Tips On How To Hold The Magnet When Sharpening Steel Clipper Blades
First let’s identify the cutters on a clipper blade. There is one top cutter simply referred to as a cutter and then you also have a bottom cutter normally referred to as the comb. Both the top cutter and the lower combcutter must be sharpened. The way they are sharpened depends on the size and type of each individual cutter or comb.
As it turns out all of the top cutters are held in the magnet the in same way, the top cutters and the magnet are also all held the same way in your hand when sharpening them, and the magnet is always placed horizontally from side to side onto the top cutters, but there is a difference in the way the bottom cutters or combs are held in your hand and also the way the magnet is placed on the combs makes a difference in the success or failure of the sharpening process.
When you are sharpening any of the smaller top cuttersonly use your index finger for the downward pressure. Now to place the magnet onto the top cutter properly you will need to hold the top cutter on a flat surface (table top) with the teeth of the cutter pointing straight up, then lay the magnet horizontally (in relation to the cutter) on its side next to the cutter and let the magnet and the cutter come together using the flat table top to line them up. You should also center the magnet onto the cutter from side to side.
With the teeth of the cutter still pointing up and with the magnet and the back edge of the cutter still laying flat on the table top pick up the cutter and magnet, rotate the teeth forward and place them back on the table with the face of the cutter pointing down on top of the table top like you would do if you were going to sharpen the cutter on the aluminum wheel. The teeth of the cutter should also be pointing forward at this point.
OK, now place your index finger onto the top forward part of the magnet right above the teeth of the cutter and then use your thumb and middle fingers to hold the sides of the magnet. Keeping all of your fingers in this position to hold the magnet pick up the magnet and cutter and place it onto the spinning aluminum wheel.
I might add that prior to all of this you should either use a string or a laser marker to shine across the center of the aluminum wheel. The string or marker should shine from the outer edge of the wheel to the very dead center of the wheel. When placing a cutter or comb onto the wheel the rails of the cutter should always evenly straddle this line.
The aluminum wheel should be turning clockwise and the teeth of the cutter should be pointing in the same direction. While straddling the center line with the rails of the cutter lightly set the cutter onto the spinning wheel letting the back edge of the cutter touch down first. The front teeth of the cutter should be about 1/16” to 1/8” away from touching the wheel when the back edge of the cutter first touches down onto the wheel.
As soon as you feel the back edge of the cutter touch the wheel let thefront teeth of the cutter rotate forward onto the wheel.With your index finger onthe top forward part of the magnetand using your thumb and middle fingers to hold and stabilize the magnet keeping the centerline of the wheel centered under the rails of the cutter move the cutter back and forth across the face of the aluminum wheel making sure everything is centered.
The key to good clipper blade sharpening is summed up in on word; relax! Make sure you have no tension anywhere in your body especially in your arms, hand, and fingers. Be like water yet stay in control of the sharpening process. If there is any tension in your hand or fingers then you will not get a good grind instead you will most likely grind a new face onto the cutter.
Once a new face has been ground into a cutter you will see a line between the two faces, once this happens then you will then have to keep grinding until there is only one face left on the cutter. This only happens when you have tension in your body so let the dead weight of your arm supply the downward pressure (one pound) and never use your muscles to supply downward pressure. Keep control of the magnet and cutter, but do not pinch the magnet with your fingers only holding it very lightly to maintain control of your movements. The more you relax your body yet stay in control the better your clipper blade sharpening will be.
Only use your index finger to put downward pressure on topforward part of the magnet ontothe cutter, (do not rock the cutter forward in any way) only use just enough downward pressure to get a good pattern of sparks. If you press too hard then you will rub off all of your grit too soon and if you don’t press hard enough then you will not get a good pattern of sparks.
If you are doing it right you should be able to almost let go of the magnet with your thumb and middle fingers and guide the cutter back and forth using only your index finger to do all of the work. Never use you thumb and middle fingers while holding the magnet topress down on a top cutter. The only time you use your thumb and middle fingers for downward pressure is if you are sharpening a large comb from a 7F or larger blade.
