Responsa for Makkot 41:6
ואינו חייב עד שיטלנו בתער: ת"ר (ויקרא כא, ה) ופאת זקנם לא יגלחו יכול אפי' גלחו במספרים יהא חייב ת"ל (ויקרא יט, כז) לא תשחית אי לא תשחית יכול אם לקטו במלקט ורהיטני יהא חייב תלמוד לומר לא יגלחו
And one is not liable until he removes them with a razor.: The rabbis taught in a baraisa, (Leviticus 21, 5) "And the corners of their beards they shall not shave" From this I may think that even if they shaved it with scissors, they would be liable [to malkus]. The Torah therefore says, (Leviticus 19,27) "You shall not destroy". If it only had said "You shall not destroy", then I might think that one who cut it with wood planes or tweezers would be liable. The Torah therefore says, "they shall not shave".
Shut min haShamayim
Regarding cutting sidelocks. Did the Torah forbid this even with the use of scissors? The Torah only says "Do not round off" (Leviticus 19:27), not 'do not destroy.' Is there any sense in the argument to permit this, based on the source in the Tosefta,1cf. Sifra Kedoshim 6:4, Makkot 21a:6 whereby the laws pertaining to haircutting are juxtaposed to the laws pertaining to beard-shaving, and in both cases, one is not liable unless a razor-blade is used2This argument is rejected by Tosafot on Shevuot 2b:12.
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