Andis Blade - difference between 7 and 7F

[LotSale16]

Hello - I am new to home grooming. Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a 7 and a 7F blade? I intend to clip my dog and have the Andis 2-speed clipper with the standard 10 blade. Which other blade should I purchase to complete the set? I am stuck on the 7 or 7F.

Do I need to get a comb guide too?

Any help you could give me would be appreciated. Also, where is the best company to purchase these items from.

Thank you in advance.

[Robin black mini]

I strip,don't clip but did find these links you may find useful..says you need both the 7 and 7 f..
Here is the andis blade guide..

https://www.christiesdirect.com/en/News ... /n-35.aspx

And from groomers net forum..
http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages ... 171898678q
And here..

https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx ... rt=helpful

http://diydoggrooming.com/clipper-blades/

So I'd start with the seven..if I were to clip.id use a ten for face feet and ears..
the F after the blade is for finishing ,leaving a smoother finish to the clip.

Before you splash out on buying clipping gear,would you not consider going the stripping route?

[Oscar 12345]

Definitely the 7f, you don't need the 7 which has a wider gap, you just find yourself going over the coat more. Christies direct (link given by Jo) is the best site for me although others do sell them. No you don't need a guide comb. If you are a beginner I would use the 7f everywhere except ears where the contrast looks good on a 10. A 7f is good for paws too. Then if you think you might like a closer finish on the face you could use the 10 on the face/cheek/head. I never use the 10 on the face/cheek/head, it just looks too severe to me. I strip and I like a blended look so I tend to use a longer blade.

[Oscar 12345]

Sorry meant to say that the 10 is good for under paws rather than 7f.

[LotSale16]

I strip,don't clip but did find these links you may find useful..says you need both the 7 and 7 f..
Here is the andis blade guide..

https://www.christiesdirect.com/en/News ... /n-35.aspx

And from groomers net forum..
http://www.groomers.net/discus/messages ... 171898678q
And here..

https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx ... rt=helpful

http://diydoggrooming.com/clipper-blades/

So I'd start with the seven..if I were to clip.id use a ten for face feet and ears..
the F after the blade is for finishing ,leaving a smoother finish to the clip.

Before you splash out on buying clipping gear,would you not consider going the stripping route?

Thank you Jo. Lottie is our second Schnauzer and we have always used clippers.

Is stripping easier and what are the benefits? Lottie is 11 weeks and still has her puppy coat.

Any advice you can give would be welcome.

Thank you once again.

[Robin black mini]

Hi Kim..stripping the coat is not difficult ,clears out the dead hair,and keeps the beautiful colour in the coat.
Essentially you start with your pup gently carding the coat to remove undercoat..use a stripping knife ,like a comb,lying horizontal to the skin.
My dog is stripped weekly in Approx a fifteen minute session,this takes out any surplus undercoat and loose dead hairs..
The next day I bath my dog,trimming her eyebrows,leg hair..I shave the ears,throat and cheeks ,the butt and sanitary area,and underpads.
By doing this weekly she always looks tidy and her coat has a great shine and colour.
When you strip out the undercoat you leave the follicles free....when you shave a dog the hair roots and stumps still remain..this is not healthy for the skin...
When the undercoat stumps remain your new wire hair cannot exit the follicle freely and will grow back wavy,being choked by the stumps. THe undercoat hairs outnumber the wire,so in time a clipped dog has more undercoat than wire...the hair looks paler,like the undercoat and will also be softer and not water repellent as a stripped coat.
As I say,it's not difficult to strip but you do have to have a routine and in truth I also find it very relaxing ( also for my dog). we are here to help if you do decide to go this route.

[Oscar 12345]

Not all coats are suitable for stripping in that even the top coat remains soft after pulling. However best thing to do is to try it and see what the guard hairs are like, they should start to come through pretty quickly and if they are more wiry than the initial ones you are on to a winner. My honest view is that initially (first year at least) it is more time consuming and difficult to strip. Difficult to get the shape of the coat in the areas that it is blended with, difficult to pull the hair that is in a difficult to get to position. But that depends on whether you are fussy about your dog looking like the proper schnauzer trim. You also need good wrists which although you shouldn't use as you should strip with lower arm, it can stress the wrist. With clipping, I used to do it every 6 weeks and apart from a quick brush down that was it. It was a 2 hour session and done. With stripping it is more time consuming and more frequently that you find you are having to groom, if you miss a week with rolling the coat (removing dead hairs) then all of a sudden your dog looks untidy and you have more of a job to do, but again you might not be bothered by that. I think it does get easier though but initially it does take quite a bit of your time and constant tinkering with to get a really smart finish. However, there is no doubt that the finished result is worth the additional effort. My boy has such a deep black coat, really chuffed last week when his breeder, who regularly shows her dogs, visited and said she was really impressed with his coat. There are other benefits too for stripping but better you get an honest view from a beginner with 1 year's experience of stripping vs 15 years of clipping. The good news is that you can try and always change to clipping in the future if it doesn't work for you however it is difficult to do the reverse. Good luck.

