# Equipment advice from groomers please :-)



## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Idk if I posted that I signed up for an online grooming course a little while back but... I did lol ....then last week I got a membership to learn2groomdogs.. I've been grooming Rusty & Lola now now every 3 weeks for the past year.... I have lots of "supplies/equipment" but in watching videos from school and learn2groomdogs I'm realizing my shears are SH**! lol

I have a pair of 8 or 9 inch (can't remember) shears from (please dont laugh) pet smart ?and thinning shears from there as well. The thinners really don't do much and the shears are obviously not super sharp.

Anyway I'm going to that trade show this weekend and I've made a loooooong wish list... I want to buy a good pair of scissors and thinners but not spend too terribly much... Around 100$ or so for each would be ok.... is that enough for a really decent pair? Suggestions on brands? Lengths? I will be grooming dogs other than my own... I have a 3 car garage and we are closing in and finishing the 3rd bay to turn into a grooming "salon" ? 

Also I have the andis agc super 2 clipper but saw the pros using the andis pulse ion and another one that has adjusting blades so u don't have to switch... What do you all think of those? For my clipper I have 2 sets of 10's, a 15, 30, 40 and 4f . I know I need a 7f... Anything else?

I have a hv dryer and a regular hand dryer... Only other expensive thing on my list is a stand dryer... The rest are brushes and finishing products etc.... 

I have to groom 35 dogs with before and afters for the school... Today I do a Pekingese... I'm am used to grooming 45 lb dogs with long noses and curly hair.... Today...straight hair....no nose....maybe 10-15lb.... OH and with SH***Y shears ?I'm scared to death lol 


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

I always suggest to beginners to start with heritage cutlery shears. They are around 65 dollars through pet edge.. They are great shears and I've had mine that I use for daily use ( I groom 40+ dogs a week) for 11 years. If Aussie brand is at the trade show you are going to then you may want to check them out. They used to have crappy shears but they have really built their quality and I would recommend them now. As for thinners. I have a 300 dollar pair of thinners by Oster that I use as my only pair of thinners. I also have some of their 300 dollar shears too that I love but I use them for my scissor all overs. Another big thing you need to remember is you need to find a very good sharpener, take your current shears with you to the trade show because there will be sharpeners there, and talk to them. It's possible the shears you have now may improve a lot after a good sharpening, but most likely because you bought them at a pet store they won't make much of a difference, but they will make great prebath rough in shears. I hope this helps 


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Also, remember, there may be a lot of expensive brands at the trade show, but 100 dollar pair at the trade show " their show special, regularly 150.00" may not be as good as the 64 dollar shears I've suggested.. The more expensive shear doesn't always make them the better shear..


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Your list sounds pretty good.  The only thing is that most good shears start at $150 at trade shows and what not. You might be able to get something on sale though. I've used Heritage shears before and wasn't impressed. To me, they are clunky and heavy. My thinners lose their edge pretty quickly too. I use them a lot for thinning out mats now for that reason.

Good luck with shopping and your school!


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

The stilettos from heritage are thin and lightweight.. And take it from someone who has tiny hands ( my wedding ring is a size 4) I have tried many different shears and my issue is when the finger holes are too big, the heritage stilettos fit comfy in my hhands


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Also.. If you do by shears from pet edge, they will refund your money if you get them and decide they are the shears for you...


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

Everyone needs different things.  The ideal situation is to be able to pick the shear up and try it before you buy...but obviously that isn't always possible. I like that Petedge has a good return policy for this very reason!


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Haha I ment aren't the shears for you..I'm sure you catch my drift


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Lol... Thank you for all the tips! I did my Pekingese today... 2.5 hrs later LOL I'll never make any money haha

I did wonder about sharpeners at the show.... What about clipper blades? Do they get sharpened as well?


