What size blades to use
 I have andis clippers with andis and oster blades and wahl guards. |
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I can only help you on the guards part - they don't seem to work at all on OES coat.  When Chewie was younger and we were trimming down his puppy coat (a dead nasty thing that refused to leave, by 18 months!) , I had a friend who is a groomer trim his greys down. I wanted to leave a bit of length. She used all her clippers (she has several) and tried the guards on them, and none worked. They either fell off or just jammed into the coat and went nowhere. Chewie was perfectly brushed through for this too - it wasn't hitting any snarls or anything. Maybe if you had an OES with an incorrect, more silky coat it would work, but not on a typical coat. |
| The larger the number on the blade the shorter it is going to cut. Personally I use either a number 3 blade or a 3/4 inch blade when I cut my guys down. I will use a number 10 blade or sometimes a 30 to clean out the pads. It really all depends on how long you want the coat to be. I know alot of groomers will use a 7. Hope this helps. |
| I was trying to find a guide for you to see how short they go... in my PetEdge catalogue there is a schematic that shows how short everything goes and also what purpose to use them for. I use a 10 for sanitary cuts (genitals, and bellies in the summer) this will leave about 1/8 an inch of hair. Depending on what you are trimming, I guess it depends. On and OVERALL cut, say a summer cut, the longest you could get from a clipper is 3/4, which leaves close to an inch of hair. If you're really good at scissor work, you can always scissor them to be longer. Just know that if you use clippers, make sure to de-mat if you use a longer blade. You don't want the mat to become snagged in the blade. It took me awhile to figure out how to get my technique down (especially feet, I'm horrible at feet!). |
Good to know about the guides they do seem impossible on OES coats. I did my first shave on Laika not bad need to go even her out a little more. I like to keep her short. You look at her wrong and she matts up!  Langley is over an inch long and I only want to go maybe 1/2 inch; what blade size is that? Knock on wood but his coat is divine! I don't feel like he has gone through a transition. I could leave his coat for a week and no matts! hope I didn't jinx myself. |
| A 3 3/4 blade should leave you with 1/2 and inch of hair |
Here is what I have below. I have a 3 perfect! |
OOOooohhhh  Those are nice! Actually, he would be a teensy bit longer than 1/2 inch, so, I'd say you're set! Just be careful to stop occasionally if you only have one 3 blade. It will get warm. I like to keep two of each blade, so I can swap out if my one blade gets too hot and keep going. |
| When I did Laika last night I gave her a break so that should help. So do I press hard? Do put the blade down the the skin and then move it along? Laika was short to begin with but Langley is more puff I am so afraid to shave him! |
| Nope, you don't have to push hard. Just put the blade against the skin, if it's sharpened, it will glide through the hair like butter. If the blade is a bit dull, you may have to go over the area a second time to make it even. Don't be afraid! You'll get into a rhythm and before you know it, you're nearly done! |
| Okay so with a 3" blade and if I go to the skin it won't cut the coat to the skin will it? It will just automatically leave a 1/2" coat? ha! Clueless! |
| No, it won't cut the coat to the skin. Just put the flat part of the blade to the skin and guide it. It will leave the hair you need. Now if you used a 40, then you'd have a VERY naked sheepie. You'll have a nice amount of hair left with the 3. |
| I've gotten a ton of mileage out of this chart: http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/grooming/clipper2.htm It tells you what blade does what and even what breeds and cuts that blade is commonly used for. |
Thank you! I printed off to take home that is perfect  |
| I have used the wahl guards with my wahl clippers and blade on Tiggy and my Mom's mini poodle as I only have one 10 blade. The guards mean the hot blade cant burn the dog because its not on the dog's skin. They stay on for me BUT you do have to have the technique just right. I ended up paying a local groomer quite a lot of money to teach me. First the coat has to be pretty well matt free and then you absolutely have to clip in the direction the hair is growing in. If you turn the clippers even slightly away from the line of hair growth then it kind of catches the hair in the blade somehow and pulls the comb off the blade and the dog wont love you for it as it pulls their coat too. My guards are fairly new and so the clip bit that attaches them is still tight so that probably helps too. |
| I think you are going to love the cut a 3 blade gives. Make sure you post pictures when you are done. |
I made a mess!!!!!      my poor boy |
| I think I should have gone over my cut. I would go over to even out and then it would get shorter and shorter and choppier! arg! no pictures! |
| At least it's hair and a sheepdogs hair grows so fast! You'd never know to look at my dogs that they were shaved with a 10 four months ago. I find that the legs can be challenging, all those muscles! |
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