When I was in Pakistan (deployed) back in late '01, we were in a very rural area of the country and there was a local Pakistani guy who would come into our base and cut hair. He used the manual clippers, and he did a very good job with them. I suppose he had to, there was no electricity. Anyway, he was very proficient, and had those things singing like they WERE electric. Do that all day long, my arm would fall off. I'm thinking they would be better to thoroughly clean than an electric as you could submerse them...Jeff