Author Topic: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?  (Read 12104 times)

Offline horsepoor21

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What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« on: January 20, 2007, 08:34:13 pm »
Does anyone on here groom their own pooch ? I have a miniature schnauzer , Kylie , that I've always groomed myself . I had an old pair of clippers from my last ms that I used until they finally died , then I bought a new pair from Walmart , Wahl is the brand . Anyhow ,I only used them like , two times and they wouldn't cut her hair anymore , I couldn't find the reciept or anything so I just bought another pair , a more expensive one ( but still the same brand) and I have followed all their instructions on keeping them oiled , making sure Kylie's had a bath and is fully dry before starting , etc . And now I'm trying to give her her second grooming with this pair and they won't cut !What am I doing wrong ? It's been about 7 weeks since her last haircut so her hair is longer , but the clippers just pull on the hair and give it this frizzled look , and then every now and again they'll cut really short and leave almost a bald spot on her . She looks aweful ! So if anyone has any advice as to what I'm doing wrong , point me in the right direction please . Kylie is embarressed to go outside  ;D
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
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Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2007, 08:44:31 pm »
maybe the blade just needs to be sharpened? if her hair is pretty thick, and the blade not TOP quality, it might dull out really fast.  just a thought.
steffanie in atlanta

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Offline horsepoor21

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2007, 09:00:15 pm »
Okay , how do I sharpen it ? LOL I'm clueless how this all works . I swear , I used that old set of clippers with my old schnauzer for YEARS and never took care of them . Now I'm trying to be good and it's backfiring ! LOL  ::)
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
Crush-Painted Turtle

       "Every boy should have two things:
 A dog, and a mother willing to let him have one"

Offline MagicM3

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2007, 11:47:57 pm »
I can soo relate,I clip Magic all the time in a schnauzer type clip .

In all likelyhood the clippers came not sharpened all all.
I have only used Oster clippers and blades,so I am not familiar with your brand but if you used them before and were happy with them,then I would say get the blades all sharpened.Just look up in the yellow pages and call around to see  who does it in your area

It shouldn't cost too much.which reminds me it's time to get mine done again along with the sissors.

Tricia and the fur kids




Offline Imani's Mom

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2007, 10:30:44 am »
The secret is to buy a bottle of blade wash and use it BEFORE using a new set of blades.  They come coated in some sort of protectant that needs to be removed before using clippers, or it will ruin the blades quickly.  I found this out when I was having all my blades resharpened by an old guy in our neighborhood who had a sharpening service/shop for all types of blades.  He was right- I tried this on my next set of new blades, and it worked!

Weedsport, NY

Offline horsepoor21

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2007, 11:29:27 am »
Well that's not fair , they sure as heck didn't mention anything about the blades being covered in anything !  >:(
Well I'm glad I asked ya'll , now I know !  :) Thankyou !
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
Crush-Painted Turtle

       "Every boy should have two things:
 A dog, and a mother willing to let him have one"

Offline MRSL

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2007, 12:20:07 pm »
Have you had a look in between the blades ? If its full of hair the blades cant slide back and forth. Take a soft brush and remove the hair once all the hair is removed place a small drop of blade oil in the middle of the blades and then switch on for a sec (this works the oil into the blades) switch off and wipe the unused oil off with kitchen roll. You gotta do this ever time you use your clippers. Im a hairdresser and I use Wahl clippers all the time ... I know what you might be saying... a hairdresser ??? Dont laugh ;) but I do know how to look after my clippers and how to use them on really thick hair.  Did you get any gaurds with them ? or are you just using them free with no gaurds. You gotta start real slow and go against the hair. If the hairs really thick .... go slow ! and let the blades do their work and keep removing the hair so the blades wont jam. Dont push the blades too hard onto the hair or you will go too deep in sections and just pull on the hair and it will look frazzled at the ends or take big chunks out. Its better to start with a high gaurd and work down and keep removing the hair from the blades as you go.  hope this helps.

Annie

Offline MagicM3

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2007, 08:28:24 pm »
Annie is correct but remember animal and people are different in that if you go against the ahir on a dog you usually get a much shorter cut than if you go in the other direction.

Just a suggestion

Tricia and the fur kids

Offline horsepoor21

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2007, 11:06:13 pm »
Yeah , I actually did try a small spot going against the hair to see if it'd work that way and it shaved her down to pink skin  :o But I will try using the attatchments next time to see if I can work my way down . Thanks MRSL !
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
Crush-Painted Turtle

       "Every boy should have two things:
 A dog, and a mother willing to let him have one"

Offline Imani's Mom

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2007, 05:40:13 am »
Oh- and don't just splash the bladewash on and wipe it off, put the blades on the clipper, turn it on, and lower the blades into the wash so they are totally covered, but the rest of the clipper is not in the wash.  Let it run in the wash for about 30 seconds or so, then take it out, turn it off, and wipe off excess wash.

Weedsport, NY

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2007, 12:14:59 pm »
OH don't get me started on Wahl products! lol  When I groomed at the vet clinic we used Oster clippers and we never had a problem with them (they are pretty spendy though).  Then when we got our Maltese Ramsey, I thought HEY I'll just go out and buy clippers so I can groom him at home, because at that time I wasn't working as a groomer.  I bough Wahl brand and I had soooooo many problems with them.  It was actually pulling his fur out from his skin!  I felt so bad, but I was angry that they could even sell products like that I  figured there was something wrong with them, I took them back and upgraded to a "professional" set of Wahl clippers, and they did the EXACT same thing!  I just ended up going online and purchasing the Oster brand clippers because I knew they wouldn't give me problems.  I've also heard Andis is an ok brand too.  Even if you have to purchase clippers that are a little bit more expensive, I think it pays off in the long run, because sometimes groomers charge quite a bit for the basic clip.

Offline horsepoor21

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2007, 12:44:56 pm »
I think I am going to have to just break down and purchase a better brand ( thankyou for the suggestions ! ) because I definetly can't afford to take her to a groomer , plus she doesn't like to be away from me for a second and I think it'd just be too stressful on her anyhow .  :)
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
Crush-Painted Turtle

       "Every boy should have two things:
 A dog, and a mother willing to let him have one"

Anakalia

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2007, 12:56:27 pm »
Well if you do decide to get a different brand, check out ebay!  I was just on there looking at grooming supplies and they have Oster clippers for very reasonable prices!! I really wish I would have thought of ebay when I bought my clippers! lol If you search on ebay, make sure to checkout the sellers return policy and warranty.

Offline horsepoor21

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2007, 01:06:48 pm »
Andi , that's a great idea ! I wouldn't have thought of looking on ebay for clippers ,duh  ::)  ;D Thankyou so much !
-Amy
Moose-Border Collie/Newfoundland rescue
Allie-Newfoundland
Spook-Newfoundland
Whiskey-Arabian
Wolverine-Cockatiel
Polly&Rainbow-Lovebirds (with 3 babies!)
Crush-Painted Turtle

       "Every boy should have two things:
 A dog, and a mother willing to let him have one"

Offline Imani's Mom

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Re: What am I doing wrong with my clippers ?
« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2007, 09:39:36 am »
You can't go wrong with the oster clippers- I bought mine more than ten years ago, and besides new blades every so often (when I didn't plan ahead enough to have my old ones sharpened) I have only had to replace the brushes (a small part that goes inside the housing, not actual "brush" things) and that was only one time, and ordering a set is quick and painless, not to mention cheap.  I used them non-stop for 7 years, grooming everything from cats to severely matted sheep dogs. They have not failed me even once.

Weedsport, NY