Friday, June 28, 2013

Is your hair clipper really self-sharpening?

I asked myself this question when my old hair clipper became dull, and didn't cut hair all that well anymore. How could it be if the clipper was advertised as having self-sharpening blades, i.e. the blades should sharpen themselves while in operation? I even thought of getting rid of it since I didn't find any replacement blades online.

Still, I was curious about that self-sharpening feature. Does it really work? A quick Internet search revealed that it works ONLY if you keep your blades clean, and lubricate them with the special clipper oil. This gave me a hope, so I ordered a bottle of clipper oil on Amazon for under $3, and here is what I did:

  • Took the blade module apart;
  • Cleaned it with rubbing alcohol;
  • Put a few drops of oil on the blades;
  • Assembled the module back together;
  • Left the clipper running for a couple minutes to let the blades self-sharpen.
I tried it in action and to my amazement it was as good as new. For under $3 dollars and about 10 minutes of my time, this was the easiest fix ever. Not to mention that given the size of the oil bottle, it should last me a lifetime.