Sharpen Clippers with Hand Lapping Technique 

you use a figure 8 because a 10 would be hard.

I got to remember that magnet trick! So yesterday I was up in a tower with a drill working on the wind mill and my dad had the forsight to send a wet stone up with me to sharpen the bit after each hole; saved sooo much time! which was good because it was cold and windy up there. More people should know how to hand sharpen tools.

You own a Senior, that's a Professional clipper. You handlap that top blade (the little one) enough times & it won't work right any more. I don't have any idea how many times that is, either. You can do it as much as you like on the bottom blade & as long as you're flat it'll work great. You can get a new blade pack but it'll cost a little bit. When looking at the blades on the clipper like youre cutting hair, the far left teeth on the two blades should be lined up & centered with each other. A straight line of space 0.050 of an inch or so from big one to the little one going left to right across the tips. Less space is a closer shave but the tips of the top can cut you real quick when you try to go in for a flat/straight line, like your sideburns or back of your neck. The three holers like yours can take alot more "bumps" without loosing their lock down postioning. They're designed to pop that one middle screw out & change out different blade styles on the fly & be perfectly lined up when you tighten that one middle screw. It only takes a few seconds. It came with a lifetime warranty just send it back & they will put it back just like you bought it...but where's the fun in that. If the blades themselves are real loose & noisy the tension between the blades is off. The diamond plastic "finger" that the blade with the diamond cut out (top blade) sits in, is part of a spring steel. In a Bind it can be SLIGHTLY bent outward or inward to get 19-24 ounces of pressure with a handheld pressure gage. It's tricky as hell to get them to spread apart just a fraction to test it, but basically if they get hot real fast no matter how much oil = too much tension. The big plastic phillips screw on the side controls the "magnetic tuning" (the distance between the coil & the arm). Turn it clockwise until it sounds like it's just hammering away inside then back it off "20 minutes like on a clock". I think it's like technically 120° in the circle, but that will be about the most efficient & cool running that your clipper will operate. You put so much stuff out there for all of us. I'm a "machinist" now but I used to work at Wahl for like a decade.There's a secret to it that I just won't tell, but I will tell you that they have a "way" of lapping the top blade so that it isn't actually flat (those little "shadows" that curved across the inside tips on the top blade when you first took them apart showed that it was lapped correctly). They're supposed to self-sharpen, that's why it'll stop working after flat lapping them too many times but you should still get years of use out of them anyway. They are made to be used 30-40 hours a week for years by people who make a living with their "tools" of the trade. Hope this helps you. Thanks. "Keep your dick in a vice" "Sharpening your drill bit with a die grinder" Fucking priceless, I love that shit! It worked. I won $5 bucks off that, too. LMAO

The figure of 8 is used because it removes the most material , it alternates the scratch pattern as you go so its not just cutting the same spot :)

"But you only need to give her the tip but once a year!" Best quote so far.

A figure-8 is to avoid galling the metal in one single direction causing a burr from forming on one edge which prevents a good edge. Going in a circle does the same, however when you do it by hand, you're not perfect and apply pressure in a biased direction which again produces an inferior edge. Figure 8 helps minimize your human error and any metal problems. 2000+ grit sand paper is great; you can tune up cutting tools, and polish stuff to a nicer finish without fear of taking much material off the surface.

Thanks for this video. I did this to my beard trimmer and now it cuts great. It no longer feels like a swarm of angry pixies pulling the hairs out with tweezers. Cleaned everything with soapy water and a tooth brush, rinsed, used 600 grit wet on a glass table for about 2 minutes per blade, rinsed a few times, allowed to dry, put a few drops of mineral oil. The only problem was the little spring that kept sproinging out when I was putting it back together. But after mashing it together many many times everything finally went into place by pure luck. All is well that ends well. :-)

I just wanted to learn how to sharpen my clippers and OMG, I had to gather myself multiple times from laughing so hard from the bantering. This was one heck of a skit I tell ya. Oh, and I did actually learn something from this so thanks for that.

The sharpening tutorial is super helpful, and I LOVE your science lessons! I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. Keep up the good work.

I usually do the main strokes of the hair cut on my own and have the wife clean up the neck area This is fantastic! I've had the same clippers for a while now, and now I know how to sharpen them! Thanks AvE!

You mean she only ALLOWS you to give her the tip but once a year...

Lapping in a figure eight covers all the motions so it doesn't lap crooked. A tool maker taught me that.

