Thread: Not sure where to put this - Honing clipper/shear blades

I was not sure where to put this so if it needs to be moved, please do so.


I am wondering if anyone has experience using stones to sharpen clipper/shear blades on hones. Most I have seen use a plate with some type of grit.

We just sent out 10 sets of blades used on horses. They came back and they are as bad as when they went out.

I thought we might be able to treat them as we do razors as they are sharpened flat and only on one face.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Perhaps as if they were plane blades ? Moving this to the honing forum.

If you are talking hair shears, please not they are very easy to mess up permanently. If you want to try it goes something like this:

1. Take clippers apart(this is optional, but it really is the best way)

2. Register bevel on stone with trailing strokes and pull. Try to keep bevel angle consistant as possible. Try a 4k stone unless deeply gouged, if so back down to 1k and hone out deep chips.

3. With the lightest touch possible on your finest stone, minimum 8k back hone face of shears to draw off burr. Please note, on good shears this is where you are most likely to permanently damage your fine shears. You could also substitute strop here if you are careful and not round of bevel.

4. You have to decide what grit level to leave bevel because of they are too polished hair will get pushed while closing. 4K will probably be ok.


Hope this helps.

Clipper blades are easy. Take apart blades and keep flat on stone. 4k would be fine enough for clipper blades. Clean well afterwards with hot water then dry.

In both cases lightly oil and wipe off excess put back together.

Thanks Jimmy I almost put it there was but not sure.

Kingfish has it. These are two piece blades. the comb and the cutter. think an oster a-5 or some such.

I have sharpened on a lapping plate with compound but it is time consuming. I have also seen and done the honing on a motorized lapping plate. Sometimes if works well but you loos the control of heat and if you have gone to far that you get when doing it by hand.

I had thought about getting out the norton and trying a few, but wanted to know if others had done it.


as far as sharpening scissors, well someday maybe

kingfish,

do you see an advantage to leaving the 4k scratch pattern with clipper blades? I had wondered if the micro serrations from 4k would help hold the hair in the comb teeth.

the scratch pattern does not matter what matters is the blades on each side meet properly so they can cleanly shear the hairs.

Scissors are easy to sharpen, just work the bevel side carefully and you should be set.

Originally Posted by scrapcan

kingfish,

do you see an advantage to leaving the 4k scratch pattern with clipper blades? I had wondered if the micro serrations from 4k would help hold the hair in the comb teeth.

If you put that much surface area over a synthetic 4k stone, the scratches do not go deep. Also, if you buy a brand new set of blades from Oster, the factory does not leave a mirror polish and 4k will be an improvement.

edit...I thought about this a little more. Any metal articulating parts are normaly designed to hold a film of lubricant. Parts that are over polished may defeat the way the oil clings parts and cause heat to build up. This is definitely a case where one can can go to far.

Kingfish,

The fluid film holding properties of the scratch pattern have been a question to me for some time (about 10 years of using a lapping plate and then a polishing plate to sharpen the clipper blades.

I found that using 320 clover compound on the lapping plate left to large of a scratch pattern even when using figure 8 stokes. I have since went to some other types and grits of compound. The 320 would hold dirt, dander, etc... and you end up over working the motor and adding heat to the blade and undue wear on the clipper.

I have tried the 4k and it seems to be working better than the lapping plate and far cleaner to do. I have a 1K that I would like to try for the coarser blades on large clippers/sheep shears.

Anyway thanks for the assistance.