#Instruments
Scissors, nippers, clippers, pushers, files — the categories overlap in the shop and not at all in the hand. Choosing the wrong type is a more common mistake than choosing the wrong quality, and it is the more expensive one, because a good instrument used for the wrong job still gives a bad result. These entries define what each type is built for and where its limits are: why nippers cut in short controlled bites where scissors take a continuous stroke, why a clipper's lever matters more than its blade on a thick toenail, and what separates a cuticle blade from a nail blade. If you are deciding between them, the comparison in the journal covers the same ground with pictures.
A file whose abrasive is etched into tempered glass rather than glued on. It sheds no grit, washes clean, and keeps its cut for years.
The cutting head of a nipper, measured in millimetres or as a fraction. The longer the jaw, the more it removes per cut — and the less forgiving it is.