Which Clippers and Blades?

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I am thinking about ordering some clippers and giving it a try with the grooming of my Gracie Doodle. I have been touching up her feet and face in between groomings but would like to get into the body and legs. My research has come up with the Oster 110V Animal Clipper Golden A5. My confusion is in the blades and combs. I think I have it figured out that the lower the number on the blade the longer the clip is. I want to keep Gracie around 1 1/2 inches - 2 inches. Is the Size 3 blade the one I want? Also, do I want a "skip tooth" or regular? Then...what comb size? I notice they are packaged in various sizes. I am ready to order the clippers but want to order the blade(s) and combs at the same time. Any advice or information you can share with me would be great!!

[03pilqobzlvp7]

When Mike and I tried clipping Duff, which I do enjoy doing, we discovered that his fluffy hair does not stand up to the clippers. They just knock it over and very little hair comes off. We have him at a 1/2 cut for summer because it was the longest size I could get the clippers to cut. Our blades have the length written on them. Part of the trouble might be that we use a medium duty clipper. I wanted to give an $80 clipper a try before spending over $100. I like to use scissors on his face and feet.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Oh what a cutie Duff is. An Aussiedoodle...does that mean he is half Australian Sheep dog? I was looking at your photos and love the one of him biting the Pug's tail. That is a priceless photo!!!

Okay, back to clipping. Duff looks like his hair is a bit denser than Gracie's. But, there is an Apricot Doodle he is playing with in your photos that looks exactly like my Gracie!!! The hair is very similar. My groomer uses clippers so I am pretty sure I can get them to go through her hair. I did read that there is a huge difference in what clippers. People think they can use the same ones they use on humans but I read that isn't so. The ones I am planning to order are specifically for Dogs/Animals and seem to run in the $125 range depending on who you order them from.

You mentioned your blade has a length written on it. Do you know what it says?

Thanks for the help!

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

I know people like the Andis clippers but I have never tried them. I have the Oster Golden A5 clippers myself and have had them for over 15 years now. We had 2 cocker spaniels for over 13 years, and I clipped them myself so they have been used lots. I have had no problems with the Oster, and don't have anything bad to say about them. Maybe someday I will have the opportunity to try the Andis to see if they are better...

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Hi Nancy
I use a number 40 blade with an 1 1/4 inch extension on my fleece coats. It the fleece coats are curly, I straighten them first by table drying...ie brush and dry at the same time. My wool coats, I scissor shorter as the blades will not go thru. I use a no. 10 for feet, belly and sanitary clipping. I also use a no. 7 [not a 7F] for blending the longer scissored legs into the shorter body. When I do this, the clipper and blade are barely touching the coat, unlike normal shaving.
Occasionally I have a reason to shave a wool coat and then I need to use a no.10 to get under the coat. This is the blade to use to get under the mattes that are close to the skin as well.
I prefer the Andis clippers.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Barb, I am so confused. why do we need a #40.#10, #7 blade? And do you use the #10 to shave right down to the skin or is there some way you do it to not be that close? I have an Andis pro clipper and it came with a #10 I believe, (not home to look at it now) . And I bought the set of extensions, but with my puppies hair being so soft, the comb extension just pushes the hair right down and I hardly can clip it.
Please help clear this up for me? I read back as many replies as there are on DK for blades and combs and am still confused.
thanks for any insight.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

I wonder then if you could try a longer comb put in your #10 blade and clip against the hair. I have a #15 blade and I put a 1" comb (extension?) on it - it did a nice job on my Abby's coat, going with the hair - and she is very soft and wavy - not course and curly.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Barb, thanks for your recent reply to my page regarding keeping Murphy still. I am working on it and he is getting a bit better. I still have questions about blades as the #10 that came with my Andis 2 speed and the attachments, weather 0 to F don;t cut the hair on his back/chest very well, Kind of just skims the top and I have to go back and forth in different dirrections to get any length off. Is the 10 too long to start with? Are plastic comb attachments not good with that blade? What do you suggest? Murphy is a very soft, fleece with curls under neck and more wavy, straight otherwise. Non-shedding at this point as he is only 7 months old. I'd like to keep him at 3/4 to 1" long. Any help would be appreciated.
Sue