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

You know… Now that I think of it… I think my long shears are not from Petsmart. I think I did order those online but not from pet edge. When I get back home I'm going to have to pick them up and see what brand they are


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Yep blades get sharpened too. You also need to change your lever too otherwise your blades won't cut as well.. Your speed will pick up I promise, just focus on perfection now, and speed will come with time.. When I first started to groom I couldn't do more then 3 haircuts... And now I can do between 10 and 12 a day.. And scissoring is what I specialize in so those arent all shave downs..lol. But a quality haircut is most important so don't worry about your speed learn to develop the eye first. Also talk to as many sharpeners as you can, get their sharpening background and certification info. You may have to send out your shears If there aren't any good ones in your area. We are lucky enough to have the best sharpener in our area, hehehe but it took years of up and downs with other sharpeners before he walked into our shop and begged us to give him a try. At the time we were mailing out sharpening to a guy in alabama because tere are np decent sharpeners in out area. His name is Jeff Gilbert, Washington state. I don't know if he does out of state sharpening though. I know a lot of sharpeners self teach themselves and I've known a lot of them to completely destroy other groomers equipment. But a sharpener who has true training will be very proud to share all the credential ,.. Good luck!!!!


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Good to know!!

my son is at the kitsap naval base in Bangor Washington... Never been there but he wants me to come out and visit 

When I was young and going to college I did nails in a hair salon and I remember the girls having fits over sharpeners ruining their shears or kiat doing a bad job but I had no idea someone could be certified versus self taught... I would just die if I spent a couple hundred bucks on shears only to have a sharpener ruin them ?


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

I'd get your hands on shears and stuff at the show to see how they feel and make a list and order them online for cheaper. 

I had a sharpener ruin some of my shears. It wasn't fun. A good sharpener is important. I can recommend who I use if you'd like. He's great and not very expensive at all.


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## Doggroomer812 (May 4, 2011)

*shears*

Buying shears is extremely personal... I have continually bought shears because I thought they would be magnificent, and only to find out that they don't fit my hand or I don't like how they cut. So I end up selling them. Have the shear sellers help you with fit, and tell them what you are planning on grooming. If you are planning on cutting both clean and dirty hair... high end, show quality scissoring? Kenchii has a wide range of shears and prices, which might be a perfect fit (however I have struggled to find a fit I like from them). You can also check on sites for used shears, and pick some up cheaper if you want to try alot of different ones as long as you have a nice sharpener to put things back together if they aren't in the best shape.


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

So at the trade shows the equip is more expensive than online? I've never been to one... Idk y I assumed they would be discounted at the show...

It definitely sounds like fit is important... And I'm clueless as to how it should fit/feel so I guess I'll pick up as many as I can (by pick up i mean hold not buy lol) while I'm there. 

Besides the shears and blenders ... You think it's worth picking up those andis pulse ion clippers... Or spend it on something else? In my original post I wrote what I have....


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Msminnamouse.... I will def take a sharpener recommendation  thanx!


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Are you going to Fun in the Sun in Florida? So many of my online buddies will be there. In all honesty putting shears in your hands is the BEST. Everyone is different. My friend LOVES 9" shears that are soooo dang heavy I just pick them & & immediately put them right back down. I prefer much smaller shears & now I am into Beauty shears. Anyway, I find that you will build up your shear collection. I have a minimal set of shears but hear goes the list & I use the shears for different coats. I LOve Short shank shears & that is all I buy now. If they are bent shank as well then even better. I hate curve shears & I keep buying them thinking I will find them & love them & I keep getting rid of them. I have a grand total of 3 & I pretty much only use them for feet.

Heritage, bent shank, short shank- 7" & 8" I have been using these for 10 years now & they are a good all around pet shear. Keep their edge, won't break the bank & fairly easy to find
Anvil- 8" straight, short shank. A little heavier BUT I love these on heavy coats like cockers & some mixes. I hated the curves.
Lexon- Beauty shear 7"- light weight & about $100.00 Use these on drop coats, poodle coats- coats that I really scissor not just getting the "sticky outies with"
Blue Ribbon- stupid name in my opinion but I LOVE these shears. Got these with my Lexon from my sharpener guy & I will buy a couple more of these $125.00
Davis- Straights 7"- good all around shear that I mostly use on the dogs that I shave down & get the sticky outies as well as heads.
Ryan- curves 7" do well but not a fan of curves
Onyx- 6" curves- use on all the small poodle, yorkie, maltese paws I do
Eric Salas Shears- got at a trade show basically buy 1 get 1 free usually $250.00 but got them for $125.00 each. Short shank, flippers & ONLY use these on my own personal Poodles that I show. They don't touch clients dogs or even any of my other 4 dogs.
Shark Fin Thinners- Love the suckers & got them off of a FB Barter page for $170.00 can't live without them now.


