Alu-Coba

The name tells you almost everything: Alu for the aluminium handles, Coba for the cobalt blades. It’s one of several lines made by Tokyo Riki Co., Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer that has been turning out scissors from Itabashi-ku, Tokyo since 1946. That’s nearly eighty years of accumulated knowledge sitting behind what is, on the surface, a fairly specialist idea.

The aluminium handle idea

The whole concept here is weight. By building the handle from aluminium rather than steel, Tokyo Riki gets a shear that feels noticeably lighter in the hand than an all-steel pair, and the lower handle weight lets them use a thicker, fuller grip profile without the tool turning into a brick. For stylists who feel hand fatigue over a long day of base and step cutting, that lightness is the entire pitch, and it’s a real, physical difference rather than a marketing flourish. The brand notes the style has found particular favour with customers outside Japan.

Steel and range

The blades themselves are cobalt steel, which takes a fine convex edge and pairs naturally with the precise base and step work the line is built around, alongside volume and texture control. The catalogue keeps it tight, cutters and thinners across sizes like the AC-55, AC-60 and the heavier AC-70H.

Pricing sits in the mid-range band for Japanese-made shears. The line is carried internationally by retailers including Scissor Dude, Takano in Canada, and Scissors Shop Hayashi in Japan. For more Japanese makers, see the Japan brands hub.