# sharpening shearing blades



## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

Hello All, Have a new to me Oster/Stewart electric shears with 2 blades sets: a 17 teeth (tooth?) and a 13 teeth. Does anyone here sharpen their own sets? I imagine it might be easy to mess them up! I cannot find a local source for sharpening, not even sissors since the fabric stored closed down. Would love some instructions or links to sites with instructions, if someone wouldn't mind taking the trouble. It would be nice to be able to sharpen them between sheep; we shear 1-2 a day, 2-3x/week so I have the chance to re-edge.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I sharpen my own, using one of these
http://cgi.ebay.ca/CLIPPER-BLADE-SH...ryZ46304QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You shouldn't need to sharpen between sheep, it'll only wear away your blades.


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## woolyfluff (May 23, 2004)

Rossfor those that live central US maybe the fastest is PREIMERS Fencing that do a great job the best thing is have an extra set use one send tohave sharpened


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I think a service would be best for most, and the price of the shaprener will buy alot of spare blades. That said I have without really trying made back the cost of the machine over three years by custom sharpening blades, and we do have both dog clipper blades and sheep shearing blades to do for our selves. Not hard to learn, but it does require care.


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## Goatsandsheep (Jun 7, 2006)

Sullivans also sharpen blades. Sullivansupply.com G&S


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## Liese (Dec 12, 2005)

Thanks for the help folks! Ross ,that's an intersting unit he is selling there, maybe a future business prospect since this area is so dull - sorry couldn't resist!


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## sewtlm (Mar 22, 2006)

Find out when the local babershop is having the sharpener in.
You will need to clean them some beforehand but the concept is the same.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Midstates Wool Growers sharpens, I believe.

I have a question along the same lines...I have a shearmaster with a PC10 & PC3 comb & cutter - bought used. Started shearing one ewe yesterday and it took quite a bit of effort to actually get through the wool - these are heavily wooled ewes. Anyway, I don't know how much use these cutters had seen, so I'm going to go ahead and get a few more cutters. I found locally 2 cutters that are Andis, but should fit this machine. What I'm wondering, though, is how many sheep should a single cutter be able to handle? Does anyone have experience using Andis cutters and are they worth buying? I can order Oster cutters from Midstates but I'd have to pay for shipping so if the Andis will work (well) I'd rather use them & save a few $$. If there's a definite discernable difference in quality I'd stick with the Oster & order 'em. Ideas?


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

Deleted by me, double post!


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

Cat, in really bad conditions such as sandy dirty sheep a cutter may need sharpening after just 2 or three sheep and a comb may need sharpening after 4 sheep, at least thats what I read by someone doing a thesis at the University of Ballarat (Australia).

However in my experience, very much in the distant past, cutters lasted about 10-20 sheep and a comb 20-40 or more. These were clean wooled sheep on pasture so no sand etc. It also depends very much on how skilled the shearer is and other things such as the tension adjustment and how much time is spent 'cutting air'.

If you are having trouble getting through the wool I suggest you concentrate on cutting really close to the skin, depending on the breed, there is usually a few millimetres close to the skin that is not matted and is well lubricated by lanolin etc.

Incidently, if you have a mixture of cutters of various thicknesses use the thinnest one first then when you put the next, thicker, one on it will extend just a little further and the tips will be on a fresh part of the comb.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Never used Adis but they have a good rep. I'd try them but find some cutters are just a bit wider than needed can't keep them on the comb without coming off the ends Heiniger Jets are the best I've found so far. Take your cutter and see if the Andis are wider or narrower than that.


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

Ross said:


> Never used Adis but they have a good rep. I'd try them but find some cutters are just a bit wider than needed can't keep them on the comb without coming off the ends Heiniger Jets are the best I've found so far. Take your cutter and see if the Andis are wider or narrower than that.


Are those wider cutters not meant to be used with wider combs?


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

Well that's news to me, I didn't realize the combs needed to be sharpened too! 

When I first tried these shears the cutter popped off, I didn't realize that it wasn't really attached to the head, it's more or less kept in place by the comb. At any rate, I let them sit all winter wondering what I was going to do. The other day when I started on this ewe the cutter popped off again, but in a last-minute-moment-of-bravery I decided I was going to 'fiddle' with the shear, not knowing what I was doing and potentially screwing-up-beyond-repair my $150 shear! Thankfully, I was able to tighten that screw-type thing on the head (excuse the technical terms...I don't know how to dumb it down any further! 







)
which fixed the problem. 

I wonder if I shouldn't go ahead and buy another comb and couple of cutters just in case. I will at least know then what a good cut feels like and will have a reference point. 

Now I'm kicking myself for not taking the shearer up on his offer to teach me how to shear in years past when I helped regularly! 

BTW...any other helpful ideas you 'guys' care to share about the ins and outs of shearing & shear maintenance & set-up and such? (An example is: Hey, the cutter really doesn't *snap* onto the machine and is not really *secured* independently but in tandem with the comb it stays on.)


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

John some cutters are just a bit wider than others, they sli[ off the edges of the combs a bit but the Jet cutters are just a bit narrower and are easier to adjust. Stay sharper too IMO.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Cat it really helps to have someone show you first hand. This would be a good thing to try and post some photos for, and its a rainy day tomorrow so I'll see what i can get together.


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

Cat, it is really hard to shear if the comb and cutter are not both sharp and adjusted. When it is going well the shears will just glide through the wool leaving a nice smooth surface, if the cut wool on the sheep is looking a bit ridgy or sort of wavey appearance (hard to describe really) this indicates the shears are not cutting right.


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## Cat (Jun 19, 2004)

John, that is exactly what my shears were doing so I've ordered a new comb & 2 more cutters with the hopes that I can get my 14 done & send everything back for a sharpening at the same time. Thanks for that description because that's exactly something I was seeing that I'd not noticed with the shearers prior - however, they do have professional machines...and technique.


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## okjhawk (Mar 15, 2018)

You can get your combs and cutters resharpened at http://www.combandcuttersharpening.com


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