I need some advice please
I bought a Conair FX Brushless Motor Clipper at the beginning of the summer and used it on 5 months old Mao to trim down the hair on his body. My wife Anne held Mao and fed him treats to help him stay still and endure to whole procedure. I used one of the plastic attachment to set the blade off the skin and keep a short lenght of hair. the result was OK. I got better and better as the procedure went on, getting the feel of the tool. I did not remove any hair on the legs then. but now, with summer ending, the almost daily pool dips, forest hikes and taken their tool on his fur and his legs, behind the ears, and chin are all matted. So I want to proceed and clip him down, this time not only on his body but also on his legs. So I took a pair of scisors and cut through the mats to remove them prior to clipping. So far so good. Problems started when I used the clipper. I am basicaly having the same problems I had earlier but this time much worse. Clipper cuts through the coat like butter at first, but very quickly (sometimes after only 3-4 seconds) becomes full of hair and useless. What am I doing wrong? I put some oil on the blade, made sure to clean it well before starting but still, I need to stop, clean and re-oil after every pass in order for the clipper to actually cut. Is it that this clipper, altought very expensive I must say, is not suited for an oes? do I need to use some other oil than the small bottle that came with the clipper. Am I not using the tool correctly? here is a picture of Mao last weekend to give you an idea of his coat. thanks in advance Terry   |
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Quote: I need to stop, clean and re-oil after every pass in order for the clipper to actually cut. I'm not familiar with the clipper you're using so I can't tell whether power might be an issue but I was wondering if you might be over-oiling the blade causing it to bind up with clumped hair. You might try cleaning the blade first and drying it. Apply at couple of tiny drops of oil to the blade while it's running, wipe off the excess oil and see if it works any better. Others will surely provide more info to help. By the way, what a cutie pie you have!  |
| I have never had any luck with the plastic comb attachments and have found that the hair gets stuck in them. They work a bit better if the hair is thoroughly brushed out and clean. (But then, why clip a clean, brushed coat?) I have bought a different clipper blade to keep the hair a bit longer than a 10 blade does. I use a 7 blade in the summer and a 3 or 4F (can't remember) in the winter. I spoke with someone this weekend who uses metal comb attachments and they said that they have good outcome with those. Good luck. Sandy |
| Use a paint brush or tooth brush to clean out between the clipper teeth incase there is hair stuck. Only use a small amount of oil as it will just make the hair clog up easier. Have your blades ever been too hot? Often when using attachments you can forget to check the heat of the blade as its not on the skin and the end result can be the blades warping. Most attachmentcombs wont go through matts, although you have scissored the major matts iff can you get a comb through the coat, you at a hellish age of coat transitions and without the regular brushing the coat can become pelted at the skin. Clipping through matts or a dirty coat bluntens your blades, check by cutting some wool or ribbon, they may need sharpening. I find it hard to get through matted legs with anything but a short blade. To keep a bit more hair on you can try wet shaving, but do use a circuit breaker. blades go through so much easier and leave alot more hair. It will clog your blade so keep the teeth clear I use the stainless steel attachment combs on a #30 or #10 blade and get good results, but not on a coat that hasnt been brushed as they wont go through matts and they do clog up so you have to keep taking them off to remove the hair I would buy a longer blade as they cope with matts easier Good luck x |
| Thanks a lot for all those suggestions, I am almost done removing the mats with the scissors, and will use the clipper this weekend, taking your advices to take care of the blade, oil, etc.. The worst part are the mats under the mouth and the chin. It seems like he has a beard made up of one huge mat starting under both hears and going around under his chin. I have to be very carefull when cutting through it with my scisors not to get the skin. Any suggestion for that last but very sensitive area? thankfully, Mao is very calm and patient, and lays still on his back While I work on his mats. I would not be able to do this if he would not let me, and that is one more reason for me to be extra carefulll and loose his trust in me. thanks again Thierry |
| My wife uses metal blades they are alot better than the plastic ones but they do get hot. With the matts around the ears & other places we use a poodle comb which is great. Under the chin we use a thin plastic comb just to get out the food & other stuff & try not to lose any of her coat. |
| I use the 10 blade that came with your clipper on the chin. I want all that yucky hair off and then I scissor those two pieces on the jowls that always get thick and tough. I also use the ten blade on the hair just under the ears because that area is covered by the ear flat and I want that short. You can use a scissors to clean up the chin area after all the heavy coat is gone. Good luck with your trim this weekend. It is always made easier by a cooperative partner. What a great pup and cute as a button! Sandy and James, Greta, Mellie, Oliver and Winston (who doesn't cooperate fully and has me in contortions trimming his under parts.)  |
| I find when the blade stops cutting, it is time to clean then oil. Special "kerosene" cleaner, don't know exactly what it is but does remove gunk. If that doesn't work, then time to sharpen blade. My guys have tiny grit in their hair so I do go thru blades....sharpen after 4 or 5 clip downs. I too have had NO luck with the combs. An OES friend from years ago told me if you use them: 1: absolutely no mats or tangles, the hair must be completely clean and free or obstructions... and 2: you need a finer toothed blade than a #10.......more like a #20 or higher. |
| Hi all, With the help of my wonderfull wife Anne, we groomed Mao this weekend leaving only the head to finish off later this week. Procedure went well. Took about 2 hours. thanks to your comments, I did without the plastic attachments since I have not yet found metal ones. Once the attachement were removed, the clipper cut through the furr like a knife through butter. The result is not to bad, and we finished it with scisors to try our best to remove the bumps and holes that were made when the dog moved and the clipper cut a little shorter or longer than the rest. As I said earlier, he has an enormous mat that goes from ear to hear and goes under his mouth and chin. I am trying to remove the mat with scissors but it is so very close to the skin that I need to go very slowly and carfully. at this rate it's going to take me hours to go through it and in the end it will be very very short. so My question is: Is there any other way to do this, could I use a razor? any suggestions. |
| For mats, I use the clippers. I've cut the dogs too many times with scissors going after mats. Now that my eyes are older, I shudder to think what might happen. Yeah, it might be a #10 blade in tough spots, normally try for the 3 3/4 blade, maybe 5. I admit I do shave between shaves, going after the rub spots that get mats. The behind the ears and where the legs rub the chest are two area often clipped down. Of course the bum gets cleaned out from time to time as well. Under chin I can still do with scissors but I do hold my breath when doing it. |
| Yep - if you have a mat that big and that tight - the clipper is the way to go. And now you'll know you need to pay better attention to that area with grooming. That has to be so painful for him.  |
| You can't get the clipper in there to shave it short? Is the matted area of hair very long? If there's length to it, this is what I would do if you have a calm dog... I would first trim the hair shorter with a short pair of scissors using my fingers to help avoid cutting skin. The skinnier the fingers, the shorter the hair length.  You just need to be certain you never cut skin.  http://untilyoufindme.com/Scissor-Trimming-Legs-2.htm Once the hair is shorter, gently using a slicker brush may help to loosen up the matting if it's not too bad... you can trim the loosened hair shorter as you go. Otherwise, use the clippers. Sorry... getting a migraine and can't make out the screen any more. I hope this makes sense. Keeping the hair shorter and brushing more frequently should help to prevent this in the future. |
| Thanks again for the advice. Fortunately Mao is very calm especially and that helps a lot. |
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