Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Here's an email from Kim about Oster vs. Andis clippers
This is full of good info, and I am putting it here almost in its entirety. Read on!
Andis - very little maintenance..... change the drive assembly here and there.... and that's about it. Anything else is basically for your clipper man to do (or so I think, anyways... it's what I pay him for *wink*).
Osters - take more maintenance than the Andis.... Once every 2 months, I take mine apart, remove old grease, replace new, clean gears, blow hair out. One clipper takes approximately 5 minutes - not a lot of time really!!
So - - my clipper man loves my clippers. I have 5 hanging at the ready at all times (I have 7 Oster clippers and when I do my maintenance, I rotate one to inactive service and bring one back into service. This lengthens their working life. I have 7 Oster clippers and in NINE years have only had to have ONE part replaced on ONE clipper!!! Pretty good for 35 minutes maintenance one every 2 months, right?? (5 minutes or less for each of my 7 clippers) I have 3 Andis clippers - for less than a year - - and they have all had AT LEAST 2 repairs/replacements done on them EACH!
The Oster clipper itself gets hot as you use it - and if you use it and overheat it, you can blow a motor. The thing is the clipper in your hand gets warm - so you can feel it. This is like a warning signal... stop and use another clipper for a while, lady!!! With the Andis, it runs soo fast that the blade gets hot, not the clipper itself. You have to train yourself to feel the blade throughout using it to make sure you're not going to hurt the pet you're working on - as it gets VERY HOT!, if you're not monitoring it. There is no warning system - it's up to you to monitor the heat of the blade. They should make blades that change colour with the level of heat produced???
The Andis are the better clipper for those awful, matted messes that come in once a year. They run faster and can cut through the mess easier than the Osters can. Except the Oster Turbo - it can do an equal do to the Andis, IMO.
The Oster is louder than the Andis. The Oster has a fan blow hole - that will blow air out of, the Andis doesn't.
Some groomers say the Oster is heavier than the Andis. I do not agree at all! One is bottom heavy, and one is top heavy... is all I find (where the motor is located).
However, the Oster Turbo clipper - I feel - is very equal to the Andis. I reach for it much more often than I do the Andis for those filthy messes.
Oster A-5's don't like to do a "wet clip" (ask Valerie), but the Oster Turbo's and Andis can easily handle this situation.
Over all I am obviously an Oster fan. It might just come down to the maintenance. "I" have control over it - I can see what is happening, I can do something about it.... With the Andis, you have to wait until it happens and just change the piece - you have no insight as to when it will happen (usually while doing a pet)..... less hands on knowledge..... more of a waiting game.
A nice thing is the Oster and Andis clippers can use the same clipper blades. There are other clipper brands, but you can't use the Oster or Andis blades with them.
Valerie recommended I get Laube. I guess Kim doesn't have any of those to comment about.
And here's another email that Kim forwarded from a mailing list, about a supply catalog:
I don't know if you guys are familiar with Revival. I have been shopping with them since 2001. I have always been impressed with their customer service, fast shipping, and easy ordering. Last December I was going through the catalog and I couldn't believe how many grooming supplies Revival had added! They are as much a groomers' supplier as a breeders' supplier now! I would definitely recommend them. And they don't charge a fee for a small order (under $50)!
Just info in this post, sorry! More later!
Andis - very little maintenance..... change the drive assembly here and there.... and that's about it. Anything else is basically for your clipper man to do (or so I think, anyways... it's what I pay him for *wink*).
Osters - take more maintenance than the Andis.... Once every 2 months, I take mine apart, remove old grease, replace new, clean gears, blow hair out. One clipper takes approximately 5 minutes - not a lot of time really!!
So - - my clipper man loves my clippers. I have 5 hanging at the ready at all times (I have 7 Oster clippers and when I do my maintenance, I rotate one to inactive service and bring one back into service. This lengthens their working life. I have 7 Oster clippers and in NINE years have only had to have ONE part replaced on ONE clipper!!! Pretty good for 35 minutes maintenance one every 2 months, right?? (5 minutes or less for each of my 7 clippers) I have 3 Andis clippers - for less than a year - - and they have all had AT LEAST 2 repairs/replacements done on them EACH!
The Oster clipper itself gets hot as you use it - and if you use it and overheat it, you can blow a motor. The thing is the clipper in your hand gets warm - so you can feel it. This is like a warning signal... stop and use another clipper for a while, lady!!! With the Andis, it runs soo fast that the blade gets hot, not the clipper itself. You have to train yourself to feel the blade throughout using it to make sure you're not going to hurt the pet you're working on - as it gets VERY HOT!, if you're not monitoring it. There is no warning system - it's up to you to monitor the heat of the blade. They should make blades that change colour with the level of heat produced???
The Andis are the better clipper for those awful, matted messes that come in once a year. They run faster and can cut through the mess easier than the Osters can. Except the Oster Turbo - it can do an equal do to the Andis, IMO.
The Oster is louder than the Andis. The Oster has a fan blow hole - that will blow air out of, the Andis doesn't.
Some groomers say the Oster is heavier than the Andis. I do not agree at all! One is bottom heavy, and one is top heavy... is all I find (where the motor is located).
However, the Oster Turbo clipper - I feel - is very equal to the Andis. I reach for it much more often than I do the Andis for those filthy messes.
Oster A-5's don't like to do a "wet clip" (ask Valerie), but the Oster Turbo's and Andis can easily handle this situation.
Over all I am obviously an Oster fan. It might just come down to the maintenance. "I" have control over it - I can see what is happening, I can do something about it.... With the Andis, you have to wait until it happens and just change the piece - you have no insight as to when it will happen (usually while doing a pet)..... less hands on knowledge..... more of a waiting game.
A nice thing is the Oster and Andis clippers can use the same clipper blades. There are other clipper brands, but you can't use the Oster or Andis blades with them.
Valerie recommended I get Laube. I guess Kim doesn't have any of those to comment about.
And here's another email that Kim forwarded from a mailing list, about a supply catalog:
I don't know if you guys are familiar with Revival. I have been shopping with them since 2001. I have always been impressed with their customer service, fast shipping, and easy ordering. Last December I was going through the catalog and I couldn't believe how many grooming supplies Revival had added! They are as much a groomers' supplier as a breeders' supplier now! I would definitely recommend them. And they don't charge a fee for a small order (under $50)!
Just info in this post, sorry! More later!
