Clipping Double Coated Breeds

[WreckitWhippet]

The OP was actually asking about clipper brands and what to buy.

yep and not wahls

[Trishm]

I have Wahls and Andis, and a couple of pair of Osters which must be 30 years old, and still going strong as long as they are maintained.

[nicestman77]

The OP was actually asking about clipper brands and what to buy.

yep and not wahls

Please, ReadySetGo, I would like to know what happened to make you hate Wahl KM2 clippers, don't rush it, just list the problems, I think it is a positive direction for all involved, there are a few repairers on this forum, who would like to know, so they can improve there services.

[WreckitWhippet]

I;ve said why I don't like them anymore. I can't stand the new levers and the fact they constantly need replacing. The clippers feel like they are no longer driving blades ( that includes my brand new pair ). Your blades feel blunt, when infact they have just been sharpened.

It's not just me complaining as a groomer, but our customers who use them at home as well.

I won't sell them in the shop anymore, it's not worth the customer complaints

[sheena]

I used to clip my old border collie at least three times a year, so I could keep on top of the ticks. I don't clip my new girl though cause I don't want to ruin her lovely coat. I just had a pair of Brevilles from Big W pet dept, cost $99 with a twelve month warranty. The first pair packed it in just short of the 12 months & were immediately replaced & the second pair were still working years later when I lent them to someone & they were never returned.

[nicestman77]

I;ve said why I don't like them anymore. I can't stand the new levers and the fact they constantly need replacing. The clippers feel like they are no longer driving blades ( that includes my brand new pair ). Your blades feel blunt, when infact they have just been sharpened.

It's not just me complaining as a groomer, but our customers who use them at home as well.

I won't sell them in the shop anymore, it's not worth the customer complaints

OoooP's, I hope we didn't sharpen your blades, I would hate to think we had a upset customer.

Clipper blades were only ever designed 30 plus years ago, to only work at 2100 strokes per minute(left/right),once a blade is revved higher it become unstable, and the clipping is done on the tips of the blades, plus they become blunt more quickly, it is best to use your clippers on a lower speed, that is why your old Osters are working ok, because they are only working at that lower speed(2100 spm).

Wahl KM2 clippers on low is 3000spm, on high it is something like 4000spm, infact instead of cutting the fur once, it cuts several times because of the speed.

If you use the clipper/s on a lower speed the blade doesn't heat up, and the clipper lasts twice as long before it wears out, or needs repairing.

[WreckitWhippet]

So how do you explain my single speed and their inabilty to function properly ?

[nicestman77]

I wonder if it has something wrong with it, whoever does your servicing is missing the problem.

If the blade is not engaging properly it sort of won't work.

If it did it from new,must be something wrong with it.

You are welcome to send it to me,to see if I can find the problem,no charge.

[Dogsfevr]

I groom 5 days & week & only use Double K .We still have our original Oster that are nearly 30 yrs old & work fine & never let us done.

I have used Andis at friends & hate them,there slow,noisey & leave a crap finish,the wahls for me aren't much better but maybe because i compare them to the Double K finish .

Obviously the OP isn't going to buy a double K & to be honest i couldn't recommend a brand that i would do a clip off on as i haven't used a pair for that job for nearly 20 yrs as that is how long we have had our Double K.

What i would suggest to the OP is make sure you do the job regular otherwise it will be hard work & very tiring especially as many at home groomers don't buy the quantity of blades that salons will have to get through the job quicker.

The main thing is to have a feel of the clippers because what sits well in one person hand doesn't in another

[nicestman77]

We sharpen a lot of blades, and there is no one harder to sharpen than any others, the only difference is that some look more fancy than others do (brand)

When buying blades always look for a blade that can be sharpened many times, I don't like the new Wahl blades they are weak, and break easy, and there is very little to machine off them, see pix.

[poodle3081]

I groom 5 days & week & only use Double K .We still have our original Oster that are nearly 30 yrs old & work fine & never let us done.

I have used Andis at friends & hate them,there slow,noisey & leave a crap finish,the wahls for me aren't much better but maybe because i compare them to the Double K finish .

Obviously the OP isn't going to buy a double K & to be honest i couldn't recommend a brand that i would do a clip off on as i haven't used a pair for that job for nearly 20 yrs as that is how long we have had our Double K.