We will talk about that later, but for now lets talk next about the smaller combs that are found on all of the double digit blades which also includes the #8 1/2, and #9 blades plus a couple of the small (#5/8 & #3/4) toe blades.
These smaller combs are also sharpened with the magnet held horizontally onto the comb except instead of placing the back edge of the comb on a table to line up the magnet on the comb instead look at the two rails under the comb and line up the magnet evenly across these two rails and also from side to side.
Holding the magnet exactly the same as you would hold the magnet for a top cutter place the cutter onto the wheel exactly the same way you did before with the back edge of the comb touching the spinning wheel first. If you are going to hollow grind the comb then do it exactly the same way you did when you sharpened the top cutter making sure you evenly straddle the centerline of the spinning aluminum wheel.
If you are going to flat grind a comb (recommended on the Wahl Arco 5 in 1 blades) then you will use the flat side of an aluminum clipper wheel.
Again holding the magnet exactly the same and using the same technique for the downward pressure, (index finger only) instead of just moving the comb back and forth across the face of the wheel in a straight line, insteadas you are moving your hand back and forth across the wheel turn your hand about 45 degrees to the right and then about 45 degrees to the left always using your index finger for all of the downward pressure. Do this 4 or 5 times across the full face of the wheel.
This will give you grind lines from different directions ensuring a very flat grind on the face of the comb cutter. Again use only enough downward pressure (about one pound) with your index finger to get a good pattern of sparks and no more. Remember when flat grinding the face of the wheel is flat so unlike hollow grinding it is not important to stay exactly centered on the centerline of the wheel and because the wheel is flat there is no centerline to follow like there is when hollow grinding.
The last thing is how then do we hold a large single digit comb cutter? The #7F comb is probably the easiest to sharpen of the single digit blades. It is kind of the dividing line between the double digit and the single digit blades meaning you can probably sharpen it either way and still get good results.
Here is how to hold the magnet for the larger single digit blade combs. Again look at the rails on the face of the comb. Instead of placing the magnet horizontally on the comb place it vertically from the teeth to the back edge of the comb. Line the magnet up directly above the back rail and the front teeth of the comb and also from side to side. On the really large combs like the 7/8” thick and the ¾” thick combs you can line the magnet up a little closer to the tips of the comb.
Now this is where things change in the way you hold the magnet and put pressure on the larger combs. The larger the comb is the harder it will be for the magnet to hold the comb in a stable position. In fact the magnet cannot by itself hold a really large comb without the comb slipping under the magnet and possibly flying across the room. Remember the aluminum wheel is spinning at 1750 RPM and an extra large comb is just too heavy for the magnet to hold it securely.
After lining up the magnet properly onto the comb place the comb down onto a table top. Place your index finger on top and in front of the tips of the comb to keep it from flying forward when you place the comb onto the spinning wheel. Next place your thumb and middle fingers on each side of the magnet and pick it up.
Touch the large comb cutter down onto the wheel in the usual way, but instead of pressing down only with your index finger on the top of the magnet, forget the magnet, and press down directly on the comb itself usingall of your three fingers.
Remember to keep it flat and centered on the wheel and also use your index finger to help put downward pressure onto the tips of the comb.
The magnet in this case is not used to put downward pressure onto the comb cutter it is only used to give you something to hold onto when you are placing the comb onto the wheel and when you are removing the comb from the wheel it is never used in this case to put pressure onto the comb. It just kind of sits there and gives you something to reference to and to hold on to when you need it.
When sharpening the really large horse blades you can use this method not only on the comb, but also on the top cutter if you feel you need to. In order for any cutter to be sharpened successfully it must be held onto the spinning aluminum wheel in a stable and solid position, otherwise any unstable movement of the cutter on the wheel will cause the cutter to sharpen erratic and not smooth.
The most important thing to remember when sharpening clipper blades is to relax! A smooth and stable cut is a successful cut that will make you and your customers very happy. Hopefully this information will help in your understanding of how to sharpen clipper blades, and may you always have happy customers!
James Hammons
Ace Sharpening & Co