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

3dogs said:


> Are you going to Fun in the Sun in Florida? So many of my online buddies will be there. In all honesty putting shears in your hands is the BEST. Everyone is different. My friend LOVES 9" shears that are soooo dang heavy I just pick them & & immediately put them right back down. I prefer much smaller shears & now I am into Beauty shears. Anyway, I find that you will build up your shear collection. I have a minimal set of shears but hear goes the list & I use the shears for different coats. I LOve Short shank shears & that is all I buy now. If they are bent shank as well then even better. I hate curve shears & I keep buying them thinking I will find them & love them & I keep getting rid of them. I have a grand total of 3 & I pretty much only use them for feet.
> 
> Heritage, bent shank, short shank- 7" & 8" I have been using these for 10 years now & they are a good all around pet shear. Keep their edge, won't break the bank & fairly easy to find
> Anvil- 8" straight, short shank. A little heavier BUT I love these on heavy coats like cockers & some mixes. I hated the curves.
> ...


Wow!! thanks for all that info... I'll look them all up and check them out. I do plan on holding anything i can at the show for comparison but I'm so new I'm not sure I will know the difference until I really start grooming. And compared to what I've been using to groom my two poodles I'm sure ANYTHING is going to feel amazing! LOL

Yes I am going to fun in the sun! so excited and cannot wait to get there and check it all out! wish I knew any groomers going but I know nobody so I'm sure I will feel like a fish out of water. That's okay though... I live in Florida and the show is only about 30 minutes from my house so it's kind of a no-brainer that I should go


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Ive been considering going to the show. Is it worth it for a non-pro to go? Seems fun and seems like I could learn a lot. I expect equipment prices will not be cheaper than Amazon or PetEdge though.


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## Doggroomer812 (May 4, 2011)

*Grooming trade shows*



Jacamar said:


> Ive been considering going to the show. Is it worth it for a non-pro to go? Seems fun and seems like I could learn a lot. I expect equipment prices will not be cheaper than Amazon or PetEdge though.


It is definitely worth it to go! And yes, a lot of times things are cheaper than pet edge.... But you also get so many more options of styles, craftmanship, and quality. You can find things you never even dreamed of wanting! I usually go with a spreadsheet of what I need, and lists of prices from catalogues... Then I spent at least another thousand dollars on impulse buys (I am soooooo bad). Lol. 

Plus you can ask the retailers or other shoppers about certain items, and try them out (I love smelling shampoo). And you can watch the competitions and demos and pick up a lot of cool tips.

Best of all, you are around people just as crazy about dogs as you are!


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Doggroomer812 said:


> ... Then I spent at least another thousand dollars on impulse buys (I am soooooo bad). Lol.
> 
> 
> OMG lol I thought I was gonna be bad but not THAT bad lol!!!
> ...


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Jdcollins said:


> Doggroomer812 said:
> 
> 
> > ... Then I spent at least another thousand dollars on impulse buys (I am soooooo bad). Lol.
> ...


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Jacamar said:


> Jdcollins said:
> 
> 
> > Im about an hour and half from the show.
> ...


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Jdcollins said:


> I have a 3 car garage and we are closing in and finishing the 3rd bay to turn into a grooming "salon" ?


I want to move and someday do the same thing! Do you have to have your house zoned for commercial use? Where i live, most of the homes are in communities with home owners association and I doubt they'll allow a business to be run out of a house, so I may have to find a house thats not in a neighborhood with an HOA.


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Jacamar.. I live in a guarded gated neighborhood with a less than flexible HOA... I'm not going to "run a business" per se ... Mostly my husband would prefer I groom outside the house instead of our master bathroom lol... Currently the grooming table and all my supplies reside in there ... It looks like a small groom shop in there. I'm not going to argue with him that I need a "salon" in the garage ;-)


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

I ended up buy geib buttercup super 8's
The shears, curves, and thinners...

Among way too many other things ☺


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Jdcollins said:


> I ended up buy geib buttercup super 8's
> The shears, curves, and thinners...
> 
> Among way too many other things ☺


Sounds you had a great day. Congrats!


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks! It's been great... I'm taking as many classes and lectures as I can... Oh and I got the super gator shears not super 8's ... Hurt my wallet a little lol although i know there are way more expensive scissors out there.