If you were to get the glass wet before putting the paper down, the paper will stick down flat and not go anywhere, unless you really go to town on it or go along an edge. Edit: the Figure 8 pattern randomizes/evens out the wear provided you hold the piece with even pressure.

When it comes to watching a sharpening demonstration of any tool, this particular accent always gives me hope. Y'all know your sh*t when it comes to this sort of thing.

I always try to use a figure eight motion when lapping. It prevents rocking. Using a back and forward motion will result in a part with rounded corners/edges. If you only sand in one direction with firm pressure, it is less of a problem. You also need to tape the sandpaper down, as the curled edges will produce the same effect as rocking and the edges of the part won't be flat.

Cool. German Sandpaper. I grew up near the Klingspor Factory and used to work there during school holidays. Thirty years ago... Every single video on your channel is a treat, btw.

thanks for the advice, im tired of my pubes burning these things out...

After years of being disappointed with store bought clippers, I bought the Andis Master. Love it. When you glide it through your hair like it's nothing, feels good man. And it's quiet. People say it's heavy and gets hot after a while. Maybe that matters if you're an actual barber, but not when you're just cutting yourself.

Has no one offered this guy voice over work yet ?

Hey if you want your blades even sharper... to remove the "burr" on the back side of where you lapped use a wire brush lightly pulling it through the teeth which will fold back over the almost microscopic burr that is developed by sharpening blades then rinse and repeat with progressively less passes each time

Back in my day, if you want something sharpened you hung out the car door doing 40 (km/h or mph) and held the thing to the concrete kerbing for a fine sharp finish. Also a good way to open cans. And if you were lucky your Dad would let you wear a seat-belt while doing it and pull you back inside the car.

Was looking for one of these videos, and then find this... Of COURSE there's an AvE video about something related to something else. Apparently this was also the greatest channel on RU-vid five years ago as well.

The nail catch made my teeth hurt!!

Yas. Not only did I find an easy way to harpen my hair clipper but you were presenting. Love your work.

The figure eight is the greatest shape nature ever intended.

combination of water sandpaper and piece of glass much better than sharpening stones. well done.

hello AVE! i know you are reading this! pls make a video about your shop, like a walkaround! that would be a great video i think. i have watched all your videos like 62334589 times and is a big fan and supporter. from the cold north, birthplace of dynamite and the nut-fucker, sweden! best regards Emil.

To be absolutely honest. I don't understand half of the things you say, but your videos are still entertaining!

If you don't have a spare piece of glass, wait until the Mrs isn't home and use the old wedding photo in the frame. She'll never notice, nobody looks at those

Good stuff! The old timers taught me how to scrape and flake ways on machinery many moons ago. Very tedious process but that was how they wanted it done. No shortcuts!

Looking for a reasonable flat, stable surface? Go down to your local shop what installs granite counter tops and ask for a broken scrap. I have a nice 2' X 2' X 1" square free of charge.

Yessir! Did the same. I do an X pattern.. Forwards and backwards, then side to side when you develop a sanded grain finish.

Isn't a wife in total more expensive than going to the barbers?

Back in the day (late 90's- early 00's) we used to do this to CPUs and the heatsink to get the surfaces to mirror finish so they would mate together so perfectly you almost didn't need to use any heatsink grease. Heatsink grease doesn't have any magical properties really, it's main purpose is to replace any air in gaps between the CPU and the heatsink so it doesn't act as a thermal insulator. My brother who does a lot of woodworking and got into using old hand tools has a special 1"+ thick piece of glass that's been somehow planed off so it is perfectly flat for lapping/sharpening draw planes and I would do it on that. These days the CPUs and heatsinks are already pre-lapped so you don't gain as much but the difference back then would gain you several percent in CPU speed when overclocking. You can also gain up to 10% efficiency in a heatsink by spraying it with flat black paint (except the mating surface) which is a well know trick in the audio amplifier world so I never figured out why no manufacturer has really applied that to CPU heatsinks. To understand how it works Google "Black Body Radiation"

I remember being taught that figure-8 pattern in the Navy, while working in the Valve Shop on board a Destroyer Tender. We used it to finish the seats on High Pressure steam valves just like you did on a sheet of glass. Sandpaper (600 grit, 1000 grit and 2000 grit emery paper with water) Finish up was lapping with rubbing compound on oilskin paper on the glass to get a mirror smooth finish. Do you have a way to sharpen clippers like fingernail clippers with that odd curve they have?

You, my friend, are the eccentric, knowledgeable, funny uncle every kid should have growing up!

If the glass isnt flat enough for you, you can borrow my sister.

