Ohka

Ohka has the kind of origin story that’s almost too neat. A well-known Taiwanese hairstylist damaged a favorite pair of scissors, went looking for someone who could actually fix them, and found a master scissors maker in Taichung who brought them back. That repair turned into a partnership, and the partnership turned into a brand. Ohka was founded in 1999 under Relee Scissors Company, and it still works out of Taichung City.

Made and tested in Taiwan

Every pair is handmade in Taiwan and put through quality testing before it ships, and the brand has a credential to back the made-in-Taiwan claim: the Taiwan Excellence Award, which a product can only win if it’s manufactured there. The brand runs under two names depending on the market, Ohka for Europe and the Americas and Ohka Sakura across Asia, but it’s the same shears underneath.

Thinners worth a closer look

The cutting side covers the usual blunt, slide, and point work plus general texture control, with left-handed models in the mix. The detail that earns Ohka a second look is its thinners, offered in set removal levels of 10, 15, and 25 percent. Buying a thinner by stated removal rate takes a lot of the guesswork out: if you know you want a light blending tool rather than a heavy bulk remover, you can pick the percentage instead of cutting blind and hoping. Pricing sits in the mid-range, roughly $200 to $400.

Buying

Ohka sells direct through ohkascissors.com, and in the UK it’s carried by Yoi Scissors and Chris & Sons, which is the practical route for European buyers. For a handmade shear at a mid-range price, especially if those graded thinners fit how you work, it’s a reasonable brand to shortlist. Browse the wider field on the brands directory.