Clipper Problems

I have been having clipper problems lately.

It's driving me crazy!

I am trying to hold out until Groom Expo to buy another pair.

But, they are driving me crazy!!

Oh...sorry...I said that already.

I am talking about my corded clippers.

I have two Andis Ultra Edge (2 speed) clippers.

I like them...really I do.

Up until I had maintenance done on them by my clipper guy they were fine.

I like my blade sharpening guy.

I don't want to go through trying to find another.

It is too much of a headache.

The only problem is, that I didn't have this problem with my clippers before overhauled them.

The clippers run fine.

They hold the blade fine.

So what is the problem?

They heat the blades up very fast.

I mean super fast.

Before I sent them in for maintenance, I could clip an entire small dogs body before the blade started to get warm.

I could clip one whole side of a large dog before the blade started to get warm.

Warm not hot.

I check my blades on my cheek, or the inside of my wrist as I clip to see if it is getting warm.

As soon as my blade starts getting warm, I switch to another blade, or hit it with 'Cool Lube'.

After I had the first clipper cleaned and overhauled, I noticed right away that the blade was getting warmer faster.

I pretty much had it timed out how much I could clip before I started checking the blade for warmth.

Imagine my surprise when I tested the blade on my cheek expecting to be a little warm only to jerk it away from my face because the darn thing was hot!

I thought that it was the blade.

Maybe it was dirty....nope.

Maybe the tension was way too tight....nope.

My daughter would use the same blade on her clipper with no problem.

Very quickly I noticed that this was happening with every blade I used, on that clipper.

I tried to talk to my sharpening guy about it, but I could not get him to understand what I was saying.

He kept thinking that I was talking about the blades not the clipper.

Do you all understand what I am saying?

I am usually pretty good at describing what I am talking about, but he didn't get it.

He is not a stupid guy, and he was not pretending to understand.

When the same thing happened to the next two clippers that I sent out for maintenance (the other one of mine and my daughters clipper), I was positive that it was something that he was doing.

I talked to him again, and this time, after about 10 minutes of trying, I finally got him to understand that I was talking about something being wrong with the clipper not the blades.

He could not find anything wrong. :/

The clippers are getting worse.

I can barley get one side of the body of a small dog clipped before I have to change out the blade.

It is amazing how much this can slow you down.

I am a fanatic about hot blades.

I can honestly say that I have not ever clipper burned a dog.

I have had dogs have clipper irritation, but not burn.

Clipper burn and clipper irritation are two different things.

Clipper burn is from using hot blades, and the dogs skin is actually burned.

Clipper irritation is when the skin has become irritated by having the hair cut very short and the dog itches that area.

Similar to when a mans skin becomes irritated after shaving.

I have been using a Andis Ultra Edge for a long time now and other than this problem I like it, but I think that I am going to check out some other clippers at Groom Expo.

I am worried that a new pair of Andis clippers will do the same thing when I have maintenance on them.

I am going to take my clippers to Hershey and talk to the Andis people about them in person.

Maybe someone else can help me with them, and I won't have to buy another pair yet.

Oh, one other thing.

You know that little cover below the blade that you can take off to clean out the blade drive?

It has been popping off every once in a while ever since the maintenance.

The other day it popped off again.

I was in the middle of clipping a dog.

I looked down and didn't see it right away.

I could not take my hands off the dog that I was grooming at the time, so I waited until I was finished the dog to pick it up and put it back on the clipper.

Only when I went to look for it, it was gone.

Disappeared!

Vanished!

I could not find that darn thing anywhere on the floor.

I mean, even if it bounced it didn't really have anywhere to go or hind under.

It disappeared into thin air.

Maybe something is telling me to get a new clipper.

They do sell new parts.

They are called drive caps.

They only cost about $4.

For right now I am using the clipper without the drive cap.

And you know what?

Your going to think I am crazy.

Oh, that's right... you already know that I am crazy. ;)

I think that the clipper rides through the hair better without the drive cap.

Hair doesn't get caught between the drive cap and blade.

I am not just imagining this.

I clipped the  same dog with my clipper that still has the drive cap on it, and then switched to my poor crippled clipper, and it went through the hair better.

It was not a major difference, but the difference was there.

Really!

Okay, okay..it's my imagination.

But, the blades heating up too fast is defiantly not my imagination.

You know what?

Now that I write this post, I am determined to talk to someone from Andis and find out what happened to my clippers.

I just hope that I don't have to spend forever trying to explain what the problem is. :/

Happy Grooming, MFF