU | Exclusive Shears DYM-57 Exclusive Shears | Tru-Blu Phoenix Cutting Scissors Tru-Blu | Shear Genius Cosmos 6.0 Haircutting Shear SHEAR GENIUS | The Scissor Shop Kura The Scissor Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price guide | US$60 | US$140 | US$214 | US$350 | US$400 | US$56 |
| Price tier | Budget | Entry-level | Mid-range | Mid-range | Premium | Budget |
| Steel | Stainless Steel | Unknown | VG-1 | Hitachi 440C (blades), Hitachi 304 Stainless (handles) | ATS-314 | Unknown |
| Made in | Australia | Japan | — | Australia | Japan | — |
| Handle | Offset | Offset | Offset | Offset | Offset | Offset |
| Blade type | Convex edge | Convex | Convex | Double mountain, hollow ground | Convex | Convex |
| Sizes (in) | 5.5 · 6.0 · 6.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 · 6.5 | 5.5 · 6.0 | 6.0 | 6" |
| View product | View product | View product | View product | View product | View product |
Country of manufacture noted per pick. Guide prices at time of writing; confirm current figures on each product page.
Two models: local manufacture and Japanese production
Australian scissor brands operate on two distinct manufacturing models. Some manufacture the scissors in Australia — blades cut, ground, and assembled locally from imported steel. K5 International in Wollert, Victoria and Tru-Blu in Morwell, Victoria both document Australian country of manufacture, with Tru-Blu noting individual handcrafting and individual serial numbers on each pair.
Other Australian brands — OBU in Port Melbourne, exclusive shears in Watsonia North, and SHEAR GENIUS in Lake Wendouree — specify and warrant their own models while sourcing production from Japanese workshops. The brand sets the steel grade, the edge type, and the design; the manufacturer executes to that spec. This structure is common across the global professional scissor industry.
For buyers, the manufacturing model matters less than the specification on the product page: steel grade, edge type, hardness, and size. Both models can produce a scissor that performs to a professional standard, and both can fall short if the specification is weak. The picks below document their specification alongside the manufacturing location.
The six picks
1. K5 International Silver (guide price around $60). K5 International’s entry-level Australian-made offset pair. Japanese 440C steel blades with a convex edge, available in 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 inch. Silver chrome finish, eco-friendly packaging. At this price, K5’s Silver is used as a student pair, a first professional scissor, and a backup — the accessible entry from a Wollert, VIC company. Available from K5 International direct and through Scissor City in New Zealand.
2. OBU Minarai Centurion (around $140). OBU’s apprentice-tier cutting scissor from Port Melbourne. Silver Minarai steel with a convex edge and offset handle, rated at 59–60 HRC, 45 grams. The Minarai collection is positioned for apprentice stylists and backup duty — hand-adjustable tension and a lifetime quality guarantee. Made in Japan. Available direct from OBU.
3. exclusive shears DYM-57 (around $250). exclusive shears’ VG-1 steel cutting scissor, 5.7 inch, from a Watsonia North, Victoria brand. VG-1 (also known as V Gold 1) is a Japanese stainless grade at 58–60 HRC, suited to everyday salon cutting. Comes with a scissor case, cleaning cloth, oil pen, and tension key; minimum three-year warranty. Made in Japan. Available direct from exclusiveshears.com.au.
4. Tru-Blu Phoenix (around $350). Tru-Blu’s individually handcrafted cutting scissor made in Morwell, Victoria. Hitachi 440C blades with Hitachi 304 marine-grade stainless handles. The Phoenix uses a double-mountain blade geometry with a torsional twist toward the tips, hollow ground — a profile the product page notes as designed to reduce hair pushing during wet cutting. Available in 5.5 and 6.0 inch. Each pair carries an individual serial number. Available from Tru-Blu direct and through Spencer Scissors in the UK.
5. SHEAR GENIUS Cosmos (around $400). SHEAR GENIUS’s professional ATS-314 cutting shear, from Lake Wendouree, Victoria. ATS-314 cobalt steel enriched with molybdenum and vanadium; hand-honed convex edge; micro-polished ride line; sculpted offset handle. 6.0 inch. Lifetime guarantee. Made in Japan. Available direct from sheargenius.com.au.
6. The Scissor Shop Kura Cutting (guide price around $56). The Scissor Shop’s 6.0 inch cutting scissor from a direct-to-consumer brand founded in 2019 on the Sunshine Coast, QLD. Convex blade with an offset handle; the brand describes the pair as hand-balanced. Available direct from thescissorshop.com.
How we chose
Each pick documents its steel grade and country of manufacture on the product page. The six cover two Australian-manufactured models (K5 International Silver, Tru-Blu Phoenix), three Australian-owned models with Japanese production (OBU Minarai Centurion, exclusive shears DYM-57, SHEAR GENIUS Cosmos), and The Scissor Shop Kura — a Sunshine Coast, QLD brand’s entry-level 6.0 inch pair. Guide prices move; confirm current figures on each product page before buying.
Further into the Australian catalogue
The full Osaka range — from the A5 Barber at around $135 through to the ATS-314 CR at around $471 — represents a Sydney brand with Japanese production at multiple price tiers. The UK scissor brands roundup covers the comparable British industry, and the Japanese brands by tier roundup covers the full spectrum of Japanese production across price tiers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The relevant comparison is the specification: steel grade, edge geometry, and build quality. Australian-manufactured scissors such as Tru-Blu’s range use Hitachi-sourced steel — the same mill that supplies Japanese manufacturers — cut and finished in Victoria. The manufacturing location sets the production environment and quality control context; the steel source and edge work determine the cutting performance. A professional-grade result is achievable from both production contexts, and the product page specification is the practical guide to what you are buying.
K5 International (Wollert, VIC) and Tru-Blu (Morwell, VIC) document Australian country of manufacture on their product pages. OBU, exclusive shears, and SHEAR GENIUS are Australian businesses that source production from Japan. The Scissor Shop is an Australian business based on the Sunshine Coast, QLD; country of manufacture for individual models is listed on each product page. Each brand’s product page lists the country of manufacture.
Silver Minarai Steel is the steel grade used across OBU’s apprentice and backup range, documented at 59–60 HRC on the product page. Full specification details are on the OBU brand page and on each Minarai product page.
Each brand sells direct. K5 International ships from k5international.com.au; Tru-Blu from trubluscissors.com.au; OBU from obuscissors.com; exclusive shears from exclusiveshears.com.au; SHEAR GENIUS from sheargenius.com.au; and The Scissor Shop from thescissorshop.com. The brand pages on ScissorPedia carry retailer links and additional stockist information where available.