Not sure about human clippers, but on sheep clippers the rule I've been taught is that the lower blade (the static one) lasts about 5x longer than the upper, moving one before you need to sharpen it.

figure eight is good for cross cutting your previous cut increasing material removal reducing work time

Holy schmoly. This comes at the right time. My beard was getting pluckered out instead of cut this week and I was swearing so loud the kid came to check if I was ok. Good advice sir!

When sharpening clippers. It is not flat across there is a little pitch so that the tips of the blades are tighter together. Your method may work fine, but I have always used a special blade hone that I have. I just don't know how important that angle is.

finally someone gets it, !!! thank you for putting this out!, an even better trick is to take two pieces of glass and glue and glue that piece of paper down, silicon carbide paper it will last damn long :), the rough on the edges creates serrations that will grab the hair so it cant slide back up out the grooves, scissors if you are trying to shear leather works this way too, and metal shears :)

I cut my hairs myself for ten years saved thousands of dollars in a jar like i been spending 20 bucks a haircut now i am paying for a trip to disney with my niece and nephew all because i clipped my own hair

really enjoyed your vid. oh yeah the figure 8 motion is to even out the pressure to avoid grinding the face to an angle. learnt that doing jewelry course. also have the same appreciation of the personal tool. "it might be a great one but its mine and i know what it does". Have a great day love to the Mrs.

+AvE i like videos like this from you....never seen this done on clipers....thumbs up.

You need to do a BOLTOR on your clippers!!!!

Bought a Philips one roughly 15 years ago. Still works like a charm. 15 years of saved money. To hell with barbers.

Or head gasket delete on any two stroke what for the extra compression.

for the past 5 years, I've been cutting my own hair and beard with a cheap wahl. I paid about $30 for it. And for the past year, I've been meaning to buy a new one, since it hurts like hell and cuts about 1 hair every five pass. So today I bought some sheets of 600 grain sandpaper. I couldn't find that magnetic tool. I'll try your method. Thank you so much for this video.

OK,,, SILLY ME,,, You lapped one blade,,,, why not both????

I do my own hair, too. I got a good set of electric clippers a while back. It saved a lot of money.

this is because we saw a bit of your beard isn't it, now you have to change your whole look

i was an service engineer for fiberglass connections in an internet excange. and when i had to connect a new connector to a fiber, i was also told that figure 8 sanding is the best method. when i asked why , they answered me that sanding figures 8 wil cover the entire surface without missing any spot. if it's done the correct way wou wil find no scratches on the surface. it's the perfect way of sanding a fully flat surface.

Have done this MANY times on computer heatsinks to get maximum heat transfer.

I have to say that after watching this vid I tried this on a new set of clippers that I had recently bought. I did both sides and just gave myself a haircut and the difference was amazing.Clippers cut like butter instead of choppy anemic crap. Thanks. I enjoy your videos and my wife thinks you have Tourette's. Keep pumping out the vids.

what if you use lapping compound and just turn it on? I have a Wahl clipper I've been using for 10 years. $45 from Walmart.

Figure of 8 is the best technique as when a flat surface is on the sandpaper, the edge which you are moving towards gets the heaviest cut. Back and forth with make the bottom become "U" shaped as only the forward and aft edges with get hit hardest by the paper. Circles means the corners get hit hardest and figure of 8 is the best of both worlds! Also, +1 for catching your nail on the paper, almost as bad as stubbing a toe.

I've been sharpening knives like this for years, way cheaper and more reliable than an expensive stone.

Hey I already did this to my $20 clippers that's at least 15 years old. Thanks for the reminder.

Last time I came this early she left me.

Klingspor Sandpaper from Germany! The Company comes from our region and I just love their products.

Figure 8 because....cross hatch pattern. You get more done than going back and forth in one direction.

Right on time as I just got back from the barber who fixed my attempt on doing the job myself earlier on :D I somehow felt like experimenting that day and cutting my own hair seemed like a good idea. This however was after I asked my GF to help me with it and she wasn't even as half confident about it as I was so I had to try it.

2:46 I know that feeling lol

I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets the willies when I scrape a nail on something like sandpaper, lol

i dont have enough hair to go to the hairdressers! lol!! so i do it myself!

it is rare for me to laugh at a video, i make a good troll but you made me laugh, a nice memory of youtube!

My wife cuts my hair with electric clippers she bought in Taiwan in the 1980s.

I've heard tell you can get better results if you pre-soak those wet/dry sheets overnight before using them, when they're dry the stiffness of the paper can cause it to not lay as flat on your surface.

seems like ave learnt from clickspring :P

finally just got round to trying this on my ageing wahl clippers. They's chooching better than when they were new! thanks ave

Wouldn't you have all the iron dust stuck to your magnet now?

