Top 5 Best Dog Clippers For Grooming Reviews

So, you’re either a proud owner of a furry little love-ball, or you own a dog salon and want to see it prosper? One of the key things to both of these situations is having the right tools for the job, and a clipper is exactly that.

You might be thinking – But I don’t know anything about dog clippers! Don’t worry, we got you covered. We did the legwork for you, and had our resident experts make a list of recommendations. What you’re about to read is a buying guide, as comprehensive as could be, along with some of the best dog clippers on the market these days.

Most people would start with a budget in mind, and most people would be wrong. Yes, the budget is an important criterion in any buy, but if you want a quality dog clipper, then you must be ready to forego the budget, and look out for some of the following things – the clipper’s speed, its weight, whether it’s corded or cordless, as well as some other features, each of which will have its five minutes in the spotlight.

These would cover the product itself, but on the other hand, you also have to take your dog’s (or dogs’) coat into consideration – is it soft and supple, like a Poodle’s, Huskie’s or Akkita’s, or rough and bristly, like that of an Irish Terrier, Affenpinscher, or Scottish Terrier? Furthermore, you need to consider how thick is the beastie’s hair? The thicker, the more powerful the clipper will have to be. These are more questions for dog owners, rather than professional or semi-pro groomers, but we felt they needed be asked, just to have all the angles covered.

Corded or Cordless ?

Let’s begin with the easiest thing to decide – whether you want a corded or cordless clipper. Besides your personal preferences, there are other reasons that people often overlook. Yes, a cordless clipper is much more convenient and easier to handle, but there’s the small matter of charging it regularly, or switching batteries. On the other hand, it’s better for reaching spots that would be hard to reach with a corded clipper.

Another thing worth mentioning is that corded clippers tend to be slower, so your dog’s coat would have to be pretty plush and pliant. If you’re a dog owner, and you give your pets only an occasional ‘do, then a cordless clipper might be the thing for you.

Conversely, if you’re a professional groomer, you should consider investing in a corded clipper, simply due to the fact that the constant charging will become tiresome, not to mention time-consuming. Naturally, you’d be well advised to eventually get both types, and multiple clippers. However, assuming you’re just beginning your career, the best way to go would be with a single pair of corded clippers, and then expand your collection as the business grows.

Single and Variable Speeds

When it comes to distinguishing the high-end dog clippers from any generic product, your go to criterion would be the speed, or, to give it its full technical name – Rotary Speed Per Minute (don’t worry, it’ll still mostly just read “Speed” on the box). This is what will get you through the knots and matted fur, and it’s one of the deciding factors when you compare a pair of professional quality clippers, or any clippers, for that matter.

If we go by this criterion, there are, generally speaking, two types of clippers – single-speed and variable-speed dog clippers. The former would be a good choice for beginners, as they are simpler, and they tend to not overheat as easily as their variable-speed counterparts. Conversely, the latter type is ideal for experienced users, professionals and non-professionals alike, as it gives more control and allows for finer finishes.

Quiet motor

When you’re buying a pair of dog clippers, do your dog and yourself a favor, and look for the product with the quietest motor possible. Ladies, can you think of all the times you had to blow dry your hair with a rumbling blow dryer? And, gentlemen, think, if you will, of all the times you went to your barber, and got annoyed by the machine buzzing and humming around your ears. Now, consider that a dog’s sense of hearing is four times as sensitive as that of human’s. Small wonder, then, that many a pet doesn’t quite like getting their ‘dos.

Lightweight

This criterion should be pretty much self-explanatory – the size and weight of the clipper tend to make a palpable difference in handling. For a start, a light and compact model will make maneuvering around your dog and reaching hard-to-reach spots much easier, on you and your pupster both. Moreover, if you own several dogs, or if you work at a grooming center, handling multiple dogs, the benefits of a lightweight clipper become all the more evident.

Luckily, most manufacturers today offer compact and ergonomically-driven designs, so as to make it easier on your hands to hold and maneuver the clipper.

Blade Material and Selection

Choosing the right blade is more important than you might think, and it’s mostly driven by the type of coat your doggy sports and what you want to do with it. For example, the blade number would be driven by the desired length after cutting, the rule being – the lower the number of blades, the longer the coat will be.

When it comes to choosing the material, the selection, roughly, comes to that between ceramic and stainless steel, or a combo thereof. Some might even incorporate elements such as titanium, carbon, chrome or silver, either as integral components or as finish. The difference is not as clear cut (pun intended) as we’d like it, but there are some general recommendations. For example, chrome finishing provides better resistance to rust, whereas silver is used for its antibacterial and antifungal properties. Alternatively, blades infused with carbon have a harder edge, while ceramic blades stay cool longer than standard blades.

Moreover, clipper blades may also come in a few varieties with respect to their edging, with three types specifically designed for different results. To begin with, Ultra Edge Blades are made of steel infused with carbon, which makes for a harder and longer-lived cutting surface.

Show Edge Blades, on the other hand, are made with special coating, and they are meant for smooth and sleek finishes. Finally, the Ceramic Edge Blades are, obviously, made from ceramic, and they are designed to keep an edge and stay cool a lot longer than their steel counterparts.

Now, as far as clipper blades go, you should bear in mind that most professional level clippers are made by Andis, Oster, Wahl or Laube, and that they all use the same type of Snap-On blades (initially developed by Oster). In other words, most blades will be interchangeable, so you can fit an Oster blade on your Andis clipper, and vice versa. Incidentally, this type of blades is particularly great if you have multiple dogs with different coats, making changing between them all the easier.

A section discussing clipper blades would be incomplete without mentioning Skip Tooth and Finish Cut clipper blades, and the difference between them. Basically, you’d use the former for cutting through mats and thicker coats, where the latter would have a bit of a problem. Conversely, Finish Cut blades leave a much nicer finish on the coat, whereas Skip Tooth are better for rough work. In a way, you can think of the Skip Tooth as the workhorse that does the main cutting, and the Finish Cut as a tool for smooth, slick finish look.

The 5 Professional dog clippers in 2018

We discussed at some length the criteria and features you should look out for when buying dog grooming clippers, and by this point, you should be able to go shopping on your own. If, however, you’d like to see some recommendations, just so that you have a point of reference, take a look at this short list of five best dog clippers.