Blenders!?

[yvonne]

Hi, I was taught only with 46-50 tooth thinners, and was wondering what 26ish tooth blenders do. What situations are they for, how do they work? How many people use them? What brands people use (starting to fall in love with dovo thinners, just bought a pair at a dog show)? How valuable they are to haircutting? Please help, feel dumb been doing this for 4 years and have never used or seen them used?

Thanks for the help ahead of time....

[lyttleravyn]

I have 2 pairs of 26T shears. One is the Oster Blenders and I LOVE them. They are great for doing bulk thinning/blending of rough coats like Shelties, Goldens, etc. especially their big fluffy butts! It helps to clean up the areas while still appearing natural.

The other pair is by Kenchii and they are 26-teeth, but they are super short in length so they aren't the same type of blenders as the Oster. They are really great for getting in tight places, like tiny dog tuckups and eye corners if you need a pair of thinners there.

[yvonne]

Layering

How do you layer your cuts so they fall smooth after a comb attachments been used?

[petgroomaustralia]

If you are prepping your coat properly then the coat should look great after you have used a comb over it and you should only need to tidy the outline.

[yvonne]

...

Well we have a ton of static in our salon and owners with poor habits for coat maintenance. Plus not all coats look great after a comb attachments been used like malteses and yorkies and more cottony coats.

I was trying to see if anyone had any good layering techniques.

[sheilabgroomer]

Yvonne, if you have a lot of static you should be lightly spritzing a scissoring spray, leave on conditioner or even water as you are finishing the dog to help that issue. That is one of the things I HATE about winter!!! The doggone static! Although IMO a scissor spray should be used in most finish cuts. I find that it really helps to hold the coat while you are working and also to get any scragglies.

Have you tried going against the grain on any of your dogs that aren't coming out nicely w/SO's? If you do go against the grain, be sure to go a few sizes higher as going against does take the coat shorter but I find that it will give a nice plush look to certain coats. Making sure you are properly stretch drying the dog makes all the difference though in any finish cut (not suggesting you don't, I'm saying it just for posterity....lol).

For going over a dog after using a SO, I will lightly spritz w/my scissor spray and comb the coat the same as if I were doing a full body scissor. Then I snip away to neaten and shape it up. If the dog has a drop coat I will usually scissor down w/the lay of the coat.

You can also "layer" like a beautician does by combing a section and snipping w/either your thinners or shears. I honestly have not perfected this technique and usually end up scissoring back over the dog to get rid of scissor marks. I am working on it though....lol....

Have fun trying different techniques! This is partly what has kept me from getting bored after grooming for a million years.

[yvonne]

I wish I could...

I wish I could use a spray, but I would be going against salon policy to use what I think would work best, we can only use the really ****** stuff they give us

I am also trying to use the beautician style scissoring, but I am having trouble lol. But I think I will eventually get there.

[Canopener Sally]

Look at the technique that Jodi uses in the Lhasa Apso video clip. Her videos are great.

http://www.jodimurphy.net/products_instructionalseries.htm

[sheilabgroomer]

I wish I could use a spray, but I would be going against salon policy to use what I think would work best, we can only use the really ****** stuff they give us

I am also trying to use the beautician style scissoring, but I am having trouble lol. But I think I will eventually get there.

Be a sneak and dump out the **** in their bottle and replace it with the good stuff.....lol....KIDDING (sorta). Surely they dont' have a policy against plain old water which can be used in a pinch for controlling static. Just use a light hand w/a good diffusing spray bottle.

Sounds like you might want to start job shopping and find a place w/a little more of an open mind to upgrading old ways. I will NEVER understand why so many places are afraid of trying something new. If you don't like what you are experimenting with then go back to using the old stuff. If I had that mindset I would still be handwashing all of my dogs instead of using a recirc. I wouldn't have my beloved iVac or my Groomers Helper or my different size blenders....etc etc.....ad infinitum (lol)