Hi nerds, welcome back! Today I wanted to talk to you guys about clipping blades and how to choose
the correct one for each dog. Understanding blades can be really difficult, especially if
you're only starting out, as there's just a huge variety of blades and comb attachments around.
Okay, so to begin with let's have a quick look at the anatomy of a blade. All these parts may have a
slightly different term to them depending on where you're based, but every single blade has a comb,
cutter, socket, tension bar, guide and a couple screws to hold it all together. Clipping blades
come in two different varieties: you get them in standard and wide. The wide blades will naturally
cover more ground in one go as you are clipping a dog, but other than that it functions exactly the
same way as a standard one does. But just to keep in mind, because your wide blades are cutting more
hair in one go they can wear down your clippers blade drives slightly quicker than using a
standard one. So you may just need to change it a bit more regularly. in addition to standard blades
you do also have the option of using comb attachments. Comb attachments simply give you
more options in terms of the length of the coat. Comb attachments are incredibly easy to use - you
simply clip them on top of a normal blade and off you go. You want to use a really short blade
underneath a comb attachment, as that will give you a smooth finish. You can use a 10 a 15 or 30.
I personally prefer using a 30 underneath on my comb attachments but that is just down to
personal taste. I just find that a 10 or a 15 will clog up with hair very easily. And just like with
normal blades, you can get comb attachments in standard or wide. Okay so this is where it
gets a little bit confusing. Standard blades are numbered from about two all the way down to forty,
with the two being the longest and fourty being the shortest. But in reverse, come attachments
run from one to eight, with one being the shortest and eight being the longest. And just because this
wasn't confusing enough, you then have to navigate all these blade lengths to choose the correct one
for the dog you have on the table at that moment. The book Notes from the Grooming Table is actually
a really really good guide when you're just learning how to pick the correct blade every
single time. The book will talk you through breed standard trims, but they are very easily adapted
to pet trims as well. The book is there to give you a good idea of what kind of lengths you should
be using, so for example if you're looking up a Schnauzer it will tell you oh you should use
this and this blade on this part of the body, and this on this. But obviously it isn't quite that
black and white in the real world, and owners might ask for a completely different style. But
the book is there to give you very clear guidance on how to get started, and once you've used the
blade a couple times you will then get a good idea of what kind of finish it leaves and you
can then estimate from there what the blade down or blade up from that one will do. Okay,
personally from blades I will only ever really use a four a five and a seven. Anything longer than a
four I tend to lean over to the comb attachments, and anything shorter than the seven I will lean
towards my 5-in-1 trimmers that have blades from about a nine to a thirty. A four blade is
really great if the owner wants the dog short but just slightly on the fluffy side, and a five and a
seven will leave a far smoother cut and I do use these blades mainly for terriers and spaniels.
And from comb attachments the main ones I use are three, four and five. They usually have a
very nice fluffy long finish on the dog, but it is still a manageable length for the owner to
keep on top of between appointments. I very rarely touch numbers one and two as they do correspond to
a seven and a five blade, and if i'm taking a dog that short I might as well use a standard blade,
because the finish will be so much nicer than it would be using a comb attachment. But again this
might be personal preference, if you wanted that slightly rugged look a comb attachment
will be a great option. I also very rarely use any longer comb attachments, as the longer cut tends
to be so much work for the owner at home between visits. So, how about matted clip-offs? I always
aim to start with the longest blade possible, so i will go in with a four, if it doesn't cut
through I will go down to five a seven a ten if needed - I have used a 15 in the past as well. So
as long as you have got an option to go down and down and down, just see what works and go with it.
You obviously always want to be really careful when you're using an extremely short blade,
as it is quite easy to catch the dog's skin and cut it. Obviously my favorite blades may be
completely different to yours. If all of your customers are happy maintaining an eight comb
attachment cut between visits then that's amazing! Treasure those customers and never let go of them,
they are absolute fairy dust. I'm simply in an area that just favors easy to maintain pet trim,
and that's okay too! I will leave a blade length guide in the description below for you guys,
so you have an easy reference point when you're not quite sure what blade to use. This guide has
been invaluable to me in the years I've been grooming and honestly I have it laminated in
my salon and it's hung up on the wall. And I look at it every single day, and you know what guys, I
would really love for the comment section of this video to become a bit of an advice board on blade
lengths. So if you're not sure what blade to use on a dog, please pop it down in the comments below
and someone will answer with their suggestion. Obviously it could vary wildly, some people may
have all their Cockapoos in a beautiful seven or an eight comb, or even hand scissored all over.
And someone may just have a seven all off - you know, that is the beauty of grooming. There isn't
a black and white solution to every single groom. But thank you so much for watching this video,
if you did like it do leave it a little thumbs up. It really supports my channel,
and maybe consider subscribing to the channel so you don't miss my next video. Bye guys!