How do you sharpen Andis Clipper Blades?

There are a few different ways you can sharpen your andis clipper blades. The best
way, of course, is to take your clippers to a professional. However, if you would like to
sharpen your blades on your own, the next best thing is the andis factory wheel (though
there are other wheels on the market). This device can be quite costly; then again if
you are an entrepreneur or small business owner in the field of hair cutting, styling or
barbering, the machine should quickly pay for itself. And if you happen to be an animal
groomer, and use andis horse clipper blades or andis clipper blades for dogs, the
machine almost doubles its worth. Animal hair is much coarser in most cases than human
hair, meaning you will have to sharpen your blades much more often. Having a machine
to use at your own convenience instead of having to wait for someone else can prove to
be a valuable asset to your business. If you are not a business owner or entrepreneur and
just need to sharpen your andis trimmer blades for private purposes, use of a whetstone
is a more cost efficient method of doing so. You might even opt for a much smaller
grinding wheel for personal use, but it would still be a good bit more expensive than a
whetstone.

Using the Wheel:

Unscrew the shield from your andis clippers (or andis trimmers). Remove the moving
blade. People who choose to use oil would normally apply it to the blade at this point.
Oil is not necessary, but rather it is a matter of personal choice. After applying oil (or
not) it time to position your blade on the grinding plate. Some wheels have a string or
laser that you can use to help you align your blade on the grinding plate, and some do
not. If you are using a wheel that does, you want to align your blade so that the string
or laser runs through the very center of it. In other words, be sure that there is an equal
distance from the string to the front and from the string to the back rail of the blade. Use
a magnet to hold the blade in place. Be sure that you keep the blade centered while you
are sharpening. When you see that the sparks fly evenly across the blade, stop and check
the blade. If you have sharpened correctly, you should have a clean, shiny, flat surface.
Check from several different angles to be sure that you have no dull spots. Dull spots on
your andis clipper blades indicates an area that will have uneven pitch, which means that
your blades will rub together in such a way that you will be unable to get a clean cut with
them. If you have any dull spots on your clipper blades, even very small spots, repeat the
sharpening process.

Using the Whetstone:

Just as with the wheel, unscrew the shield from your clippers and remove the moving
blade. Again, if you are using oil, apply it after removing the blade from the clippers.
Place the moving blade on the tension spring and press the clippers (blade side down)
to the whetstone. Apply a small amount of pressure to the clippers to hold the blade in
place. Power the clippers on and gently apply a little more pressure. Move the blade
back and forth for about 2 minutes. Check to be sure that the blade is evenly sharpened.

If not, continue with this step a little longer. You will hear a grinding sound while you
are sharpening the blade. Do not be alarmed as this is normal. Now unscrew and remove
the guide from the guide blade. Place the guide to the whetstone and rub by hand for an
additional 2 minutes (or longer if needed). Check again for evenness. Reattach the guide
to the guide blade. Re-adjust your blade. Now you may secure the blade back to your
clippers.

After each time you have sharpened your blades you should be sure to test the blades
before using them on anyone else. Even if you have sent your blades to be sharpened by a
professional, they should still be tested. Professionals make mistakes, too, and a bad hair
cut is one mistake you certainly do not want to pass on to any of your customers. Some
people choose to test on themselves, but not everyone is comfortable with this method.
If you are not one to test on yourself, there are specially made testing supplies available
online. These are usually fairly inexpensive, and definitely worth it. You might even be
able to get away with using a wig as your test subject if you would like something a little
closer to real hair.

Sharpening blades will take some getting used to, just like anything else. But if you work
carefully and you make sure to double check your work, you will most likely get the
hang of it in no time at all. In the end you will save a whole lot of time and money by
sharpening your own andis clipper blades- time and money that you could be using much
more efficiently.

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