# Tips on trimming the fur for a fursuit head?



## Akrura (Oct 6, 2009)

I have never trimmed fur before so I'm not going to dive right into it. I was just curious as to what could be done. Should I use scissors? Or is there something better for trimming it?

I know that this is silly to ask but I really don't know what to do


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## Zrcalo (Oct 6, 2009)

:/ I use scissors.


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## ScrapeGoat (Oct 6, 2009)

Akrura said:


> I have never trimmed fur before so I'm not going to dive right into it. I was just curious as to what could be done. Should I use scissors? Or is there something better for trimming it?
> 
> I know that this is silly to ask but I really don't know what to do




Depends on the effect you want-  scissors can leave a sort of choppy look behind if yer not careful.. you could pick up a cordless grooming razor for a few bucks too if you want to trim edges evenly or if you want to do something for effect, like creating grooves.


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## Shino (Oct 6, 2009)

I would imagine that a "buzz" razor with beard attachments would be best... then again, I don't make suits, so I'm probably not the person to ask...


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## Trpdwarf (Oct 6, 2009)

Zeke and I have used trimmers for pets, and also trimmers for humans. Somehow we found the cheaper alternative of getting a human hair trimmer to work better and give you more even cuts.


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## Lyrihl (Oct 6, 2009)

Trpdwarf, you just made my day. I have almost no skill with scissors, and I can't convince my parents to buy a pet razor. I only have a cheap, ancient buzz razor for people. Knowing that I can use it and not worry about it killing the fur or the head is a huge relief.


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## Trpdwarf (Oct 6, 2009)

Lyrihl said:


> Trpdwarf, you just made my day. I have almost no skill with scissors, and I can't convince my parents to buy a pet razor. I only have a cheap, ancient buzz razor for people. Knowing that I can use it and not worry about it killing the fur or the head is a huge relief.



As long as it has a horizontal thing, you can cut fine, just be careful. Zeke and I originally spent around 40 bucks on a one made for trimming up the fur on pets, and that went dull super quickly. For around 10 bucks at a clothing department store, we got a human hair trimmer, that has the same horizontal cutting surface, and we got a better cut. It seems to hold it's cutting ability longer.

I'm glad to have helped you. You might want to go out and get a brand new cheap one, and test it on a test bit of material so that you can get a handle on how to trim fur with it. Or at least test the one you have.

The main thing is it cannot be like a strange one with those circular things like with some fancy beard trimmers. IT's a human hair trimmer, like what the people at hair cutters use when trimming up parts of guy's hair, around the neck. It has a thin horizontal thing, that you just use to make passes on the material.


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## ScrapeGoat (Oct 6, 2009)

Trpdwarf said:


> I'm glad to have helped you. You might want to go out and get a brand new cheap one, and test it on a test bit of material so that you can get a handle on how to trim fur with it. Or at least test the one you have.




Key statement there- always try any new technique on a piece of waste material first. I don't know if I'd use the old one without testing it extensively- if the blades are dull you risk it snagging in the material. 

Also, don't breathe the fluff it will kick up.  You will wind up with a lot of foof in the air and all over everything.  May want to consider using a vacuum hose next to where you are working on it to suck up the stray hairs.  Then, take the finished pieces outside and shake 'em so you dont wind up with loose hair all over yer work.


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## Trpdwarf (Oct 7, 2009)

ScrapeGoat said:


> Key statement there- always try any new technique on a piece of waste material first. I don't know if I'd use the old one without testing it extensively- if the blades are dull you risk it snagging in the material.
> 
> Also, don't breathe the fluff it will kick up.  You will wind up with a lot of foof in the air and all over everything.  May want to consider using a vacuum hose next to where you are working on it to suck up the stray hairs.  Then, take the finished pieces outside and shake 'em so you dont wind up with loose hair all over yer work.



Very good thing to emphasis. It would suck for someone to put so much time into a piece, only to destroy it because they used a new technique and have not yet quite got the hang of it, and destroy the hard work.

Zeke and I keep a dog brush handy. So that as we trim, we can brush up and collect the fluff that is shaved off, and deposit the stuff in either a bag or a small box. It is handy to have a vacuum near by though, for larger shave jobs.

Also a person can get a cheap set of those face mask things that cover your mouth and nostrils, as an added precaution from breathing in the fine fluff. That stuff messes with your sinus's once breathed in accidentally.

Oh yeah, another thing for the newbie fur-suit makers out there. If for example a head needs to be shaved, do not I REPEAT DO NOT simply butt different ends of faux fur together and hot glue it to make the parts meet, comb over, and then shave. You will get really nasty seams that way as the glue pokes through after the shave job. If you know you are going to be shaving something down, take the time to sow the different parts together, so that you have less of a problem come shave time.


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## the_donut_master (Oct 7, 2009)

So you mean just sew the seams together as you glue the fur down right?


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## Trpdwarf (Oct 7, 2009)

the_donut_master said:


> So you mean just sew the seams together as you glue the fur down right?



Eh...it's not practical to do it at the same time.

All your pieces should be attached to each other via sewing before you flip the thing over and glue it onto the form.

The face for example, of the head I am working on now, the face part of the fur all got sewn together and then glued on. Now if it were a long pile thing that had to be shaved, the finished face part would be glued down (the collective backing), and then the shaving begins.

What I am saying is don't use hot glue to make your pieces attach to each other or next to each other. The hot glue should only be used to get your finished mask to attach to your form.

Otherwise when you start shaving you will see all that glue around your seams. I've seen this when I was at AC while looking at heads on the head rack in the headless lounge. It's a really bad tech.It shortens the life expectancy of the head by using glue to put together the seams, never mind how unsightly it looks when you shave it down.


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## Ozriel (Oct 7, 2009)

the_donut_master said:


> So you mean just sew the seams together as you glue the fur down right?



No!
Do not do that. D:


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## Lyrihl (Oct 8, 2009)

Thank you both for the advice! I really hope this will turn out well, even though it's my first try on a fullsuit.


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## Trpdwarf (Oct 9, 2009)

Lyrihl said:


> Thank you both for the advice! I really hope this will turn out well, even though it's my first try on a fullsuit.



You're welcome. Good luck! Just take your time. Patience is a necessity if you want things to turn out right.


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