Holding shear while combing. Cutting along finger

Holding the shear while combing
In school I had been taught to palm the shears while holding the comb for combing. This places the point of the shears up and away so the client is not stabbed while combing with the shear hand. In several videos I have seen stylists point the shears down while combing. I have tried this and find it easy with a little practice.

The key for me is to put the shears in the hand with the thumb, third finger and pinkie all in place for cutting. Thumb is in the thumb hole, third finger is in its hole, and the pinkie is resting on the tang. Now rotate the hand so the point of the shears is pointing up. The hand will be in a position for extending it into a handshake.

From that position release the thumb from its hole and take the pinkie off the tang. The pinkie is pulled away from the tang by pulling it away from the other fingers. The hand remains in the position it was in when the point of the shears was pointing up.

When the thumb and pinkie are released the scissors will fall rotating around the third finger. The tang will hit the second finger and the pinkie should then close to the other fingers trapping the thumb hole between the third finger and the pinkie.

The effect of this is to point the shear down and away from the client's head. In this position the thumb and first two fingers are free to hold the comb for developing the desired shape of the next cut.

To return the shear to the proper position for cutting release the pinkie again and the shear will begin to rotate around the third finger. Encourage this rotation by rotating the thumb side of the hand in a clockwise direction if you are right handed. This will bring the point of the shear to an upright position where it will be stopped by the first finger and the thumb can hold it there. From there put the thumb in its hole and the pinkie on the tang.

Cutting with the blade along the finger
Was practicing a demonstration from a DVD. Had some vertical sections on the side of the head and was using palm to palm method to hold and cut the hair. Once the section was defined and the guide was seen I held the section by the first and second fingers of the left hand. I put the blade controlled by the third finger on the second finger of the left hand and left it there while I cut along the guide. This gave me a sense of stability and accuracy while cutting. I plan to try this some more to see if it improves anything. In the past I have cut with the shear off the finger and with the guide some distance from the holding fingers.