Kasho

KAI has forged blades since 1908, and Kasho is the company’s professional shear line, built in Seki City. The 38 Kasho models catalogued here span 4.5 to 7.0 inches across VG-10W, ATS-314, and SG2 steels, with guide prices from $179 to $2,124, plus a dedicated left-handed range. Razors and combs round out the catalogue.

Parent Company and Heritage

Kasho is the professional scissor brand of KAI Corporation, a Japanese cutting tool manufacturer established in 1908. KAI is headquartered in Tokyo and has its primary manufacturing operations in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. Seki has been a center of Japanese blade making for over 700 years. KAI produces more than 10,000 different cutting tool products across consumer and professional categories, and Kasho represents its dedicated line for hair professionals.

The brand name “Kasho” carries the mark of the “Shisho,” a master smith who personally engraves each pair of shears. This tradition ties directly to the Japanese sword smithing lineage that KAI traces its craft standards back to.

Blade Technology: The Ultimate Edge

Kasho’s signature blade technology is called the “Ultimate Edge.” This is a dual alloy system. Each scissor uses two different stainless steel alloys with different hardness grades within the same blade. The steel is compounded with molybdenum, vanadium, manganese, and boron to achieve specific performance characteristics.

The manufacturing process begins with hot forging the steel into shape. The blade then undergoes heat treatment in an atmospheric chamber, followed by triple tempering through an isothermal process. This sequence changes the molecular structure of the steel while preserving the alloy’s original properties.

Kasho uses a convex hollow ground blade geometry. The inner blade surface is concave (hollow ground) while the outer surface is convex. A computerized grinding machine with laser sensors guides each blade through this process, ensuring precise curvature on both surfaces. The result is that the two blades only touch at the exact point of intersection during cutting. Kasho states that this reduces cutting resistance and hand fatigue.

Millennium Series and Sintered Steel

The Millennium series represents Kasho’s top tier line. These scissors use sintered steel produced through powder metallurgy. In this process, metal powders are compressed and heated below their melting point to form a solid. This method allows for finer grain structure than conventional casting, which Kasho says translates to a more durable and sharper edge.

The Millennium and XP series both feature Kasho’s patented Disc Operation System for tension adjustment, which maintains consistent tension settings over time.

Ergonomics and Anatomy

Kasho publishes an 18 part technical anatomy diagram of their scissors, breaking down each component from blade tip to finger rest. This level of documentation reflects the brand’s engineering oriented approach.

The company documents three distinct ergonomic grip styles for its scissors, designed to accommodate different cutting techniques and hand positions. Each grip style corresponds to specific handle designs in the Kasho lineup, from offset to crane to straight configurations.

Craftsmanship Process

Every surface of a Kasho scissor is hand polished to a mirror finish. Top and bottom blades are individually selected and then hand worked until they form a matched pair. Final assembly, honing, and tension setting are performed by a master craftsman (referred to as “Shujin” by the company), who finishes each pair to his own standards. Kasho positions this as the intersection of modern manufacturing technology and traditional handcraft.

See Also

Best Kasho scissors →

Where to Buy

Chris & Sons → Japan Scissors → LA SHEAR →