Oster Clipmaster clippers

[mickelljji4]

I am having a tough time clipping a horse that hasn’t shed well this spring (we think he is close to 40 years old). I pulled out the Clipmasters today but didn’t make much headway. I tried three sets of blades but nothing seemed to help. The clippers were pulling at his hair as much as cutting it, and in the end I had to give up after doing a bad job on only one side of him.

I looked on Oster’s website and they mention clipper brushes as something that needs to be replaced periodically (I think after 200 hours). Has anyone had any success with that fix?

[skipollo]

I have Oster Clipmasters, and they’re horrendous.

So when they work, they clip great and I have no issues. The problem? Mine are meticulously cared for. Thoroughly cleaned after each use, plenty of oil while using, etc.

Mine completely burnt out after less than 10 clips.

I contacted Oster, and they said that because the clippers were two years old, they were not covered by the warranty, but I was welcome to send them back to Oster to either get a full servicing (around $150) or for them to fix the specific thing that was wrong with them. They said this would take several weeks, and I wouldn’t receive a bill and wouldn’t even be told what the cost would be until after they repaired them.

I refuse to spend $150+ to service clippers that broke after less than 10 clips.

Yours are doing exactly what mine did before they died. They would turn on and the blades would technically be going, but they weren’t clipping much of anything. Then a little bit later, they stopped turning on completely.

[goodhors]

Wow, does sound like clippers are not adjusted correctly. Tightening the tension usually helps.

I wonder how dirty the old horse is? We wash the horse before clipping. Clean hair/skin lets the blades do a smoother hair cutting job and blade sharpness lasts much longer. We usually can clip an entire large horse with one set of blades, with a nice looking result. Clipping dirty horses dulls the blades fast, you will need several sets to get horse finished. Then it costs to have them all sharpened again!

I have several sets of the large Oster/Sunbeam clippers, all are old, work well, have many hours on them, still work fine. The guy who sharpens my blades will also service clippers. Mine have been repaired a few times over the years, new cords, that square brass piece by the arms was worn and got replaced, noisy got fixed. I had him look at some used clippers I got, before using them. He is quite reasonably priced, with quick turn around returning blades and clippers. Perhaps there is a local guy near you who can do that for you. Mine does mail in work too. If you want to contact him, he is Precision Sharpening, 517-521-4371, Webberville, MI.

I have several clippers to allow cooling time during the massive clipping sessions we sometimes have. Running hot blades makes the blades lose their “temper” which is the hardening in the metal. Such blades then are not going to stay sharp, cut badly. Also hot blades will have horse dancing as he gets burned. Hot to the touch of finger, means it is time to let the blades cool off. Better to change clippers to a cool blade set, rest the hot ones back to cool. Saves your blades sharpness, keep the horse happy, standing well for clipping. We do 4-5 horses in a body clipping session, swapping the clippers as we go along.

Clippers have also done show cattle clipping, sheared show lambs, with excellent results. Can’t have lines or uneven cutting on those show animals, indicates lack of care presenting them.