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Best HEAVY duty clippers??

6K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  SamieNorman 
#1 ·
Well... after 2 years my Wahl Bravura clips are toast... they drag through my dogs hair like we cement. Will not cut AT ALL. Sharpened and oiled with new blades and they are toast.

I am sending them in for maintenance in hopes of fixing them but I just don’t think they are cutting it!! (Pun intended)
Normans fur is SO thick and coarse down his back. Loki’s is just thick.
Need HEAVY duty clippers that cut coarse hair like butter!!!!!! Any suggestions???
Not really worried about the price. Anything that’ll fit the Wahl blades I already have ??

wondering if I should just give a new Wahl Bravura a shot???
Thanks so much!!
 
#2 ·
Look at some of the Andis corded models.
 
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#8 ·
Does the Bravura still work on his face and feet?

My corded Andis has stood up to years of abuse, and still mows through poodle hair:


But it's heavy, it heats up FAST, and (based on Peggy's reaction) is not very pleasant on the face or other sensitive areas.
 
#9 ·
My corded Andis has stood up to years of abuse, and still mows through poodle hair:
I have the same one and couldn't get it to cut through Benjamin Franklin's hair! I assume it was just because I am incompetent. 😂 I did a test shave spot on my beagley something or other mix and it cut just fine. It did OK on my mother in law's schnauzer mix. But on the poodle? Nope. Is there some kind of trick? It's just got a number 10 blade on it. I mostly wanted to shave face and poodle butts when things get out of hand.
 
#11 ·
The bravura is a “trimmer” which works beautifully on face, feet, sanitary trimming and can be all some poodle owners need to do the body if the dog doesn’t have a very thick poodle coat. For those of us with dogs with a thick coat, we need “clippers “. I have the Andis PTP mentioned for doing my dogs body and bravura for face and sanitary and a mini Arco for feet.

The difference is ..... clippers are heavier, more powerful, corded, heat up the blade quickly, vibrate more, noisier and can handle thick coats. Trimmers are lighter, often battery powered so they don’t need a cord, more quiet, less vibration, ideal for less demanding trimming.
 
#13 ·
I had read the difference between trimmers and clippers on a professional grooming forum and I do think this is a good way to look at them even if manufacturers use the term interchangeably.

I have a minipoo, those feet are so cute and tiny. The Wahl mini Arco is very similar to the Wahl bravmini. It’s narrower which makes it easier to get in and out of tiny toes. I chose the miniArco simply because it was slightly cheaper. The blade on it is the same as the bravmini. I had a tpoo that I used a regular sized trimmer on her feet and always felt the results were awkward and sloppy.

Do I absolutely need it? No. I also don’t need the Bravura, I could do the whole groom with the Andis, but it’s so much nicer to use them. That Andis AGC is so heavy and I hate the vibration and noise. The Bravura is much more pleasant to use. And the miniArco is sized right for feet.

The Bravura is similar to the Arco and Bravmini is similar to miniArco.
 
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#15 ·
To plow through that hair, I have a Oster A5 , turbo (2 settings) Bought it years and years ago and recently had it sent to Oster to be refurbished. Everyone was so nice, great customer service. Sent in a lot of blade to sharpen, so great to have blades properly sharpened. It is heavy (corded - long cord) and it does get hot. I keep 2 of each blade I have so I can changed the blade when it gets hot. Anyway highly recommend.
 
#19 ·
5 for 40 years, lol about 10 or so years ago I dropped it and broke it pretty bad. I replaced it with the golden A5 and it still going strong. I also keep 2 of each blade and I am really not competent at clipping but I am getting better. It does get hot quickly, but it has a really long cord which I like as I do most of my grooming outside on my patio and I find it is heavy but pretty balanced so for me it fits well.
 
#20 ·
I also have the Andis AGC 2 speed but I bought the 5f and 7f blades for doing the body work (they do not overheat fast). 7f for summer cut and 5f for winter cut. I had been using the 10 blade (which I agree does overheat fast) for face, feet and sanitary but recently invested in a cordless wahl figura for doing those areas AND LOVE IT. My dog is a SPOO.
 
#21 ·
Professionally I used Andis pulse Zr (Cordless) and Andis Excel 5 Speed. I had Laubes and loved them but they were too unreliable and broke often. The Andis ultraedges were too big and cumbersome for me.

bladewise: the andis black ultredges are my favorite. My most commonly used blades are 5,7,3, 5/8, 10, 30 (for combs) and a toe blade. All ft but maybe a couple of skip tooth if Im finishing with shears on a thick coat
 
#22 ·
Alright yall!! I would give the KM10 for my
Boys tight kinky curls, a solid 8.7/10!! Only thing is that this baby gets hot very fast and it’s SUPERS HOT. and traps it a lot of hair under the blades attachments.
Besides that, cut beautifully. Like butter. But does get caught on tight kinky curls on the boys ankle/lower leg where their curls are TIGHT.

Need to get 1 or 2 more #10 blades since they get so hot so fast and both my boys do take a while to groom. Especially since Loki is a big wiggle worm.
Very heavy duty. I don’t mind the cord at all. Not super loud, but not super quiet. Dogs didn’t mind.

Overall, I’m super happy with it!! I appreciate everyone’s recommendations. Thank you so much!! Worth that money. I’m sure once I get more skilled and have better technique, my rating will go up!!
 
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