Well, a present to the shop really.
How was your Holiday?
I hope that all of the busy Holiday grooming was profitable for everyone.
I hope that your customers treated you well for taking good care of their pets all year.
The last three weeks feel like a blur.
I am happy to get back to blogging.
A week before Christmas one of my Self-Serve HV dryers died.
A day later a hose split on another Self-Serve dryer.
A couple of days after that a customer dropped the one remaining dryer and busted it.
Really????
Now????
Right before the Christmas rush????
So, I had to order two new HV dryers for the Self-Serve.
Thankfully we were able to repair the hose on one of the dryers with a spare we had.
I like to save parts.
You never know when they will come in handy.
To top things off, the dryers that I ordered could not be delivered until Christmas Eve.
Grrrrr.
That was going to be too late.
Oh, I could have had them delivered over night.
That would have cost me almost $250 extra.
Or, I could have had it delivered in 2 days....that would have only set me back an extra $175.
I opted to have them delivered by Christmas Eve for $60 shipping. :(
We had to let the Self-Serve customers use one of our really nice HV dryers.
Two dryers for four tubs. :/
We managed.
Anyway, I also bought the shop a Christmas Present.
BLADES!
I have not bought new blades in a while.
Some of the last new blades that I bought were the 'Buttercut' ones.
I hate them.
So, as I was looking a HV dryers for the Self-Serve, I checked out the blades too.
There are so many to pick from.
≈ Oster.
≈ Oster Lucky.
≈ Geib Buttercut. (no, no, no)
≈ Master Grooming Tools..Classic..Pro..Premier.
≈ Andis UltraEdge
≈ Andis CeramicEdge (no, no, no)
≈ Andis ShowEdge
Then there is Wahl.
I love my Wahl cordless clippers.
I also like the Wahl 5in1 blades.
So, I thought that I would try out some new Wahl blades.
“Made in USA”. High quality for increased performance
and long service life. The perfectly
adjusted spring setting provides constant
clipping pressure while generating little heat.
and long service life. The perfectly
adjusted spring setting provides constant
clipping pressure while generating little heat.
improved clipping performance and fur intake, as well as smoother trimmed edges can be achieved
– for clipping that is 2.5 times faster! In comparison with Competition Series Blades.
– for clipping that is 2.5 times faster! In comparison with Competition Series Blades.
♦The blades have a black chrome nickel finish with an effective rust inhibitor.
♦Designed for a smooth cut and a show finish.
My Review:
First, I really like the large blade number on the front of the blade.
Even though I can normally tell what length a blade is just by glancing at it, it still helps to have that nice big number on the front that will not wear away over time.
~Smooth feeding and faster cutting: I agree. The blade slid through the hair very nicely.
~Increased performance: I used the blade right out of the package to see if it would cut without having to be washed and oiled.
I was very pleased when all of the blades cut perfectly right out of the packages. I did clean them after the first use, and they worked even better.
~Smoother cut: Very smooth. Very nice.
You be the judge.
This is a picture of the body of a Yorkie that I clipped with the #5F Ultimate Competition Blade.
←I clipped this dogs entire body and legs with the #3F blade and the blade was barely warm when I finished.
I usually have to switch out blades, for a cool blade, half way through a body clip.
~Clips 2.5 times faster: The blade did seem to move faster and smoothly through the coat, but I can not say that it was 2.5 times faster. I think that it depends on the type of coat that you are clipping.
~Effective rust inhibitor: Only time will tell.....
My Opinion: ☻☻☻☻☻
I give these blades five out of five smiley faces.
I really like them, and I will defiantly order more.
©TheGroomersMall has these blades on sale right now if anyone is interested.
*They are compatible with most standard detachable blade clippers.
The information and opinion above are only my personal experience and opinion of this product.
I do not work for Wahl, and do not get anything for recommending their products...(I wish)
I have one more thing that I would like to share tonight.
Below is a sign that I saw yesterday.
With the resent loss of my girl 'Annie', the sign really hit home.
Happy Grooming, MFF
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good Christmas break after the rush.
I am also using these Wahl Competition Series blades and I really love using them. They give very clean and smooth cut. I have them in #3, #4 & #5 and i'm planning to replace my other blades too.
I have a question for you, how do you look after your blades i.e. sanitise, wash and store them?
Take care Lisa.
Hi Mayw16,
DeleteThank you, my Christmas was very nice. I hope that yours was too! :)
Cleaning my blades....well I am a Cool Lube girl. I have read a lot of complaints for this stuff from other groomers, but I have never had a problem with it.
I use it to clean and cool my blades while grooming. If a blade starts running slow, or gets clogged up while I am clipping, I pick up my Cool Lube and spray all over the teeth while the blade is still running.
Now, for the most important part... Shake the blade to get rid of excess Cool Lube. Then I blow the rest of the excess out of the teeth. (Be careful when you blow that you do not blow the Cool Lube back into your face) Last, I take a paper towel and wipe off the blade making sure that the blade is completely dry before I use it on the dog again.
