Learned a wild fact about clipper blade alloys from an old timer

I was talking to this barber who's been cutting since the 70s at a shop in St. Louis last month. He told me most modern clipper blades are made with a different steel blend than they used to be, like way softer. He showed me his old Oster blades from 1985 and they still hold a edge after all these years with just a hone. I looked into it later and apparently they switched to a cheaper alloy around the 90s to save money on manufacturing. That explains why I'm sharpening my blades every few months compared to his that last years. Has anyone else noticed a difference between vintage and new clipper blades?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_stone3328d ago

Huh, that's a good point about the old Osters, but here's something nobody's brought up yet. The real difference might not be the steel itself, it's the way we use the blades now. People back then weren't doing fade after fade with zero guard oil like we do now, they were doing a lot of flat tops and manual clippers. Same blade, different workload, so of course the old ones seem tougher. Plus that cheap alloy thing might just be a rumor, I've seen tests where modern blades actually hold up fine if you keep them clean. All I'm saying is, a 1985 blade that sat in a drawer for twenty years is gonna seem magical compared to one you're beating up every day.

lucas_price8329d ago

My dad has a set of Oster 76s from the early 80s and I borrow them sometimes. Honestly I think the steel was just overbuilt back then and people treat old tools like they're magic. I sharpen my modern Wahl blades every 3 months and they work great.