How do you care for and store your clipper blades?

[supsup]

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I can't seem to prevent rust spots forming on my clipper blades, which surely shortens their life span (or at least means they need resharpening sooner).
I have a Lister Star and Legato clipper/trimmer set. I have only the one horse, and he gets a blanket clip about once a month from Sept to Dec, then a last clip in spring. After making the mistake of leaving the blades on the clippers the first time (and ending up with rust on the blades), I now always remove the blades, wipe them clean, use liberal oil on them and store them wrapped in kitchen roll paper, each blade separately.

But yet again, I have just gotten the trimmers out to install the blades in preparation for some clipping, and I can see some small rust spots on them. Where am I going wrong? These are all original Lister blades. Or is this normal wear and tear? Should I add a "dry completely on the radiator" step before putting the blades away, to make sure there's no moisture left? I store all my clipper kit in my office at home, so heated and dry environment.

 

[Equi]

I wash them in warm warm and mild soap, dry then put a slight bit of oil on them and put them in a zip lock bag.

Then there is the other method is chucking them at my arse, looking for them for months, finding them outside somewhere, cursing myself and vowing to do as above every time as i pay another £30+ for more.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

guilty of doing nothing here just leaving them clean or unclean in the plastic box with the clippers

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

When you've used them clean them, dry them, oil them & don't keep them in the tack room as it will be damp & cold there & they will rust. I keep my clippers & blades at home in a warm dry place & rust cannot start in those conditions. It's worth taking the time to do this because blade are very expensive to replace.

 

[Tnavas]

My bad I believe!

I use 50/50 mix of Diesel and Engine Oil, I run the blades in this mix until they are clean, the tension is loosened and the blades and clippers are wrapped in a towel and put in a plastic storage box - the towel has been used to remove excess oil mix off the blades during clipping.

Current blades are now 9 years old ad were used in the winter - no rust spots, cut beautifully and haven't been sharpened in years. I find the oil/diesel mix keeps them cool, clean and rust free and because they are clean they don't dull too quickly. Blades are run in the mix several times during clipping.

I do ensure that I don't dip them too deep and the excess mix is allowed to drain from the blades before continuing to clip.

Current record for a set of blades with no re sharpening is 25 full clips.

 

[Kezzabell2]

I have had mine for about 10 years and they don't get any special treatment! Clean the hair off, spray with oil and wrap them in the greasy paper stuff that the sharpening man provided, put them in the box and leave them! They've never rusted or lost any teeth, they are in perfect condition!

 

[case895]

Clean, dried and lightly oiled. Kept in the clipper box which is kept in the house, so it does not get damp. Dampness won't do the clippers much good either.

 

[supsup]

Well, as stated in the original post, that's what I do: clean, oil, store in the house in a dry/heated room. I've never tried washing in soap and water (trying to avoid moisture after all), but I can see that this might be a more thorough way of removing remnants of dirt and hair which may still hold some moisture. I find it hard with just brushing/oiling/wiping to get every last speck of dirt off, particularly between teeth. Might give it a go (followed by thorough drying and oiling).

I do think I'm being pretty hard on the blades in terms of the conditions of use. Pony looks like a yak and lives out 24/7, so there's absolutely no way I could clip a freshly washed, grease and dust-free horse. Some amount of damp and dirt is inevitable. So I'm alright with having to resharpen blades every now and then (once a year). I just want to figure out a way to store them properly!

I'm not sure how I'd get my hands on diesel, though I guess I could buy motor oil in a bottle. But I find that by the time I'm done clipping, there is always (potentially damp or dirty) fur in the area underneath the actual blades (where the piston thing from the motor meets the blades). I don't think dipping the blades could possibly clean out that area, and taking them off is really the way to go. Then I'm back to the question how to clean/store them. But why would the diesel/motor oil mixture would have better anti-rust properties than the recommended oil from Lister? (Though it may do a better job of cleaning the teeth of the blades while clipping).

 

[Luci07]

My bad I believe!

I use 50/50 mix of Diesel and Engine Oil, I run the blades in this mix until they are clean, the tension is loosened and the blades and clippers are wrapped in a towel and put in a plastic storage box - the towel has been used to remove excess oil mix off the blades during clipping.

Current blades are now 9 years old ad were used in the winter - no rust spots, cut beautifully and haven't been sharpened in years. I find the oil/diesel mix keeps them cool, clean and rust free and because they are clean they don't dull too quickly. Blades are run in the mix several times during clipping.

I do ensure that I don't dip them too deep and the excess mix is allowed to drain from the blades before continuing to clip.

Current record for a set of blades with no re sharpening is 25 full clips.

Intrigued as mine manage about 3 full clips on a clean stabled horse before needing sharpening. Can I ask how long you run the clippers in the mix?

 

[DirectorFury]

[...]
I'm not sure how I'd get my hands on diesel [...]

No advice for the main question but this made me ! If you ever need diesel buy a black plastic diesel can and put a few pounds worth in it at the petrol station.

I'm also intrigued by the diesel and engine oil mix - Tnavas do you use 'old' engine oil or fresh from the bottle? Any issues with horses having allergic reactions? My blades have gone totally blunt after 3 full clips so I'd like to get more out of them!

 

[Tnavas]

Diesel is also known as Kerosene. Can often be bought at a service station, which is where I get mine from.

I run them for a few seconds each time, you'll see the hair, grease and dirt come out with the first flush. Make sure the mix is deep enough that the dirt is able to sink to the bottom.

I Was given this tip many decades ago by a member of the Household Cavelry when I spent a very long day clipping the Civil Service Riding Club horses at the Royel Mews.

Especially great when clipping the yak pony!