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Inexpensive clippers

1720 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Eclipse
My friend gave me the WAHL brand dog clippers ($20 from Walmart) because she didn’t need them anymore. I haven’t cut my puppy’s hair yet (10 weeks) and wondered if anyone has had good results with an inexpensive set of clippers?

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My current minipoo has a very thick beautiful adult coat. I would have problems using those kinds of clippers to groom her. I have to use the heavy duty, more powerful clippers. My bravura and mini arco work well for face, feet and sanitary, but not her body.

I had a tpoo with a softer, less thick coat who I clipped using similar cheap hair clippers for 20 years. The first clipper died after about 15 years of use and I replaced it with another cheap one that still works. She always looked well groomed even with cheap clippers. Mine were labeled to cut human hair but they were identical to those packaged to clip pets which were priced higher.

Puppies usually have a softer less dense coat which changes into their adult hair during the dreaded coat change period. And it looks like your puppy might me a tpoo. Tpoos, even as adults often don’t have as thick a coat as minipoos and spoos.

So based on my experience you should be able to use these clippers on your puppy and you might be able to use them on your dog when older. Make sure the blade is sharp and well maintained.
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Skylar we have a mini poodle but the hair is very soft right now. I will try the inexpensive clippers and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I can order more expensive ones. Did you use those clippers without the comb to do the face, feet, and sanitary?
Definitely haven't had luck with cheap clippers, but it doesn't hurt to try since they were free!

Your puppy is beautiful! Which breeder did you wind up going with?
If you are going to be doing your own grooming, in the long run it is cheaper to invest in a set of good quality clippers and blades. I do all my own grooming and have Standards with thick coats. I always used Oster A5s when I groomed professionally and that is what I have continued to use on my girls. My current clippers are almost 11 1/2 years old and still working perfectly after being used on one dog for 5 years and 2 of them for the last 6. I've got blades that are just as old, have been sharpened several times and are still in great condition. Same with shears, don't skimp on quality. Good equipment will more than pay for itself over a lifetime of grooming your dog and will make the job so much easier....
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Skylar we have a mini poodle but the hair is very soft right now. I will try the inexpensive clippers and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I can order more expensive ones. Did you use those clippers without the comb to do the face, feet, and sanitary?
I'm embarrassed to say it's been so long, I waited 12 years after the tpoo passed away before I got my current minipoo that I don't remember what I did. I assume I used the clippers without the comb attachments on her face, feet and sanitary and used the combs on her body.

I will say that I have the metal combs attachments for my bravuro and they are so much nicer than the cheap plastic ones that came with my cheap clipper.

I have the Andis ProClip AGC 2-Speed Clipper. It's heavy to hold and vibrates and is a little noisy. If my dog didn't have such a heavy thick coat, I would use the Bravura for her body. The Bravura is much more comfortable to use. I use the Bravura for face and sanitary and the Mini Arco for her feet.

I was able to buy all my clippers and trimmers on sale for great prices. While you start out with that cheap one, keep an eye on the prices and sales for a Bravura with the metal comb guides and either a miniBrav or mini Arco (Arco and Bravura are very similar). I wouldn't buy the Andis ProClip AGC 2 unless, as an adult, you discover the Bravura don't work well.

I do recommend buying either a miniBrav or mini Arco (Arco and Bravura are very similar) right now - I always had a horrible time doing feet, especially puppy feet with the regular size blades. It's so much easier with the narrower mini trimmers.
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I think it is worth it to invest in a quality clipper. I have had my Oster A5 for about 12 years and it has been refurbished once. Keep the blades sharp and they will last too. I always had a hard time with my Arco SE and combs. I much prefer to use the A5 (the current model is the A6, I believe) and blades of different cut sizes. My Asta prefers the A5 too.
Well I tried using the inexpensive clippers and it was pretty bad. They didn’t cut evenly. Rufus’s hair is so soft and poofy. He did okay except when I was by his face and he didn’t like his feet done. I stopped before we were done because the clippers got hot. These are before and after pictures. I didn’t do horribly on his feet but left his head and the bottoms of his legs alone. I have a lot of practicing to do. I’ve heard the Oster, Bravura, and Andis 2 speed and will have to decide between them. Also, I’ll get the mini ARCO or bravura.

The breeder we got him from is Betty Brown and a co-breeder.

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He is beautiful and you did great. I think most clippers get hot. I also have herd that Wahl has some good one too especially for fft. I don't do my own grooming so I can't really say. Although yesterday for the first time I did my boys under belly, and feet. Quite when I got to face. He was pretty good for me. I didn't do a clean job but its enough till we go back to groomer. We go every 4 weeks , lol. Anyway your boy is gorgeous.
What a great job! Since you have a mini the wahl arco or bravura would be a great choice. If you have a standard poodle, I’d recommend andis ultraedge for the body. Personally I’m a big fan of the inexpensive generic ceramic wireless clippers you can buy for $40. Their rpm is much higher than any wireless wahl. I use them for the feet or quick touch up.


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How do you sharpen blades?
As far as I know the only way to sharpen them is to send them to a blade sharpener.
Yes, periodically send out your blades to be sharpened. Oster has this service at a reasonable price.
You need to send them out. I use Whitmans. They are also one of the only vendors, besides the manufacturer, that can sharpen my really good finishing shears without voiding the warranty, so that is another reason I use them.

Another thing you can do is ask the local grooming shops where they send their blades and send yours there, or ask them when they are sending out (grooming shops send out very frequently) and see if they will send yours with theirs.
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