Clippers And Clipper Blades

[indi_dog]

I have my eye on the Wahl KM-2 Two Speed clippers, what would a good starter set of clipper blades be?

At the moment, I'm just trimming the fur out of Indi's paws, and them just neatening them up with scissors.

I'm also wanting to get out there and do a few more courses on clipping dogs so I want to build up a good "starting out" set. Ultimately I'm planning my own grooming business, but that's a long ways off yet!

For the moment I'm just visiting salons, begging to let me hang around and watch how they work (and clean dog hair, and if I'm lucky I even get to bath dogs ). Once I'm cashed up I'll suss out a good training course.

[becks]

Probably for me the 2 most used blades are a 10 and the 7f (which when used against the coat growth gives the same length as a 10) for winter when owners want a bit more coat left on then the 5f gets used more. For a cute and fluffy cut I use the 3f and then neaten over with scissors.

If you have good scissor work you can get by with fewer blades.

Could you find a salon to take you on as an apprentice?

[Poodle wrangler]

I've bought clippers and blades from here: http://www.freewebs.com/clipperbladesharpening/index.htm

Excellent service. Colin will tell you if they're not suitable for what you want and the blades are the best prices I've found. He's an ex-groomer of many years. I have an Oster blade and the Universal brand and they both do the job well, except the Oster is about double the price. I'd spend more on the clippers themselves.

The Saxon brand clippers are good for me, but I only use them on 2 pets: standard and miniature poodles. I'm not sure how they'd stand up to a grooming salon?

For poodles, you need a #15 for face, feet, paws, base of tail, 5F for body and scissor legs, #10 for belly- that's for pet style clips. I know some salons use a skiptooth blade before bathing to get the coat off, before using an F (finishing) blade on clean, dry fur. The F gives a nicer finish on poodles, at least.

Good luck. You can come and experiment on a pair of poodles if you like . The fur grows back quick enough.

Edited August 8, 2007 by Poodle wrangler

[indi_dog]

Probably for me the 2 most used blades are a 10 and the 7f (which when used against the coat growth gives the same length as a 10) for winter when owners want a bit more coat left on then the 5f gets used more. For a cute and fluffy cut I use the 3f and then neaten over with scissors.

If you have good scissor work you can get by with fewer blades.

Could you find a salon to take you on as an apprentice?

I'm trying reeeeaally hard! A lot of salons usually just get you to sweep dog hair or bath the dogs if you're lucky. Which is great but I feel like I can bath a dog pretty well now, it's the clipping and scissoring part that I'm most interested in. I've been lucky enough to be able to watch a groomer clip and scissor a coulpe of Poodles (feet, face and tail) which was fantastic, and do some amazing scissor work on a show Bichon.

I'm hoping that persistence will pay off - there are some courses around that sound great but I just couldn't afford them at the moment. *sigh*

Thanks for the tips Poodlewrangler, I don't know if I'd want to play around with a skip tooth blade at the moment though... At the moment, I honestly think I'd give your poor poodles a VERY bad hair day lol!!!

With the clippers - I have my "L" plates on so I just need a good starting set. Thanks for the web link, I'll have a squizz.

[poodlefan]

Can you get a formal apprenticeship as a dog groomer these days?

I am a hobby groomer (only my dogs plus whatever BMP brings round for a tidy up ) and I use the following blades.

30# in face and feet and tail of black dogs, feet and tail of white dog (all poodles). I have two so I can change blades when one gets hot.

15# on tummies and Ted's ears (he has shaved ears)

10# on Ted's tail and any bits of friend's spaniels presented for shaving

7# on black dogs bodies in summer

5# on black dogs in winter and white dog in summer

4# on white dog in winter

Toe blade - great for doing between toes but I use for undersides of feet

"Leg" blade - can't remember length but it's a new oster on that leaves 16mm of fur on legs. They are bringing out a 19mm one and I'll probably get that too. Sure beats scissoring when you want shorter legs.

Obviously it took a while to accumulate that many blades. A couple of pro groomers I know have about 60-70 blades each.

Edited August 9, 2007 by poodlefan

[indi_dog]

Some time ago I did apply for a job which was basically an apprentice groomer. It was in a great area, lots of work -but- the guy also sold puppies and kittens and I can not work for someone who does that.

There are several people on the internet who have week/month long courses but you need lotsa money and lotsa time.

I'd love to splash out on a full range of blades, but I want a couple of different, good quality scissors too.