What i would suggest to the OP is make sure you do the job regular otherwise it will be hard work & very tiring especially as many at home groomers don't buy the quantity of blades that salons will have to get through the job quicker.

The main thing is to have a feel of the clippers because what sits well in one person hand doesn't in another

Double Ks are the most powerful clipper to drive an A5 blade and the groomers that use them will not use anything else. The downside is the knack in handling and getting used to the cable.

[bernym]

Wow thanks for all the replies. Not sure if there is a clear winner in the recommended clipper.

I am still contemplating sending him to the vets to be brushed out and clipped under sedation and while he is knocked out they can take a fine needle aspiration of the lump that is on his spine, which is the main reason I feel that grooming him is now becoming painful. If I go anywhere near the lump, he quickly drops to a sit or lies down. If I continue to brush near it he tries to grab my mouth with his hand. I don't want to send him to the groomers for a whole day and have them rough handle him to finish the job if I can see it is causing him pain. Even if they try not to be rough, it will still hurt him. Sedation would remove the pain aspect.

I actually sat down with a pair of scissors yesterday and clipped off (hacked off) fur near his rear end and around his hocks - it is always too long and just gets too messy.

He has been to the groomers once since the vet clipped him. They said it was a lot of work brushing him out as the fur had grown back terribly and unevenly and yes I think it was matting. It looked so much better when they had finished, but it had definitely lost the texture of the original fur. They recommended sending him every fortnight to improve the quality of his fur, which is something we can't afford, nor do I think he could stand that regular bathing/blow drying. That was about 3 months ago. The fur is now longer and while there is some outercoat regrowing, it is mostly the thick undercoat. The undercoat was also clipped back short in the original vet clip, not just the outercoat. He was clipped totally to the skin up his sides and this section of fur is still obviously shorter than the rest. He also had a big bald patch across his shoulders that has only just started to regrow in the past 2 months. The skin underneath became very pigmented during this time.

I have considered the idea of investing money in the blower, instead of the clippers, as one person suggested. I did ask about this in a previous topic on Samoyeds.

I think I might ask the vet nurse whether I can be there when she does the clip/brush so that she can show me how she does it and also to show me what sort of clippers etc she uses for the different parts. I will also watch those links, although last time I watched links on how to clip a cat, it just reinforced to me to send him to the vet for clipping I have two dogs, so investing in clippers or blowers should pay itself back pretty quickly.

Thanks again.

[rotts4ever]

I;ve said why I don't like them anymore. I can't stand the new levers and the fact they constantly need replacing. The clippers feel like they are no longer driving blades ( that includes my brand new pair ). Your blades feel blunt, when infact they have just been sharpened.

It's not just me complaining as a groomer, but our customers who use them at home as well.

I won't sell them in the shop anymore, it's not worth the customer complaints

[rotts4ever]

I;ve said why I don't like them anymore. I can't stand the new levers and the fact they constantly need replacing. The clippers feel like they are no longer driving blades ( that includes my brand new pair ). Your blades feel blunt, when infact they have just been sharpened.

It's not just me complaining as a groomer, but our customers who use them at home as well.

I won't sell them in the shop anymore, it's not worth the customer complaints

I have to agree and I'm not talking about old clippers, which I was very happy with, I'm talking about new clippers which I don't have time to muck around with.

Like anything your equipment and how it performs makes the world of difference. So if the Wahls are no longer performing why wouldn't I be looking for a better option

Like I said before I don't seem to be the only one that has had problems with their new wahls and I am running a business so loyalty to a product is based on performance.

Lee

[nicestman77]

The older style levers are available,as I said some repairers have been working on these issues,we appreciate the feedback,I have a old moto/saying, and it goes like this,"My worst critic is my best customer & friend"because that person who had the problem, took the time to let me know of the issue.

I purchased 200pc of levers from the Ireland which fitted the Mozer 45 clipper(UK),which is infact is a Wahl KM2(AU) ,the only difference is the top case looks slightly different ay the front,but everything inside is the same,when I got them I was not happy,yes they was the new ones,so I did a lot of searching, and found the older type in another country,the ones I have now I have had no problems since.

