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Maintenance Hints Courtesy of Clipper Shack

We at the Clipper Shack are pleased to pass along some maintenance tips for our friends, customers and future friends and customers. There are only two things we can say about scissors. 1) No, it doesn't help to drop them! It helps to know though that we can fix them. 2) The thing pet groomers fail to do the most is to oil the screw. Oiling the screw gives scissors a longer life and it makes our job easier, and we like easy.

Now for those pesky old clipper blades. Your clipper blades are hollow ground, and that means they are on a concave to eliminate friction. Running them in blade wash or kerosene will help to clean the hair out, and let the hollow ground work for you. Keep them clean and oiled. The people we like best are the ones who take the blades apart to clean them. (Ha!) When they put them back together they change the spring tension and they won't cut, or if they do, not for long. We end up with them. We hollow ground them and the spring tension is set to factory specs. Sliding the small blade (the cutter) from side to side without removing it in order to clean the blade is fine.

If a sharpener tells you a blade is too worn to sharpen, believe them. Sharpeners want your money and they wouldn't tell you this if it weren't so. We had a groomer in Rhode Island send us some blades that were ground flat. I called the groomer and said they were on their way back, they were too worn to sharpen. The groomer's response was something like, "Where do you recommend I get them sharpened?" You can figure out the rest of the conversation!!

Now for your clippers. Your clippers and your blades are a team. The sharpest blade in town won't cut if your clippers aren't in good shape. "Good shape" means (reconditioned by the Clipper Shack - had to get that in there) most of the things that pet groomers do, or don't do, that makes us money! Such as not cleaning the end cap, not greasing the gear, link and lever, and using the wrong brushes. Putting a blade on your clipper when it is not running wears the lever and also bends the socket on your blade, and we sell a lot of both! The gear, link and lever should be greased, not oiled, and with just a small amount. Filling the cavity with grease only retains heat. Now to the other end, the end cap should be taken off and cleaned when you see hair through the little round holes. When you put it back on, just snug the screws down, not too tight or you can really over tighten them and crack the end cap. We sell a bunch of them too! We also receive a lot of clippers for repairs that have the wrong brushes in them! There are different brushes for different clippers. They may look alike, but they are not. Brushes that are too hard will cut ridges in the commutator and cause excessive heat. Brushes that are too soft will cause excessive dust and excessive heat. I like that word "excessive." Even the correct brushes will cause dust to collect in the cooling veins of the armature. But you can't clean that. We have a machine that cleans the dust and polishes the commutator like new. If you use your clippers a lot WE should recondition them about twice-a-year, and then that will keep those blades of yours WE sharpened cutting just great!

Almost forgot your dryers. Keep good brushes in them and keep the filters clean. Sure have enjoyed talking with you and I hope this information helps you. Just hope I didn't tell you too much and cost us money. But if I did, it's okay too! Have a good one and make the fur fly!