About

ShearCraft is Entirely Unique: In an industry rife with mistrust and gimmicks, we stand apart.

At ShearCraft, we are the factory. We design, import, perfect, and sharpen in-house. ShearCraft shears will outperform the competition from your first cut out of the box to the last cut at the end of their lifespan, usually 20 years. Because we manufacture them, we know how to service them. No longer will hairdressers have to settle for shears that quickly decline over the product's life cycle. By simply purchasing your sharpening online and sending them in a few times a year, your shears are guaranteed to look cut and feel like new every time.

Proudly Designed in Texas. Handmade in Japan. Perfected for the American Stylist.

Kerry Starnes, our founder, began his career at age 15 in his family's business, sharpening surgical instruments. By the age of 18, he had completed his apprenticeship, and at 20, he became the youngest fully certified surgical instrument repair specialist in the United States. Specializing in microsurgical tools and surgical scissors, Kerry spent the next six years servicing some of Texas's largest hospitals and most renowned surgeons.

At 26, a corporate buyout disrupted his path, leading him to a new chapter. While getting haircuts for himself and family members, Kerry noticed that haircutting shears were rarely serviced properly—a gap that sparked an idea. In 2003, ShearCraft was founded. Drawing on his surgical sharpening expertise, Kerry adapted his skills to hair shears, and the business grew rapidly from a modest service into a trusted name. Customers raved about the quality, opening doors to product sales.

From the start, it was clear that Japanese shears led the market in precision and performance. Yet, there was a disconnect: these tools were designed by Japanese companies for Japanese hairdressers and hair types. American stylists, however, contend with far greater diversity in hair textures and lengths, fostering innovative techniques like slide cutting, point cutting, chipping, and texturizing—all often with a single versatile tool.

By selling, observing, and sharpening top Japanese brands in salons for years, Kerry honed advanced techniques and even developed surgical-grade machinery to meet these elite demands. Even more crucial, Kerry understood the most important factor in high-performance shears: a dedicated company that can restore them to factory-new condition every time. A single poor sharpening can render even the finest shears unusable.

In 2008, ShearCraft launched its own private-label line, sourcing from multiple high-end Japanese factories. The process was challenging—navigating intermediaries, inconsistent quality, and post-import remanufacturing—but the shears sold exceptionally well, fueling the company's growth. Eager to elevate standards, Kerry pursued a direct partnership with Japan's premier shear factory.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, our factory owner had a parallel journey. After high school, he joined a renowned Japanese shear company, rising to factory manager. To deepen his industry knowledge, he transitioned to sales and wholesale, working directly with Tokyo's salons and barbershops. Customer requests for sharpening services pulled him back to his roots, and in 2005, he founded his own small shear factory, blending hands-on craftsmanship with frontline insights.

In 2013, ShearCraft and our Tokyo partner united. Today, we design shears exclusively for the U.S. market—crafted in Tokyo, exported, and meticulously finished in Texas. This collaboration has expanded our factory to three stories, yielding truly unique products. As an extension of the factory itself, ShearCraft is uniquely positioned to service and maintain these shears, ensuring they perform at their peak for generations.

Today, ShearCraft offers a wide range of shears handmade in Japan, renowned for their authentic Japanese craftsmanship and precision-engineered to meet the unique demands of American hairstylists. We also provide expert sharpening services across the United States. As we continue to evolve and innovate.  2025 marks the launch of our new signature series shears, by partnerships with renowned hairstylists, Co designed and perfected to accommodate the ever changing landscape and evolution hair cutting techniques.