Thanks for the list of blades poodlewrangler - it's helping me narrow my list down (I can't get it all at once, I'm going to have to accumulate stuff as I go )

[Rascalmyshadow]

indi_dog what state are you in?

I am a groomer by trade I would recommend you start with 2 10# blades (use them for doing armpits, groins and FFT poodles) 7f (very short summer cut) 5# (longer summer cut or short winter cut) and a 40#surgical (putting under blocking blades/plastic combs) then get yourself a range of different size blocking blades they are the cheapest and safest way to learn to groom and the customers love their finishes. The Oster blades are the best and will fit your clippers.

[BC]

I agree with NicoleL.

2 x 10#

1 x 7F# - This blade will also get under most matting

1 x 5F#

If you dont have a 30# or 40# you can use a 10# under your comb extensions, but the shorter blades leave a better finish under the comb.

I like the finishing blades, but you can also get for example, 7# and 7# skiptooth. Dont recommend the skiptooth until you have a bit of experience under your belt.

Good luck. It's hard yakka at times but I enjoy it

[indi_dog]

Hey NicoleL

I'm actually west of Melbourne. The other weekend I did a little 2 day pet groomer course in Geelong (through Gordon Tafe). It was the only way I could get my hands on a pair of clippers and just have a go, mind you I was terrified I was going to cut limbs with the clipper.

The groomer actually recommended I stay away from skip tooth blades for a while, as they can be a little dangerous in unexperienced hands.

I admire a really professional, correct breed clip and that's something I'm aspiring to be able to do one day.

poodlefan I didn't even know you could get 70 different blades for clippers

[poodlefan]

Indi Dog:

poodlefan I didn't even know you could get 70 different blades for clippers

Indi they weren't all different, they had multiples of the more heavily used blades.

[becks]

indi_dog what state are you in?

I am a groomer by trade I would recommend you start with 2 10# blades (use them for doing armpits, groins and FFT poodles) 7f (very short summer cut) 5# (longer summer cut or short winter cut) and a 40#surgical (putting under blocking blades/plastic combs) then get yourself a range of different size blocking blades they are the cheapest and safest way to learn to groom and the customers love their finishes. The Oster blades are the best and will fit your clippers.

Sorry? Why 2 10#blades??

[Rascalmyshadow]

10# blades are used on almost every dog so they wear quicker and it is good to have an extra one for when you FFT poodles because the blades heat up and you need to swap.

Before anyone comments on doing a poodles FFT with a 10# I don't think someone learning should go any shorter because the risk of clipper rash is too high.

[frufru]

I agree with Nicole. Most salons use a 10 to fft. What we use at home on our own dogs would be different to what goes on in a grooming salon. I use a 30 on my own dogs in pet trim but would never do this on someone elses dog as their skin is not used to it - mine are retired showies and were shaved every week with a 40 while being shown.

Stick to you 10s for a while to fft.

[Poodle wrangler]

Most clippers come with a #10 blade included- just check when you're buying blades.

[indi_dog]

I find clipping the inside of the foot fiddly and somewhat scary - I'd have to get doubles of the blades as it takes me so long they tend to heat up.

With scissors - does it matter on the length? I want a pair of short ones for clipping around feet though.

[Rascalmyshadow]

For scissoring feet don't get shorter scissors get curved instead then they can also be used for doing topknots, rounding ears and some leg shaping.

[frufru]

You could also shave inside the pads with a toe blade if it is a mini or toy poodle - if it is a cross or some other breed I would just use a pair of scissors and trim off any hair that protrudes from the pads.

[indi_dog]

Toe blade are smaller for easy manouverability am I right? Would they be considered an easy/safe blade to use for the beginner?

I'm shaving the insides of Indi's pads as she does herding and tends to get mud build up in between her toes which bothers her.

The groomer who showed me how to do feet took about 10 seconds for one foot. I reckon it took me 10 minutes to do the same.

Can I ask a dumb question - the purpose of a snap on comb is for a smoother finish or for leaving extra length? I've not really had a chance to play with it yet (and I really can't experiment on Indi's coat).

[frufru]

Both - Like the f blades coat needs to be clean, dry and free of matts and brushed to use snap on combs. You may feel more comfortable with a toe blade but does shaving really stop the mud build up?

[Rascalmyshadow]

For a beginner I would not recommend using a toe blade it is much easier to cut the webbing between the toe with them, even on the toys I use full size blades without a problem.

Plastic combs give a fluffier/softer finish, a metal 4# is almost the same length as a no. 2 snap on yet often if I use the 4# a customer will say it looks too short but if I use the plastic they are happy.