# What blade for soft fluffy hair?



## mattmlm (Jan 3, 2013)

Hi,

We have 2 miniature schnauzer one male salt & pepper 14months old. The other a white female 12months.

We have had them both groomed professional but as our groomer broke her wrist, they have not been clipped for about 4months and are very long a fluffy.

We purchased some Wahl clippers which worked really well on our male and left him with a nice length and finish with no comb and working in the direction of the hair.

Our problem came when clipping the white female, her hair is much softer and the clippers just seem to clog up and slow down and not really cut!

I’ve been reading about both the Oster and Andis clippers and it they both get good write ups but I don’t know what kind of blade to go for? I spoke with a supplier who suggested a skip tooth either a 5 or a 7. I was thinking I would be better with an F/FC blade for a better finish? Also maybe going for a 4 as when she has been cut in the past you can see her pink skin through the short white hair which I would like to avoid!

Attached pic of her!









Many thanks for an advice!

Matt


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

The blade numbers refer to the length of hair they will leave. So your opinion is what matters on that account. Personally, I would go with the finishing blade, as a skip tooth can be hard to work with, can cut the dog far more easily, and is not easy to produce a smooth finish.

As for clipper brands, Oster, Wahl, and Andis are all very good brands. As long as you use one meant for professional use, any of those brands should work well for you.

By the way, there is generally no need to buy one brand new - you can often find them on Ebay for a fraction of what you'd pay for new!


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

If your dog,looks like the photo while you are trying to clip her, you will never get a blade thru it. Wash her, and blow dry her while brushing and separating the hair. Looks like she is also matted or tangled, so removing those will be necessary also unless you want to clip short like a 7 blade. Def get a FC blade. A skip tooth is dangerous in experienced hands, and they can easily slice a dog wide open, with little effort. Like Sighthounds said, the number of the blade relates to the length of hair left on the dog. If she is clean and matt and tangle free, any blade will go thru the coat. A 4F would be a good length to be fairly short but not see the pink skin.


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