[Robin black mini]

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23222
From a former post..
"I'd say it's definitely worth a try to strip your pup...post a pic and we can start from there with his coat..if you give stripping a go you can decide if you want to continue after a few months,as you see his wire coat develop ..if you clip straight away,you will find it much harder to recover any wire and may regret taking the easiest option..
I was impressed by my breeders evaluation of his litter at eight weeks...he could tell which would have great wire..more or less undercoat...so if you trust the breeders experience,and he predicts a good coat prospect,it's definitely worth giving stripping a go..
Please have a read through the grooming section on board as we've had a lot of new members interested in stripping their pups and there is a lot of info as to the first equipment you will need to buy,to start your journey.."
Example..
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23207" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The grooming section has some very detailed posts..especially useful for the novice to stripping so it's worth a read through..then make the decision whether to strip or clip..ljust remember if you clip the dog will have to regrow its coat before you can strip...if you try stripping and don't get along with the procedure,the clip is an instant option.

[Schnauzer Sam]

Hi Kim,

I gave Rosie a tidy up when she was around 4 months old with clippers. I say tidy up as I hardly took anything off, just made her look less fluffy.

Just after that I got a Mars coat king and pulled out masses of fluffy undercoat. Since then I have been carding her with a stripping knife twice a week (WED and SAT) and stripping her every Sat morning.

As I had clipped her once, it took a while for the wire to come through but she is now (6 months on) looking well - in my view anyway

I agree with the others - give the stripping a go - it's easier to convert to clipping rather than the other way round.

[LotSale16]

Thank you Jo. I am definitely going to try stripping Lottie first. I had never given it much thought before and was going to go straight to clipping as normal, however, as she is still young it makes sense to strip and see how we get on. Thank you once again.

[LotSale16]

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23222
From a former post..
"I'd say it's definitely worth a try to strip your pup...post a pic and we can start from there with his coat..if you give stripping a go you can decide if you want to continue after a few months,as you see his wire coat develop ..if you clip straight away,you will find it much harder to recover any wire and may regret taking the easiest option..
I was impressed by my breeders evaluation of his litter at eight weeks...he could tell which would have great wire..more or less undercoat...so if you trust the breeders experience,and he predicts a good coat prospect,it's definitely worth giving stripping a go..
Please have a read through the grooming section on board as we've had a lot of new members interested in stripping their pups and there is a lot of info as to the first equipment you will need to buy,to start your journey.."
Example..
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23207" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The grooming section has some very detailed posts..especially useful for the novice to stripping so it's worth a read through..then make the decision whether to strip or clip..ljust remember if you clip the dog will have to regrow its coat before you can strip...if you try stripping and don't get along with the procedure,the clip is an instant option.

Thank you. I am now definitely going to try hand stripping Lottie. There is so much to learn as I had never thought about hand stripping. She is still young so it makes sense to strip first and clip if I fail.

So, I am gathering together a list of item to start off with and would appreciate your help here please.

Andis 2 speed clippers (10 and 7F blades) - you recommend the Moser Arco Cordless trimmer - would they be sufficient for a whole body clip if I fail with hand stripping? - I'm trying to avoid purchasing two sets of clippers - the Moser Arco are nice and light and cordless is a plus for me)
Straight scissors
Thinning scissors
Mars stripping knives- fine and coarse
Andis de-shedding tool (or should I get something else)
Grooming brush
Wire brush

What should I add to this list?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Thank you very much.

Kim

[Oscar 12345]

Kim

There is a really good video available by Linda Forsyth, shows her clipping and stripping a couple of her dogs. I found it excellent and found that I kept going back to refer to bits when I needed a bit of help. Here is a link for you. Welcome to the stripping club...

https://www.technogroom.co.uk/catalog/m ... p-341.html

[Robin black mini]

I've adapted your list ...no need to buy heavier clippers if you are stripping and not clipping coat...use this money for a hairdrier..I use a human turbo on my mini..

Arco moser cordless clippers.

Straight scissors........,roseline

No thinning scissors...bought some,never used them..

Mars stripping knives- fine and coarse
No need for shedding tool...use the coarse knife to card


Greyhound comb ..for beard.

Grooming brush. ............... Pin brush
Wire brush.............................soft slicker brush( cocker slicker

Ear powder..thornit
Nail clippers

[Robin black mini]

And a box is useful to put your tools in ..I added a magnetic bar inside the lid to have my knives etc easily reached and kept in order..

[Oscar 12345]

Jo, just a thought. I use thinning scissors on Otto's leg furnishings. Particularly on the front I find it makes them look thicker because it is cutting the hair in smaller amounts and slightly different lengths. When I initially used ordinary scissors they were less full. Also I am not sure whether you use a blaster dryer but blasting the air upwards on the furnishings gives a lot more volume and then using the thinning scissors gives a more volumised effect.