At other times (when doing a Shih-Tzu or double-coated dogs like Labrador Retrievers) it can be problematic and result in a shaggy groom that is much longer than the owner wanted, and adding much frustration as well as grooming time to the person grooming the dog. At times, like when you are doing a larger dog (Tibetan Terriers and Bearded Collies come to mind) and want to leave more hair, this can be extremely advantageous. This is particularly true if drop coated dogs like Shih-Tzu and Yorkie are being groomed with a longer blade because the weight of the clipper blade and clipper cause the hair to lay down resulting the hair being longer. When you go against the lay it tends to push hair down. Because the comb picks the hair UP and lifts it to the cutter it provides a more uniform and smooth finish. The teeth of the comb and blade are technically referred to as a COMB. The reason for the measurements being taken in reverse and being more accurate than with the lay is simple when you think about it. The lengths listed on combs and blades are what they leave when used in reverse on most coats however. That equals just over 6mm which is the length listed on the back of my Oster 4f. This is a 4f blade and notice it leaves 1/4 inch according to the ruler. Make sense? I hope so! Now onto the next question. They LEAVE hair roughly the length of comb, they do not take that much OFF. See how its sitting flat on the counter? the cutter is the part that moves and the distance from the table to the cutter is how much hair it will leave. The blade sits on the skin and the cutter is the measurement it says AWAY from the base of the blade. To some of us this all sounds really easy and simple, but honestly, it can be a bit complicated!īlades LEAVE the amount of hair (roughly) that they say they do, they do NOT take that amount off. Why do I get different lengths of hair using blades and combs on the same dog?.Do the blades and combs leave the same amount on every coat?.Are the measurements on the blades listed accurate when used in reverse or with the lay of the hair?.Does the length of the blade shown on the blade itself LEAVE that much hair or take that much hair off?.This article is going to cover an extremely common series of questions gets asked all the time.

Dog clipper blade sizes chart in mm