What is the use of owning the best hair clippers when the blades are no longer properly cutting your hair? Would you just have to suffer from the excruciating pain every time the razor pulls the hair during your shaving session?
Do you always get frustrated whenever your clippers are not properly sharpened and maintained each time you are using it? Well, just like every other tool, once you fail to maintain your clippers, you will definitely not be able to reap its overall benefits of owning it.
Regular use of your hair clippers will eventually lead to wear of its blade surface. This is because of many reasons like the heat generated by the friction and vibration that could later wear the machine out, leading to the constant performance of the clipper’s blades to tarnish.
Don’t you just hate it when the razor starts to jerk the hair while you are trying to make a swift cut? I definitely do, I hate how this can cause extreme pain. As a result, I made this article to help you learn how to sharpen clipper blades.
So what are you waiting for? Keep on reading below for you to know all about sharpening the blades of your clipper.
HOW TO KNOW YOUR CLIPPER BLADES NEED SHARPENING
Figuring out the efficiency of your clipper’s blades is very important. So how do you really know that it is time to sharpen the blades? Well, this is a question that should be running through the minds of every owner and user of a clipper.
Below are just a few of the signs:
- Once your clipper starts to shave or cut messily or begin to be jerking or tugging instead of cutting, it becomes very important that you sharpen your blades to improve its output.
- Another good warning that you already be sharpening your blades is if your clippers are starting to pull the hairs rather than cutting them. Well, I guess you will notice this immediately since it would be really painful
STEPS ON SHARPENING YOUR CLIPPER BLADES
Let’s begin with all the things you will need for this task. These are:
- Your dull hair clippers (of course)
- Cleaning brush
- Clipper oil
- Bench stone
- Philips screwdriver
- A small rag
Among this set of equipment, the sharpening stone is apparently the most significant piece of equipment. I actually used a Japanese water stones Arkansas stone since it is the only bench stone I have, though you can always use Arkansas stone or diamond stone. Actually, you can just use some wet sandpaper as long as it is super fine.
On the other hand, I can really say that it is best to use water stones for this task. They are just perfect for the job. But don’t forget to soak them before you begin. If you are using Arkansas stone or diamond stone, make sure that you hit them up with a bit of lubricant before you even start.
Anyways, here are the steps on how to sharpen clipper blades.
1. HAVE YOUR CLIPPERS DISASSEMBLED
With the use of your Phillips screwdriver, take the clippers apart. Make sure to do this carefully. Anyway, a set of clippers come with two blades. Pull them out and clean them using the cleaning brush.
Don’t forget to brush some hidden dirt, dust and all any hair rubble within the clippers too.
2. TIME TO GET THE BLADES SHARPENED
Now, we need to sharpen the flats of both the bottom and top of the blade. What’s great is that this is very easy to do; in fact, it is much easier compared to sharpening your knife.
Begin by laying the blade flat over the stone, then use a gentle pressure to run the blades back and forth to the end to end of the stone. Sharpening the blades should not take you much. I recommend you do at least 10 passes along the stone.
The trick here is to keep the flats of the blades as flat as possible on the stone. You will ruin the entire process if you won’t keep the blades flat. There are even some people I know who use a magnet as a handle. Well I think is this another level of sharpening your clipper but if you don’t have any special magnet yet, your index fingers and thumb will do the job just fine.
Actually, there’s no need to be using a super fine stone just to get the most decent and finest result, but it won’t hurt doesn’t it? I’ve used my 1000 grit stone in sharpening my blades and to make it even more impressive, I polished it with my 6000 grit stone just because I have it at hand.
The whole process of sharpening the blades only took me about a minute or two plus it is really super easy.
3. KEEP THE BLADES CLEAN AND OIL THEM UP
Now that you are done sharpening your blades, of course, you will want it clean. So I used a bit of water and soap to clean the blades, you can rub alcohol too if you want.
Then I decided to oil them up before I will reassemble them. This will help you prevent any rust on your blades. Make sure to blot away any excess oil after.
4. NOW START REASSEMBLING YOUR CLIPPERS
This is possibly going to be the trickiest part of the entire process. I suggest that you will spend the first few moments lining up the blades properly before you begin reassembling them. Remember that the blades are now sharp, so you have to be extra careful.
Dial in the blades into your clippers and add another drop of oil to the blades, then you can now fire up your clippers. It would be great if you won’t tighten the blades down all the way unless you are already very sure that you have everything adjusted the way you want it to be.
Before you start using your clippers, make sure that everything has been properly placed back together.
BONUS TIPS! WAYS ON HOW YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF YOUR CLIPPERS
If you are frequently using your clippers, you really have to make sure that they are in good working order; properly taking care of it will help you keep your clippers performing at their best.
1. KEEP THE BLADES CLEAN AT ALL TIMES
Before you begin using your hair clippers, you have to make sure that the blade area is clean and make sure that you remove any hair and debris. These tiny deposits will act like sand or grit if they get between the blades as well as the blade teeth.
Fortunately, most of the clippers being sold in the market come with their own small clipper brush as well as cleaning kit; most of these brushes I find to be too small and fragile. This is why I prefer to be using an old hard toothbrush so I could really get in among every corner of the clipper; a hair tint brush or a cheap fingernail brush can also be a good alternative, as long as they are sturdy enough.
2. OIL THE BLADE EVERY TIME YOU ARE CUTTING IT.
This is paramount to taking care and maintaining your clipper’s blade. Having your clipper well-oiled will last you several years. In fact, the main cause of the breakage of the good quality clipper is mainly because of lack of oil.
The rule is quite simple, every time you decide to use your clipper, you should be applying some oil to it. It would even be best if you develop this as a habit before you start turning the equipment on; in this way, you will never be able to forget it.
Apply at least one drop of oil to every corner of the moving blade, add few drops too in the middle, into the blade teeth. Then turn on the clipper and allow it to run for few moments so the oil could evenly spread. Don’t forget to dab any excess oil, then you’re good to go.
But you have to be careful not to apply too much oil or else it will only attract a whole heap of dirt, dust and of course, hair clippings which will eventually clog up the blade.
FINAL THOUGHT
It’s quite unfortunate that no matter how much we take care of our clippers and no matter how much we spend time cleaning it, time will eventually come that the blades will start to get dull. The good news is that there’s no need to replace the clipper’s blade, you don’t have to spend a bit of your savings. With the simple steps of how to sharpen clipper blades, you can use your clippers again like brand new.
Anyway, I hope you find this article to be helpful enough. If you still have any more question, don’t hesitate to drop it in the comment section below. I would love to hear from you.
Don’t forget to share this article with your friends too!