# blades and clippers... need help, would love pics



## creativeparti (Mar 9, 2009)

hi there i use andis 2 speed every day at work and the only problem i have ever had is that the wire can sometimes become loose, but then i use mine all the time 

heres something that may help 

http://www.andis.com/USA/sm_animal/pdf/Poodle_chart.pdf


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## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

That does help, thanks! What is the difference between a skip tooth and a finish cut blade?? What would be better for an "all over one length cut"?


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## creativeparti (Mar 9, 2009)

a skip tooth gives a rough finish and also its alot easier to cut the dog with a skip tooth, i would say keep away from them i dont use any and i have no need to either 
http://photos.oes.org/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Rusty-Oster-5-Skip-Tooth-Blade_4154.jpg thats a skip tooth

a normal blade 
http://www.easyanimal.co.uk/AddProdImages/62_55915_l.jpg

well it depends on how long you want the lenght off the hair to be really are you talking about everything off top knot and all? 

a 7f wold be a smooth cut all over 

a 4f and 3f would be short but not as smooth as a 7f

you would stil need a 10/15 to do the face as i wouldnt advise shaveing the beak with a 7f or any other longer blade
ill add some pics for you 

http://puppydogweb.com/gallery/poodles/poodle_barb.jpg i would say thats 7f body and legs 10 face and scissored top knot

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1064/607209420_d5fd4425c6_m.jpg would say thats been done at the vet with a 50 blade bet that dog was one solid matt 
shows how short you can cut a dogs hair 


the poodle pic i did with a comb attachment about a 1/2 inch or so and then scissored to finish 



hope it helps


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

akbirdy said:


> That does help, thanks! What is the difference between a skip tooth and a finish cut blade?? What would be better for an "all over one length cut"?


A finish blade will leave a smooth finish on the dog, it is intended to be used after the dog is clean and dry. A skip tooth blade is the opposite, it is for taking the bulk of whatever you're going to cut off so that you have less to bathe and dry. I personaly don't have any skip tooth blades. I use F blades all the time in my shop. I would suggest the Finish blade since you're going to want a smooth and even result achieved at the end of your grooming session. 

I reccently discovered that pet grooming blades and snap on combs apparently are opposite of what is used on people hair. At least I think I've discovered that lol. To save 15 bucks I cut my husband's hair last week and he normaly gets a 1 gaurd on the sides. My 1 gaurd didn't take anything off, I ended up having to go all the way down to the 3 LoL before I got the length we wanted. I tried this once before a year ago and he explained I needed to comb up his hair and hold it with the comb then shave it off with my 40 blade.. whoops, I put little stripes into the back of his head where the edge of the blade was wider than the plastic comb and touched his head ROFL.


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## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

Newpoodlemom, when you said you used a 1/2 inch comb attachment, would that give the same result as like a 3f blade? Or does the texture come out different? And when you say you scissored to finish, is that just topnot, tail and such? Or all over for?

So since the "finish blade" is for finishing to give a smother all over finish, would you want to bathe/dry poodle first? I have read several different things and maybe that was because I didn't understand the difference of blades before...

Also how do you do the "sanitary" cut I keep hearing about. Is it necessary when cut with say a 3f or 4f? I like the look of a little "fluff" left behind. I could see doing the 7f in the summer.


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## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

and btw, the white dog you did looks gorgeous! Now if I could pull that cut off I would try, but kinda looks a little intimidating as of now! Maybe someday!


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## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

Your poor husband wonderpup! Though you probably figured out how to fix it! Haha. It took YEARS of convinsing mine that I could do just as good of a job as his hairdresser before he let me at it... and now he says he likes my haircuts better  I think I may have missed my calling, hehe.


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## Harley_chik (Nov 7, 2008)

I recently bought Poodle Clipping and Grooming by Shirlee Kalstone. It came highly recommeded here and on a grooming forum. It has a whole chapter on tools and a very detailed blade chart. I've only read the first few chapters, but it was a great buy IMO. It also has a great section on all the different clips.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

newpoodlemum said:


> hi there i use andis 2 speed every day at work and the only problem i have ever had is that the wire can sometimes become loose, but then i use mine all the time
> 
> heres something that may help
> 
> http://www.andis.com/USA/sm_animal/pdf/Poodle_chart.pdf


Thanks so much! This was very helpful! I'm understanding that I need a 10 blade for the puppy clip, and also a 5/8 in. blade for the feet. Is that right? What would you suggest to get this body hair length look on Fonzie that you see in my avatar? I had him done by a groomer last time. Thanks for your patience and help with us newbies!


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## WonderPup (Oct 26, 2008)

akbirdy said:


> Your poor husband wonderpup! Though you probably figured out how to fix it! Haha. It took YEARS of convinsing mine that I could do just as good of a job as his hairdresser before he let me at it... and now he says he likes my haircuts better  I think I may have missed my calling, hehe.