Since I only clip clean dogs, I do not like to use oil on my blades while grooming.
I have washed my blades with soap and water before also, but you MUST pull them apart and make very sure that they are completely dry right away.
As I write this, I can think of several other things, but they would be so much more easily explained if I could show pictures. I think that you just gave me an idea for another post. :)
Lisa, MFF
I am new to the blog and just love it, im very excited and full of questions :) !!! I have tried all the blades u listed... I really like the wahl u got, they seem to cut threw matts easier and im able to leave them longer, however my shappening guy hates them and complains there the hardest to sharpen(and has for the last 2 yrs i had these). He recomends ándis comp. Edge (or show edge) he says they have a longer sharpening life and an angle the others dont which helps the clipping.... I dont want to buy blades just to make his job easier... I have been doing a lot of research trying to decide which kind to replace my mixed up collection from trying them all ( from buttercut to ceramic) i would love to hear more about the blades groomers choose and why... I also would love to find a blog about different clipper sharpeners, and what is "normal" my guy wont even sharpen left handed scissors(for my trainee) or ceramic blades(which i waisted money on :/ ) (the last groomer he sharpened her lefty scissors for 7 yrs, must not have known it), im starting to think i need a new blade guy.... But am not sure whats normal he brings his van and it only takes a few hrs, and he is not accepting new clients, but it seems they dont last the full month until he comes back(how often is everone elses blades staying Sharp on average, what is average life span for your blades(and how many dogs a week on that lifespan) i have some that aré several yrs old). Im scared to send my stuff out in fear it will be lost, taken, or tampered with not to mention i would need an entire second set for the at least week the others aré gone??? Any pointers?? THANKS so much for reading.
ReplyDeleteStephanie (dog/cat/horse groomer and horse trainer/compition groomer)
Hi Stephanie,
DeleteSorry to take so long in answering your questions. I have so many comments backed up from the Holidays. :/
Sharpening guys...the bane of every groomers existence. Well, mine at least. :)
I am getting ready to try a new sharpening guy now. I am finally breaking down and sending them out. I hate to do it, for the same reasons that you stated, but I am so fed up with the ones around me.
I will NOT let a sharpening guy dictate what blades or scissors that I use. Complaining must come with the job, because just about every sharpener that I have had has complained about either the clippers that I use, the scissors that I use, or the blades. The thing that kills me is that they are not even groomers and they are trying to tell me what works best on the dogs coats. Grrrr.
It's funny, I was wondering if my sharpening guy might complain about these blades when I was ordering them. I will have to wait and see.
As for how long me blades last...a long time. I only clip clean dogs! I keep the blades clean between grooming's. My blades are sharpened two to three times a year. I will admit that I have collected a ton of scissors over the years, so I only sharpen them once or twice a year. It is a big bill, because there are so many of them, but probably no more than if they were being sharpened once a month. Depending on whether or not I accidentally drop them, one pair of scissors will last me for about a month or more.
I know that it will probably sound silly, but I wipe my scissor blades down with my fingers after I finish each dog. (Careful, I have cut myself doing this sometimes lol) I truly think that the natural oils from my fingers help keep them sharp. I know...I am crazy. :) Once again, I only scissor clean, dry dogs. I do keep my old scissors, or a pair of cheap scissors for when I HAVE to scissor something on a dirty dog.
If I find a good sharpener, I will blog about him.
I hope that this helped. Thanks for reading my blog. :)
Lisa, MFF
I loved the Wahl Competetion Series blades, but mine dulled super fast:( I take really good care of my blades, clean them every day and never use them on dirty coats. I bought a couple more as soon as I started thinking the first ones were dulling to see what happened and the same thing happened to the next ones:(
ReplyDeleteI am back to my Geibs, but I swear I go through way more blade drives using them!
Oh, and those Andis CeramicEdge!!!! I almost quit grooming school because I bought those as my first blades! Someone I spoke to on the phone when I was ordering my tool kit told me they were the best blades you could buy LOL. I tried so hard to get a smooth cut and never could. All of the other students around me were getting nice cuts. I felt terrible because I wanted to groom so bad, but I kept thinking I was just naturally horrible at it! Finally I had to borrow someone else's blade one day and my trim came out gorgeous. I ordered a whole new set that night. I still want my money back!
ReplyDeleteHi Mindy,
DeleteI am with you on the ceramic blades! I HATE them! I can only imagine how you felt in grooming school. I still have the ceramic blades that I bought sitting in my tool box at work. Thank goodness you borrowed that blade lol.
Lisa, MFF
Good grief Mindy,
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that those blades would not end up being too good to be true. :( So far they are still going strong, but it has only been a week lol.
I guess that I will have to wait and see if mine do the same. :/
I swear, it seems every blade company seems to have some little thing wrong with their blades. Wear out fast, get hot too fast, don't cut right, ect. Grrrr.
Lisa, MFF
Im using Wahl too, been using it for a while and it really works nice. Tried using Andis it wears out fast and gets too hot easily.
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