Wahl Super Taper Hair Clipper

Once it became apparent that I wasn't getting value for money on haircuts (they were taking less and less time as my hair got less and less), I decided to buy some clippers to cut my hair myself. My first pair, a cheap brand, were useless, and I only succeeded in making myself look remarkably silly. Having gone back and read reviews in more detail, I decided to try again with the Wahl Super Taper.My first impression on taking them out of the box was that they were heavy, and felt as if they meant business. I'd read other reviewers on Amazon noting that their clippers needed alignment before use, but I just dived straight in, and sat down to cut my hair. It was then that I learned what I should have worked out earlier - with clippers, as with most things, you get what you pay for. The cut was smooth, with none of the pulling that I'd found with my cheaper clippers, and it's only necessary to go over every area once - the sharp blades need no more than this.There are four grades of attachment come with the clippers - 1, 2, 3 and 4 (although it's possible to buy others separately). These are pretty sturdy, and don't bend when cutting, which was the problem with my cheap clippers. If the attachments bend, then you end up cutting far shorter than you intend, which can make things look terrible. I've used the grade 2, 3 and 4 attachments, and all work well.There's not much in the way of accessories with the clippers - simply a small cleaning brush, the attachments mentioned previously, and some cleaning oil. The cleaning oil is pretty important, as the blades will rust if they get too wet, according to the accompanying leaflet. I was worried about this at first, but after four or five cuts, the little brush has been sufficient to clean the clippers.If I had any small criticism, it would be that the clippers are mains powered only, but this isn't really a problem - the power lead must be a couple of metres long, and the clippers are so powerful that any batteries would down quickly.All in all, I'd be surprised if you can get better clippers than these. Well worth the money - and if you think they are at the expensive end of the scale, just do what I did - work out how often you cut your hair, how much it costs per cut, and then see how long they'll take to pay for themselves. I feel somewhat stupid that I hadn't bought these some years ago.

First, a little on my personal experiences with clippers; feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph for the real review. Now, I'm slowly going bald and I look stupid with hair beyond a certain length. I've accepted that, and have started cutting my own hair varying lengths of "short" regularly. For this purpose, I've owned close to half a dozen different trimmers/clippers with batteries and chargers, including three Remingtons and a Philips; one by one, they've all had something go wrong with them, whether a small yet vital plastic part breaking (which can't be bought off eBay for less than the whole trimmers's original cost) or usually the motor simply getting clogged with hair over time until it sounds like an asthmatic hamster running on a squeaky wheel. After getting utterly tired of the flashy chrome and black plastic covered monstrosities marketed with totally misleading ads such as these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3SUHZUJV6A0HX/ref=ent_fb_link that feature CGI, generic energetic rock, engine sounds totally unrelated to the actual performance of the product, utterly false promises of "superior performance"and powerful motors, I'd had enough. I didn't want a clipper with pointless features such as USB charging and useless digital displays that would get clogged up after a year of moderate use. Hence, this review.I opted for a slightly more expensive option this time, the Wahl Super Taper; mains only, no useless battery (do you really need to cut your hair if you're not even in a place that has power?). It feels heavy in your hand like a professional tool is supposed to, and that weight is all motor. And what a motor it is - it's got the power to get through the dirtiest, thickest and wettest hair with a single pass without ever getting clogged or slowing down. It'll cut hair neatly and without tearing, going through it like a knife through hot butter. The device allows for ample adjustment, and with four separate guide combs and the ability to taper the length you can get any length up to 20mm or so. If you need to go longer, other guide combs are available. And they're all in quality nylon as opposed to hard plastic, meaning they're easy on the scalp (when properly directed) and are much less likely to break (and spares are widely available even if they do). The package contains little more than the device itself, the guide combs and a couple of regular combs and some oil. There are no pointless frills to this product; just a great clipper that should last you a lifetime. Given all that, £40 is a steal. So do yourself a favour: end the cycle of endless frutration with cheap battery-powered clippers and spend the £10-25 extra and get yourself something that just plain works.

I purchased the Wahl Super Taper Hair Clipper two years ago now and have been using it on my own hair - lack of - every 10 days or so and also on my two boys and they still perform as well as they did on first use. I had tried battery powered clippers before but they always degraded after a year or so. Not these, they are solid and I prefer the constant power that a cord gives. You get a much better quality cut.The construction of the clippers is solid. They are not light weight in any sense of the word and certainly have a professional feel about them. The accessories are good and though they are plastic work well. I use the longer attachment combs for my boys. For my own hair, I now use the clippers without an attachment. I did purchase a comb with a .5 grade but actually prefer to have no comb now. The blades do not nick my scalp, they cut through my hair like a hot knife though butter and the quality of the cut is excellent.The instructions are good and you can realign the blades very easily with a screwdriver. If you continue to oil the blades as instructed these clippers will continue to perform very well indeed.These are the best clippers I have ever purchased and are worth every penny. Highly recommended.