I've got some Wahl clippers that got dull. It was hard, but I finally found a local place in Los Angeles that would sharpen them for 15 US bucks. Didn't realize I coulda just lapped them in myself. Next time, I'll know better. Thanks, Dude.

Even I cringed at that nail scrape.

Tool sentimentality: I have a hammer that I bought from the bargain bin at the lumber yard the first year I was married. I have bought probably a dozen other cheapie hammers in the 30 years since, and they've pretty well all gone walkabout. That first crappy hammer, however, is still with me, and when I come across it I smile a little bit, 'cuz it's like an old friend.

can you do the same thing with pocket knives?

I dont have sharpening stones for my knives but recently started sharpening knives this way. I've been using an old leather belt after what for taking the last bur off and for polishing them a bit. Works excellent. Good idea to use on the old clippers as well.

I just grow it out, pull it into a ponytail, and just chop 6in off it every 6mo or so

Ive been using a dull clipper n its been pulling my beards n body hair which hurts a lot and since you cant go to the barbershop to shave the thick undergrowth on your body ive been braving the pain. Thank a lot uncle (D) ave

thank you for posting this I have been sitting on my old buzzers for years now I know how to sharpen them.

This is awesome, I was about to buy a new pair because the replacement blades were actually more expensive, and who the eff knows how to sharpen these things in the city

figure 8 is correct, this is what we were taught in the 90's by at&t technicians when manually lapping fibre cable ends. for ze huuman hand it is a natural way to keep the pressure nicely distributed we were told.

I watched this when I came out a few years ago and just used the technique to sharpen the clippers I use to shave my dog.

You are very funny amusing and quick witted. I enjoyed your banter and instructions were clear as well as unintimidating..thank u.✌

My pops was a machinist (retired) for over 40 years, and figur 8 is the way to go according to him. I like the lubricant as it prevents all those partickletits from getting in the air. If you want a water-based lube use some astroglide. :)

+AvE LOL. I got me some sympathetic goosebumps all over my body when you hit that nail. Nails on a chalkboard have nothing on nails on sandpaper.

I love the magnet trick. Commentary, awesome as always. I just looked up how to sharpen clipper blades cause wifie's are dull now and the horse is only a 1/4 clipped. And judging from her height and hair coat she's at least half wooly mammoth.

I do the same thing with a good size diamond ez-lap. Works every time. Now if I could only train the missus how to trim my neck I'd really be in business!

This is what I did when I rebuilt my old funcar's engine. All mating surfaces lapped on glass with wet/dry paper, up to 2000 grit for a mirror finish, and the proper gaskets of course. Not a single leak.

Great hand job there AvE!

nice set of wahl trimmers. I'm going to have to give the what for to my blades too. thanks for the how to!

Figure 8 doesn’t clog with the material you remove so you can keep sharpening and less time cleaning. That’s what I was told when learning my trade as a carpenter. All the best chris c

I tried this straight after the vijeo and it works much better tanks

This worked great! I knew myA5 clipper blades needed sharpening but it was a pain in ass to send them to Oster and the local knife guy wouldn't do it. Poor dog, the blades were so dull , I was removing hair by the friction method. Luckily , he did not combust. Anyway, I used my waterstones and the dog looks great. Almost like I knew what I was doing.

Wait a minute, did you post a video that's actually useful? Nice job! I have long wondered if I could get more use out of clippers that had gotten dull.

this is my first time being drunk and its on alcohol that a fermented myself. i have seen every one of your vijeos and i love you canadian fack

just tried it 110% better thanks for the tip

I stumbled upon this at just the right time. Let my clippers get wet thinking the head is stainless steel and would never corrode. Was wondering why the one of two was no longer able to shave the hair off my arse, and worried the other one would end up like that too! Dismantled, and sure enough, the teeth sliding surfaces were receded and pitting, hair was getting caught instead... I also thought about the sandpaper. Next time if the clippers get wet, I'll flush them with lighter fluid and leave a few drops of thin oil on them after it dries. 👌

I agree about the sentimental value , i have an old German clippers that is working perfectly till this day , it's really worth keeping and fixing and also agree about the the haircuts price , like i need 2 haircuts a week and 4 beard trims , i dunno about other places but that's a whole amount of money here in Syria

I do this all the time on my wife's clippers. Only I use a two sided oilstone. A magnet definitely helps as a handle.