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Hi Sue, I just clipped Gracie yesterday and today for the first time. I have sort of clipped her once before a little but this time I really went at it. I used my Oster A5 clippers, #10 blade and the first pass at it I cut her with the 3/4" comb (plastic) attachment. Today I decided I wanted her shorter so I did her again but used the 1/2" comb. Sounds like she has the exact type coat as Murphy, though he might have a little thicker hair. She has the curls under the ears and neck and then wavy but very soft and fluffy everywhere else. You are supposed to cut with the growth pattern of the hair. If you go backwards against the growth, it takes it even shorter. I have found that the trick to having the cut look very uniform and consistent is to keep your hand position and wrist angle exactly the same all the way through. If you sort of dip or dig with the clippers then you take a huge chunk out of the fur and it looks like a moth got in there. I used the clippers going down her legs but when you get down in the ankle area it is sort of hard to maneuver. I am going to work on her legs from the knees down tomorrow. You also need to use a blade only (no comb) and I think it might be a #40 to sort of scoop out the fur in between the pads on the feet. Also, I don't like to see "toe cleavage" so I round the paws when she is standing. That is tomorrow. She had enough for today. I usually keep her face and head up every couple of weeks so I didn't have to do anything major other than shorten her "poofer" (top knot) a little. Gracie is panting all the time and is really hot. Geez, we live in San Diego and on a Peninsula so we have a nice breeze and have the cooler temperatures than other areas around us. Gracie is always running on hot! That is why I decided to take her short. She looks very cute and "perky". I kept the legs a little fuller because I like big fluffy legs and paws. I'll try to get a picture of her and post it tomorrow. She has a wet face and front paws right now...not a good Kodak moment! She played ball with her friends and did her usual dunking in the bucket of water. Of course she has to stand in the bucket!!

Good Luck!

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

Nancie- about the blades- yep, the higher the blade #, the shorter the cut. (So a #10 leaves the fur about 1/16”, a #40 leaves the fur about 1/100”, etc.)

I think the longest blade you can get is a #3, which leaves the fur about 1/2” long. After that, you need to use a comb attachment to get longer lengths. (Oh and cutting against the grain will give you a shorter cut than cutting with the grain, err, fur!)

From what I’ve read, the comb attachments should only be used with a short blade, like #10, #30, #40 blade. (Also comb attachments don’t attach to skip blades. I learned that one the hard way, hahaha.)

Blades that have an “F” after the blade number (e.g. #3F, #7F) are “full tooth” blades. Blades that don’t have an F after them are called “skip tooth” blades. The skip tooth blades have less teeth (more space between the teeth), so the resulting cut is more rough-looking than the full tooth blades. You need to be very careful if you decide to use a skip blade because its easy to nick the skin (because the blade teeth are more widely spaced and skin folds can get in between). I only use a skip tooth on my wooly boy, and I just use it on the flat parts of his body where his skin is taut (torso, butt, and flat part of his thighs.) The rest I hand scissor.

It also helps to clip a recently bathed coat. Boo's coat gets really dusty and oily sometimes, and the clippers just won't cut thru it. So we have to bathe him, then clip him. Also, make sure you brush AND comb thoroughly before you clip. Clippers get stuck on the littlest knots, so its importantly to brush thru the coat completely before clipping. :)

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Wow, thanks Sharon for all the good info. I have ordered my clippers and when I get back from a trip they should be here waiting for me. I will then try to get enough nerve to try my first clipping of Gracie Doodle. I'm going to be very nervous for sure! I'll post some pictures after I do it.

thanks again...Nancie

[Mary Steward]

I wish to bring this posting back to the forefront, as I didn't see any answers to it. I also want my Toby at about 1 1/2 - 2"-right now I am sizzors but it's taking me forever! I recently got some birthday money so I can afford some better ones (using cordless Wahl for humans right now LOL) but it will do me no goodto buy new ones if I can't get thecorrect blades. Please help! Thanks in advance for any advice, even if it's "they don't make clipper blades that will do what you want. Or use such and such blade but do it this way. Plastic guards just flip off on first swipe- mats or not.