There are 2 things that will break levers.

#1 Fatigue (worn tip) vibration will destroy levers quickly.

#2 Tension (To high)

See if you can test your blades for tension,and see if the tip has a bit of slap,or the tension is tight.

The correct tension is 1kg without oil.

We use the Laube top cutters,they have a spring set in the hole where the lever goes,that stops slapping between the lever, and top cutter.

Plus Laube top cutters have 4 more teeth for finer cutting

Edited December 29, 2010 by nicestman77

[JulesP]

nicestman77, Sorry but it is not repairmen that should be working on the problem it is the manufacturer. If there is a problem with the new Wahls it it Wahl that should be fixing it. Jolly good if you can fix one that is already broken but personally I am not going to buy a product if I know it has a fault. Do you actually have any advice to give bernym?

bernym if it is hurting your dog to brush him then you do need to take him to the vets IMO. What has happened with your dog's coat is why I hated clipping double coated breeds.

You need to get mats out of your dogs coat before washing and drying him btw. Washing mats just seems to make them tighter.

[bernym]

bernym if it is hurting your dog to brush him then you do need to take him to the vets IMO. What has happened with your dog's coat is why I hated clipping double coated breeds.

You need to get mats out of your dogs coat before washing and drying him btw. Washing mats just seems to make them tighter.

Thanks. I realise that I need to get rid of the mats first before washing, otherwise his whole coat will become one matted mess. This is why I am contemplating getting the vet nurse to do the brushing out and clipping first, then I can bathe him and dry him at home, which hopefully wont be as painful for him. Even that sounds daunting though so I probably should start looking at shampoos and a good quality blower instead. My groomers have told me in the past that it takes 2.5 hours to dry and brush him out. My girl dog is also a Samoyed but no where near as much work is required for her coat. Again, they both never fully blow their coats until the end of summer, not sure if this is due to being desexed or not. The vet said last summer several of his clients were saying the same thing about double coated breeds blowing coats late.

So, if I purchase good clippers and a blower I am guessing around $500 as a minimum is what I am up for. Sounds like it is worth getting multiple blades based on many of the responses in case they get hot or blunt during a clip.

[JulesP]

How old is your boy bernym? If he is elderly this might be part of the problem with his coat. My old border stopped dropping her coat and it went all woolly. The texture totally changed.

[Dogsfevr]

bernym i would say $500 won't cover it.

To do the job correctly you will need

Clippers

Blades(clippers come with a #10 but you will need to purchase a few ,the US dollar is great at present so blades are cheap

Correct brush/combs

Grooming table will be a must .

Even though you say the dog gets sore the longer you leave it between grooms the more toll it takes on the body .

Ideally you need to do weekly if wanting to really get on top of the coat or simply just clipped off more often

You can also hand scissor the coat back to a good length or use the clip on combs BUT the dog must be knot free ,the more knots the harder the work & the longer it takes

[nicestman77]

I think if Wahl(motor), and Laube(lever action) companies got together, and swapped ideas, they might come-up with a good clipper.

The Wahl motor does a fair job, but it needs to be maintained regularly, but I am not to sure about the lever action, but is seems to work ok, the cords are a problem, but it can be modified so it lasts longer before repair is required, the carbon brush's are very soft to make the motor nice, and quiet.

There are a few repairers working on these problems in AU.

The problem in the grooming industry is everyone is so busy, they forget to service their equipment, then when the clipper/equipment lets them down, and it is always at the busiest times, they blame the brand post haste.

The Laube clippers have a excellent simple lever action, but the motors are so expensive, and the clipper is a dog to work-on.

There is actually a clipper that was designed with a Wahl sized motor, and the Laube lever action.

It was here in Australia,but the local market didn't go with it,it was slighly thinner than the oster it was only 2/3thirds the weight of the Oster clippers.

We sold 500 clippers,none of them come back in for repairs,even after a couple of years.They are still plugging away.

The was named (PetPro-Boss) 2 speed 2100/2900spm)

Then what happened Kim Laube from the USA picked it up and called it Roxstar.

http://www.kimlaubecoshop.com/361roxstarclipperkit.aspx

I would say Kim Laube is trailing it in the USA, and if it does the job, and it will, he will push it into his professional stable.