Hey, everyone.
Welcome back to our Beginner's Guide to Equipment.
Last time, if you saw our previous video, we talked about scissors.
We also asked everybody at the end, what do you want to see
us talk about next?
And overwhelmingly, everybody wanted to know about clippers.
So let's get into clippers now.
This video could be very short.
And we could just say buy these clippers because
nine times out of ten when we're messaged about clippers, that's all anybody wants.
Nobody ever wants to know about more of the information
or why they should get this or what might be better for them or any of that stuff.
People just want to know what's the thing I buy.
So I will tell you something to buy at the end of this.
But I also want you to know what you're looking for
because I think that's just as important as what you're going to buy.
So hopefully you take away from this not just what to buy,
but why you would buy it.
So first things first.
When you're looking for a set of clippers, if you haven't been using them for long
or you haven't used them at all or you don't know what you like,
you don't know what you don't like.
I think when you're looking at buying yourself
a set of clippers, I think shape is one of the most important things
and I would personally recommend that you don't buy a unique shaped clipper.
Now, what I mean by that is like you might see something
like the Boost + from Babyliss with a really eye-catching
almost sort of flashlight design that you've got here
or you've got something like the JRL 2020c with a very rounded shape there as well.
These are really nice looking clippers, but these are unique shapes.
These are not the clippers that everybody has been using for over 100 years.
The clippers shape that people have been using for the longest time.
Is this shape.
This is the StyleCraft Rebel that I've got here in my hand.
But the majority of companies make the majority of their clippers in this shape.
So you can go on to a Senior from Wahl it's the same shape.
Even with Babyliss, when they've started making some new clippers,
they've went back to that shape with the LoPRO FX.
This shape has been doing people for decades, over a century, in fact.
So when you're just starting out, I don't think there's anything wrong with
just going with the tried and tested shape that's been working for literally ever
Next thing we're going to look at is runtime.
And I think runtime is really important because when you're starting out,
you are going to be so slow, so slow.
I was really slow myself.
I've seen a million other people be really slow when they started out as well.
You are going to take like 90 minutes plus for a haircut.
You need a clipper that's going to run you at least that 90 minutes
and possibly longer, depending on how slow you are.
Now, there are clippers out there that have up to a four hour runtime.
I think that's what you're looking for.
Examples of that would be something like the JRL 2020c
or even the Rebel from StyleCraft 4 hour runtimes and both of these clippers,
the JRL 2020c even has a little display
unit on there to tell you how much longer it's got to go.
And I think when you're starting out that is exactly the right length for you.
So when you're starting 4 hour runtime.
Something else you should be looking for
when you're buying a set of clippers is what guards does it take.
And I think it's important to get yourself a set of clippers
that take as many guards as possible so you can figure out which ones are
right for you.
Now if you get yourself an Andis or an Oster clipper to start with,
you're really going to be stuck with one set of guards
you can use regardless of how good the clipper is.
But if you get yourself something like the 2020c
from JRL they come with their own very good guards.
But also you can use something like the Gamma double magnetics on there,
those, fit these clippers as do the Babyliss premium guards.
They fit on here as do the Wahl premium guards as well.
So you're not limited to what you can and can't use and I think
you'll eventually figure out what you like better when you have more option
I also think it's important for any beginner out there
to get yourself a clipper that has a click lever okay?
Now you want to get yourself something, has a click lever, the StyleCraft.
Rebel, for example, has a click lever, five point click lever as well.
This is the kind of thing that teaches you a precision that would be more difficult
to learn on something with a floating lever, one that just moves really fluidly,
particularly when you're starting out like, I don't know about you guys,
but the very first fading method I learned
had 14 different steps, right?
And some of those steps were
have your blade a quarter open, have your blade a half open.
And especially when you're just starting out,
you're having to constantly stop and look at all this.
And when you have a clipper with a floating lever,
you don't really have that same precision.
If you had to keep changing
that all the time is going to be different from each side of the head.
If you have yourself a click lever here you know it's going to be in exactly
the same place it needs to be at any point when you're working.
And I think that's far more important to you
when you're starting out than trying to get all intuitive about it.
Do that later if you want, but when you're starting,
get yourself a quick lever, that accuracy, you will thank me for.
So now we're going to talk about price, which is very, very important
and rightfully so, because everything's getting more expensive nowadays.
And I honestly think at this beginner point,
when you're looking at stuff that's maybe in the 110 - 120 bracket
and then you're looking at stuff that's also in the 150 - 170/175 bracket.
I honestly think when
you look at the difference between a lot of these things,
I think just moving up to that 150 - 175 bracket
is going to save you so much time in the future.
You're going to get yourself
a better machine that covers more things that you need to learn with.
I really think if you're looking at any lower than that,
you don't really need my recommendation
because that's all you're going to want to spend on them.
And I've seen it in here, people spending 50 60 on a clipper
and maybe buying two or three of them throughout the year
and they'd have been better off just spending that extra
little bit of money, the 150 - 170 bracket and have something that was
really good that they could learn on and would last them a while.
And honestly as well, when you're starting out,
are you going to use your clippers for more than a year, year and a bit tops.
There's a good chance your not,
and you're going to want to start trying other things.
So I think when you're starting out you start with that 150 to 170 bracket
and maybe start out with something like the StyleCraft Rebel,
which fits into that price bracket
and also covers a lot of things that I think are important for learning.
When you start out.
Something I
want to draw attention to is the blade that comes on a clipper.
Now, most clippers tend to come with some form of
either a taper blade or a fade blade.
And I think when you're learning, it's important
to use a taper blade because it's just a little bit more forgiving.
The blades a little bit bigger
and a fade blade can be quite can be quite difficult to learn on.
it's not a dealbreaker.
All right.
But there is a difference between them.
And you will notice that when you are starting out
and I just feel like the taper blade is far more forgiving.
So when you start out get yourself a clipper with a taper blade.
So that's it.
That's all the information I think you need as a beginner Barber
to choose your first set of clippers and I know that's a lot of information
and I know you've sat through that and you now want some recommendations.
And it's
such a personal thing that it's so hard to say.
This is the one thing that everyone should buy when they're starting out, but
that's what people are looking for because you don't want to waste your money.
So I've got a couple of clippers here.
I could recommend both the Gamma Boosted and the StyleCraft Rebel.
They cover a lot of different things that we spoke about in this video already.
They both come in classic shapes.
They both have 4 hour run times.
They both have click levers, lever sue me and
and most importantly, they both deal with bulk
and fading really well because when you're starting out,
you want a clipper that's more of an all rounder.
They can do both and these will cover that just fine.
So there you have it.
That's your Clipper recommendations for any beginner Barber out there.
If you like the sound of any of those that we spoke about today,
there are links in the description below, and I really hope
that that was useful for you.
I really hope that you find the information
that you're looking for out of that.
And I know that not everybody's going to agree with it, but
that is what the comment section is for.
So if you think that we've made the right choice here,
if you don't think we've made the right choice,
if you think there's something better for a beginner Barber to use, feel
free to get in the comments section below and let us know.
Healthy spirited debate is always encouraged and also as well,
I really need you guys to tell me next what we're going to talk about.
I need to know if you guys want to know about trimmers or foils
or other accessories or or whatever it is that you want to know about that
you think a beginner Barber should be looking for.
Please let us know in the comments below.
As always, the Rum Barber network isn't just us.
It's you guys as well.
We do our best to interact with everybody that comes on there as well.
Thank you guys so much for watching and we'll see you next time.