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## Doggroomer812 (May 4, 2011)

*most expensive shears...*

The highest price shears I have ever seen (in a catalogue...not in real life)... $250,000. Les ]ooch shears. (On their website think).


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Geibs are probably a good 1st choice. I don't use them because they don't fit my hand well & I love short shanks. My friend really loves Geib, she is the one that loves heavy shears. Great to know you found shears that work well in your hands & doesn't kill the wallet.

You can get great deals at shows. I got Eric Salas Kenchii shears at a grooming show for 1/2 price. That is how I ended up with both straights & curves & I would have bought the thinners as well but they were all out. I couldn't pass up that deal since I most likely would have never bought shears being sold as $250.00. But I will spend $125.00 on shears. Trade shows have so much more than what one can find in a catalog. Plus the experience of putting shears in hands is well worth paying more than ending up with shears from a catalog that don't fit your hands & they end up in the junk drawer or selling them for less then what you just bought them for. Catalogs are good when you know your style of shear & trust the company you are buying from. Even then it can be a hit or miss. I have loved certain shears from companies & hated others from the same company.

Have loads of fun.


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Doggroomer812 said:


> The highest price shears I have ever seen (in a catalogue...not in real life)... $250,000. Les ]ooch shears. (On their website think).


Omg!! a wee bit outta my price range 
;-)

I must say I was disappointed in the les pooch booth... They had one (sort of) but no one showed up to man it... Some how a lady who isn't a groomer ended up trying to help people that stopped by but really didnt know anything about the brushes... I ended up buying CC brushes... I used one on rusty when I got home and it sure was nicer then the ones I've been using.


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

3 dogs

I kept going down all the aisles over and over and trying shears.... At first I was overwhelmed and afraid to choose but as I kept holding and looking I kept walking back to those.... And then it was like I just said "yep" these feel right... I did really like the kenchii's too... It was between those two but I could get 3 pairs of the geibs vs 2 of the kenchii's I liked and they really do feel good so that's what I chose . Next trade show maybe I'll get kenchii's flame thinners  

Atlanta in march! Lol


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## Jacamar (Jun 2, 2012)

Jdcollins said:


> I ended up buying CC brushes... I used one on rusty when I got home and it sure was nicer then the ones I've been using.


I've gone the CC route too. I have the wood pin brush, and two of their combs. Which brushes did you get?


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

Jacamar said:


> I've gone the CC route too. I have the wood pin brush, and two of their combs. Which brushes did you get?


I got small and larger slicker brush and I bought ice on ice from them too... And as a bonus I got a kiss on the mouth from her banded black mini poo that was so adorable lol she offered and I couldn't refuse lol

the momma said... If u lean in and ask for a kiss she'll give you one lol so sweet


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## PooDoo Fashionista (Jan 17, 2012)

As many have said shears are a personal thing, depending on the size of your hand and if you have been taught to scissor correctly. Great sharpeners are a rarity, good sharpeners are easy enough. 

Be careful with Pet Edge as I get more stuff from them screwed up then right! And I do orders with them that are over $10,000.00, you'd think that they would want to get most of my order right so that I come back!

APF is great to go to if you know what to look for. I had a blast when I was there, but I have to say the vendors at SuperZoo were pretty fantastic too!


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

So far I really like the shears I bought... Except that every time I use them I cut myself... I have a bad habit of wiping hair of the blade with my fingers :-/ ... That goes to show how not sharp my previous shears were...lets hope I've learned my lesson.... I had band aids on half my fingers yesterday from using the shears all week :-(


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## ArcadiaX (Sep 17, 2012)

Ok, now I am tempted to run my poor fingers over my CHEAP (read: only and dull) shears just to prove to myself that they are indeed cheap, and not nearly as sharp as I need them to be to groom Lou right. That should give me a reason to get some decent shears that actually work! lol...


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## Jdcollins (Feb 3, 2011)

ArcadiaX said:


> Ok, now I am tempted to run my poor fingers over my CHEAP (read: only and dull) shears just to prove to myself that they are indeed cheap, and not nearly as sharp as I need them to be to groom Lou right. That should give me a reason to get some decent shears that actually work! lol...


LOL u are brave!! I called myself every name in the book ?


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