No, I didn't find a way to fix it really, and lucky for me (and my marriage) the stripes were very subtle. He gets his hair cut every other week so it grew out really quickly. I also didn't really tell him until after the fact since it was on the back of his head and he couldn't see it LoL.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

haha, I do hubbys hair too!

Definitely Poodle Clipping and Grooming by Shirlee Kalstone is a great book to have!!!

The set of whal, stainless steel snap on combs are *brillient*, but as with any snap on comb you still need to do some finishing scissoring to even it up totally. They are great for leaving a bit more length without needing loads of full scissoring!
If you're wanting fairly short all over, a 4F, 3, or even the 5/8"HT blade (DIFFERENT tot he 5/8" toe blade!) are all very good at leaving a bit of fluff while still being short and easy to maintain. 5F, and 7F are short and smooth, but tend to be referred to as 'shaved' by people, cos they do appear a bit nekkid!! heh. Good if that's what you're wanting though!



> Also how do you do the "sanitary" cut I keep hearing about. Is it necessary when cut with say a 3f or 4f?


the sanitary clip is around the anus and vulva/shaft, between the back legs, and often under the front legs too. They get knotty and grotty easily, and are best to be short. I use a 10 blade on those areas, just to buzz the hair short but not to irritate the sensitive skin!!



> I'm understanding that I need a 10 blade for the puppy clip, and also a 5/8 in. blade for the feet. Is that right?


the 10 blade is for the face, feet, and base of the tail, and for any dog, regardless of if it's a puppy or not. You can go shorter (15, 30, or 40) too, but be aware of your poodle and what it's skin can cope with when it comes to shorter blades.

the 5/8" blade is useful for tiny tiny feet, but not nessesary at all, and personall I'm more adept with my 30 blade on tiny toes than my 5/8" blade!!!

FD


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## *heather* (Jul 30, 2009)

this is all very helpful information! thank you so much for taking the time to inform all of us newbies!!! I am so grateful! I've recently purchased my first set of clippers - Andis 2sp. I have the #10 blade and #30 and 7F. I know I'll need more blades eventually, but it was a good start. Now I am on the hunt of a good pair of scissors!! I love the longer legs and am not such a fan of the short all over look, I just don't think it looks right, the legs end up looking too skinny and funny looking!! IMO. And I 'm learning that the only way to get nice fluffy legs is to scissor them  so ... what type of scissors should I be looking to get for my first pair?


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## AgilityIG (Feb 8, 2009)

Someone here recommended the Heritage Stiletto shears to me. I have an 8 1/2 inch curved and straight and love them. I think they were about $65 each. I got mine from PetEdge.com.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Flyingduster, thanks for the great information!


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## akbirdy (Sep 15, 2009)

So to get a good 1" length you would get the snap on comb attachments? Do you snap them over ANY size/type blade? Sorry, I guess I could figure that one out once I get it all! haha, sure there are directions.


But... this thread is super helpful to me, making me more and more confident that one day I'll be able to groom my own poo.


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## nab (Sep 25, 2009)

Question from a newby....

Do you bathe the dog and blow it dry before you clip it? How do you get the clip on blades through the fur? I tried it, but it just got caught in the fur (then I stopped because I thought I'd just make a mess )

When I cut my kids hair with electric clippers, I snap on the plastic guard and run it against the skull and through the hair. The plastic gurard keeps the hair from getting too close to the blade and therefore leaving some length and an even cut.

With the poodle, the plastic guard just gets caught in the fur.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

You could scissor to an inch all over, but yeah the easiest way is to use a 1" snap on comb. The longest _blade_ you can get I think leaves only 5/8".

The whal stainless steel combs are best with a 30 blade underneth, but a 10 or 15 is ok too. NEVER use a 40 blade under the metal combs though, it isn't designed for the blade to be so close to the edge and you'll break the teeth of your 40 blades on them! The plastic ones are fine with 10, 15, 30 or 40.

Yup, bath and blow dry straight helps massively!! But depending how much coat I'm taking off I'll often wack the length back before the bath too...

The plastic combs are crappy and hard to get through any coat easily, but to get them working ok the coat needs to be *totally* combed out to the skin. You need to be easily able to get a comb through, then you'll get the plastic snap on combs through too. Being clean and blowdried straight is a lot easier too. 
The metal combs go through poodle coat (and any other) almost as well as a normal blade does and I adore them. lol! They'll go through lil tangles too (though obviously not actual knots!) so I love saving time not having to comb the dog right out!

FD


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## cybercat (Nov 15, 2008)

Bath dry and full brush and then comb out. All tangles must be gone. Now using clippers is different than cutting with them on human hair. The flat part of the blade should be down on the dog not up in the air. You have to part the hair say at the nech across to get blade started to cut. Motion is sorta of a scoop but instead of coming up you just stay flat. You might want to watch a few you tube videos on it.

OH one major thing please check blade often for heat. Use either cool lube and or change blades to prevent razor burn. Also learn how to clean and oil a blade after every groom. If you do that your blades will last a long time for one dog. As a pro groomer mine last me a 6 months to a year depnding if I am clipping clean or dirty.


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