A Cut Above The Rest (Mikki Single Thinning Scissors)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	Mikki Single Thinning Scissors
Date:	08/08/09 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Effective, easy to use, non-slip handles, quality blades

Disadvantages: None

*What are these Mikki Thinning Scissors?*
These grooming scissors are part of the huge range of professional pet grooming equipment from Mikki. The extensive range includes brushes, combs, scissors and claw clippers amongst many other items and caters mainly for dogs and cats.

*The product itself*
In typical Great British style, we haven't really been lucky enough to see much sunshine so far this year and whilst most people, myself included, like to whinge and grumble about the lack of warmth, there is someone who is very, very pleased with this fact. That someone in question is my boy Benson, and who can blame him with a coat of fur like his?!

Benson is, as I'm sure most of you are aware of by now, a Bernese Mountain Dog and for those unfamiliar with the breed, they originate from the mountains of Switzerland so have huge, incredibly thick, very dense and rather long coats designed to keep them warm in sub zero temperatures. So I'm sure you can imagine how uncomfortable Benson can get on warmer days, especially considering he is mainly jet black, so attracts the sun even more.

He loves to swim, so I give him the chance to do that a couple of times a day in hot weather to cool down, and I always insist he keeps relaxed and stays in the shade as much as possible, but the only real way of relieving his discomfort and preventing dangerous heat stroke, is tackling the root cause of the problems- that massive coat of his!

There are some days I admit I am very tempted to shear it all off for him! But in all seriousness, the only way to deal with it and make the coat slightly more manageable for him, is to constantly thin it out, enabling cool air to reach his skin.

This is where these Mikki Scissors come in. The scissors, made from durable heat treated stainless steel with soft comfortable black plastic handles are unique from regular cutting scissors- they have been designed in such a way that they only cut small, thin strands of hair from the coat at any one time. This is achieved by the blades having a tooth like appearance to them causing some hair to be cut, and some to slip inbetween the teeth, meaning it doesn't get cut.

They come in two designs- either the single ones, which have one toothed blade and one regular and then double, which have two toothed blades. The single ones remove small amounts of hair whilst the double help to remove the most hair from the coat. Although Dooyoo has set up this category for the Single scissors alone, I will actually be reviewing both the single and the double bladed scissors.

Both scissors are 178mm in length, with the blade taking up around half the total length so are suitable for use on most medium to larger sized dogs, all coat types and have two large finger holes complete with non slip grip, helping you to achieve a comfortable and safe hold on the scissors whilst grooming your pet.

*Packaging*
The scissors come attached to a small slip of red cardboard which gives minimal basic information about the product such as directions for use, how to use them safely and also instructions for cleaning, helping you to prolong the life of your equipment. Of course, contact details for Mikki are also included, should you have any questions or comments.

*Price & Availability*
Mikki is a highly popular brand that manufactures professional grade grooming equipment but at an affordable price and readily available in pet stores, both online and off, for home grooming use.

I purchased both sets of our scissors from my small local pet shop- the single variety retails for £8.99 whilst the double bladed variety can be purchased for the slightly higher price of £10.99.

*My opinion*
I often moan about the level of grooming Benson needs, although of course, with me choosing a dog of his breed, I have no one but my self to blame for having such a high maintenance pet! However, as much as I appear to moan about how much attention his coat needs, I of course love him dearly and feel exceptionally sorry for him on warmer days, as he really does appear to be quite miserable. Well, I suppose we would if we had to wear a thick fur coat in the heat of the day too eh?!

This is why I find these thinning scissors such a godsend. Four years ago (god doesn't time fly?!) before I get Benson, I was getting all his bits and bobs ready for his arrival into my life as a 7 week old puppy and I advised by another Bernese owner, with years of experience of the breed, to get a pair of thinning scissors so with her words of wisdom planted firmly into my mind, off I went to the pet shop to pick up a pair. Mikki was the only brand they stocked, and I was unsure about whether to choose the single or double, so I brought both, and I have to say, I am so glad I did- both items have proved to be invaluable to both me and Benson over the years.

Every year around May time when the weather starts to get a bit more pleasant, out comes these scissors and a couple of hours are spent tackling his coat. The scissors have such a simple, but incredibly clever and effective design to them- all that I need to do is to brush his coat thoroughly, then starting with the single bladed scissors, I just make small little cuts into his fur going in the same direction that it grows- then brush him thoroughly to remove all the loose hair, do the same with the double bladed scissors, finish with a final brush and hey presto- we're done. An hour or so later and we're left with one dog with a much lighter and cooler coat, with tonnes of dead hair removed but without making the slightest difference to his looks- he is still left with a wonderful glossy black coat characteristic of the Bernese breed, but much less thick than it appears.

The scissors are incredibly easy to use, the finger holds are large enough to enable comfortable use but are not so large that you cannot get a decent grip on them, also, no matter how much greasy grooming lotion I may have on my hands, I can still maintain a safe and tight grip on the handles of the scissors. Cleaning is a breeze too- a quick run under the tap after each use to remove any hair and dirt from them, leave them to dry and that's it. They come up lovely and sparkly clean with no ill effects to the blades or handle and cope well with being sterilized in boiling water a couple of times a year too.

For the price, the performance of these scissors is faultless. The blades are sharp enough to effortless and effectively cut hair but require considerable force to cut skin, so you are given the added confidence of knowing accidental nicks to your dogs skin are unlikely. They maintain this sharpness and level of performance too, we've had the same two sets of scissors for 4 years now, with regular use on a thick, dense coat of fur and they still work brilliantly.

All in all, an exceptional piece of equipment and one I couldn't afford to be without. They make Benson a lot more comfortable in the warm weather- the scissors enable quick, precise thinning of the coat- removing dead hair and enabling a flow of cool air to reach the dogs skin, which in return, helps to minimise the risks of infections from bacteria growth.

Summary: Highly and strongly recommended to all owners of big (or little) hairy mutts!