How to Sharpen Dog Clippers Properly for Safe and Easy Trimming

The Things Necessary

Before you bring your dog to trim his hair, make certain you are equipped with all the necessary things. Here are they:

• Nail clippers: Obviously, the first thing to prepare is your dog nail clippers. You should also either take the instructions or have enough knowledge on how to remove the blades of the clippers.
• Whetstones: To sharpen dog clippers at home you will need one whetstone with fine grit (around 8000 grit) and another one with a coarser grit in the 3000-4000 grit range. Obtain them either at a hardware store or order them online. To save on the price, you can buy a whetstone the two sides of which have different grit ranges. To sharpen ceramic blades, meanwhile, diamond coated stones are necessary.
• Screwdriver: A screwdriver is needed as blades are mostly held with a couple of head screws.
• A bottle of water for spraying: Sharpening stones require to be wet to work well. Hence, keep a bottle of water to spray on them at hand.
• A piece of cloth: Keep a piece of cloth at hand to wipe off the metal particles that break off when the blades are being sharpened.
• Cleaning solution: After sharpening the clipper blades, you will need to clean and de-rust them. This can be done with the help of a clipper cleaning solution. The modern market offers numerous solutions from different brands.
• Clipper Oil: In the end, you will need clipper oil. It is necessary for lubricating the blades while also preventing them from rusting.

Sharpening Clipper Blades

Now, when you have prepared all the tools and other things necessary for sharpening your dog clipper blades, it’s time to start the process. Follow these steps and soon you will be able to trim your pet safely and easily.

The First Step: Removing the Dull Blades

Before removing the dull blades, turn off and unplug the clippers. Generally, two screws are holding the blades. Find and remove them. Be cautious not to lose the screws since they are very tiny and it can be hard to find them later. Once done, watch for one big set of stationary blades and another smaller one sitting inside the exterior blades.

The Second Step: Brushing Hair Out of the Blades

If you watch closer to the nooks and crannies of the clipper blades you will see plenty of little pieces of fur. To brush them out, use the brush that comes with the tool. A paintbrush or a toothbrush will do well, too. Make sure you clean the blades from all hair, otherwise they won’t be sharpened evenly.

The Third Step: Cleaning the Blades with a Solution

What makes clipper blades difficult to use? Hair, dust, and rust that collect on the blades dull them. If yours are mildly dirty, soak a cotton ball in a special solution and scrub the blades. Severely dirty blades, in the meantime, must be soaked in a container filled with cleaning solution. Leave them there for several hours. After taking them off, gently pat and leave them to air dry. Some users prefer not to dismantle the dog clippers blades but leave them attached and submerge the clipper into the solution. After taking it out, they switch the clipper on for around twenty seconds. Surely, this is an easier and quicker method yet it can’t remove the whole rust. Besides, not all clippers can work properly after being submerged in liquid.

The Forth Step: Preparing the Whetstones

Soak the whetstones in the water for a couple of minutes. Absorbing water, the stones get lubricated and function well. After taking them out, spray water so that a thin sheen of water is left on the top.

The Fifth Step: Sharpening the Blades with a Coarse Stone

Take the 4000-grit stone. Hold the blades flat against the stone. Hold them down either with a magnet or with your fingers. Now slide the blades lengthwise from one end of the stone to the other while providing an even pressure. Reaching the stone’s end, start again from where you did it the previous time. This action must be repeated (from ten to fifteen times) as long as you see newly exposed metal on the shiny blade tips.

If during the sharpening process you notice the stone is dry, spray some water. After the sharpening process, wipe any metal particles that might have remained on the blades. Dry them. Now repeat the same sharpening process with the second set of blades.

P.S. Remember not to press the blades on the stone too much or you will remove too much metal.

The Sixth Step: Oiling the Blades

When oiling the clipper blades, it’s necessary to follow the directions stated on the oil bottle. Do not apply too much oil. It must just be evenly coated with a cotton ball. If you apply oil more than necessary and it drips off the blade, expect dirt, lint and other debris to stick to them.

The Seventh Step: Reassembling and Testing the Blades

After all the six steps we described above, your dog clipper blades must already be ready for assembling and using. Attach them to the tool with the screws you have removed beforehand. Switch on the equipment and try it. If you notice the blades aren’t sharp enough, sharpen dog clippers again following all the steps you have passed through. In case the tool still pulls hair after that, sharpening the blades will be useless. It is time to replace them.

Conclusion

Using dog clippers with dull blades is a real headache for you and true suffering for your pet. You will not only lose time and nerves but also see your dog’s hair ripped out. Showing proper maintenance is good yet not enough to have the clippers function well. To have a sharp and properly operating tool, you will need to sharpen the blades periodically. Thankfully, you can do that right at home with the use of a couple of things and following the precise and easy guide we provided in this article. Don’t ignore the importance of sharp blades, since your dog’s well being depends on his clipper, too.

Attention!

Robert Herrera

If you still have questions after reading the article, do not hesitate to ask questions.

Ask Question