Guns and Guts

Investing in Good Equipment

March 30th, 2009

When possible, I always choose to buy good quality tools. My experience has been that doing so saves money in the long run.

My wife cuts my hair for me. We had been using a cheap pair of clippers from Wal Mart, that were just terrible. They actually burnt out the last time she did it, several months ago. They would overheat, pull hair horribly, and usually required disassembly every time we used them.

So, after several months with no haircuts we decided yesterday it was time to get some decent tools for this. My wife agreed, as she hated cutting my hair with the inferior clippers. So off we went to a beauty supply house, intending to purchase a decent set of clippers and some good t-edgers for cleanup work.

After convincing the guy I was a barber :), he gave me the standard discount and I purchased a set of Oster Classic 76 clippers for $120. I also bought an Andis T-Outliner for around $65. These prices were slightly higher than what can be found online, but my hair really needed cutting. It grows very fast and is extremely thick. There was a 4″ long bush sitting atop my head, and it was time for it to go.

The Osters come with a #1 blade and a #000 blade set. The 000 set accepts plastic guards, so we got a set for $7. The Oster has an entire series of blades, so that guards are not necessary. Later on, we will probably purchase a set of either #2 or #2.5 blades, as they actually cut better than the 000 with a guard.

After getting this all home, I assumed the position, and the wife started cutting with a 1/4″ guard in place. She went from front to back right over the top of my head, and exclaimed “Wow!” instantly. The Osters ate right throw my thick bush of hair and the motor never slowed down a bit.

After a couple of minutes she was done with the basic cut, and I went to look at the results. The clippers did a great even job all over my entire dome.

These are professional clippers based on a tried and true design. They have cut a few corners however, which is to be expected now-a-days. I am assuming the original clipper had a metal case, while this one is plastic. That is probably a good thing actually, as the clipper is a large instrument, and would be heavy with a metal case. I also noticed that the switch on the bottom of the unit is plastic, where a metal one probably used to reside.

Neither of these items affect the performance of the clippers one bit however. The motor comes on smoothly without a hard start, and never got warm at all. The cord is heavy duty, and everything about the set just screams old school quality. The clipper body and blades are also manufactured in the United States.

Overall, I would recommend these clippers with no reservations to anyone interested in getting a set. The cost is a bit high, but is totally worth it. I believe Anarchangel had a post up about this set at one point, but I can not find it now.

After we were finished with the basic cut the wife tried out the Andis T-Outliner. This is a professional unit as well, and is also made in America. It is made in Racine, Wisconsin actually. This unit also exudes quality, with an old school industrial look.

They are hefty, yet maneuverable, and cut fairly close to the skin. They quit working at one point, but a quick cleaning took care of that. It looked like we over oiled the blade, and caused it to get stopped up. It is a very fine blade after all.

My beautiful wife did a wonderful and quick job with her new tools. There was no frustration, and she has agreed to cut my hair every two weeks. These two implements will pay for themselves after ten haircuts or so. We will save about $500 a year on haircuts now, and expect these two devices to last for many years to come.

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