How long should WAHL clippers last?

[milliemchi]

I bought a Wahl clipper set a couple years back and I figure I have used less than 10 times. As I'm cutting my son's hair, I see stray hairs that are not cut to length but are now sticking out. I interpret that as the clippers being dull. It's advertised as self-sharpening, but I haven't been good about oiling every time. Was that my mistake? How do other people's Wahls (or other clippers) perform and how much maintenance do you do on them? Did I just get a dud? Could it be because I was hitting it against the sink to get the hair out of the blades and misaligned something? Is it realistic to go get another set, treat it better, and expect a much longer life? I know Wahl is not a bad brand.

[N]

we use ours about 6x a month, and the clippers we have now are 6 years old and going strong. our previous pair was over 12 years old when we replaced it.
I recommend some googling to see if others have similar issues and how they resolved them.

[gggggg]

I have some I use weekly that are over 20 years old. These are US made clippers, not sure if the newer ones are built well or not. I do clean and oil them after each use.

[EarthSurfer]

Most any barber or stylist will tell you the main "killer" of clippers is a drop on a hard floor which damages the cutter assembly. I was fortunate: my 10+ year old Wahl clippers survived a drop with a broken case which is now held together with tape. As mentioned, I generally clean and oil after each use.

[Thegoblinchief]

It's pretty typical to need multiple passes to get every stray hair, especially if the hair grows in odd directions.

Oil the blades if you haven't done that recently.

[YttriumNitrate]

For the WAHL clippers I've had, the first piece to break (or be lost) has always been the removable part that determines the length of cut. Wetting down your son's hair before cutting may also help get a more even cut.

[Bracken_Joy]

We're at 3-4 years, but with very frequent use. (I married a chia pet). As another poster mentioned, NO clippers get all the hair in a single pass, especially if it's coarse, dirty, or sticks funny directions. So clean them, oil them, and just go over each area a few times.

[lefty]

10+ years now with Wahl clippers. I did remove the blades once, cleaned them and aligned them up correctly. Didn't feel the need to replace blades. My guess is that yr blades need a little adjustment with its alignment. YouTube shows u how to do this, not difficult. Hope that helps.

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[KarefulKactus15]

It's pretty typical to need multiple passes to get every stray hair, especially if the hair grows in odd directions.

Oil the blades if you haven't done that recently.

This!

To be honest if you dont want any missed hairs, you have to do it, wash dry then do it again. 

Even 2 passes over the same area can still miss a hair here and there. 

Not saying that your clippers arent bad, but my wife used to work for a large chain of hair cutters and has industrial grade clippers and still hairs do get missed without the wash in between.

[secondcor521]

Wahl is a good brand.  My first one lasted about 11 years, and I'm on my second one now.

I used mine once or twice a month, rarely oiled them.  The cutting blade did get out of alignment a little bit once or twice, but the clipper came with instructions on how to re-align it properly.

Banging it against something probably knocked the blade out of alignment.  Re-align the blade and stop hitting it against things.  Any hair in the clipper should be removable by turning the clipper off and using the little brush that comes with the clipper.

Like others, I have to go over the same area multiple times and in multiple directions in order to get it all.  I make it easy on myself by putting on the red (#1?) guard and shaving my head nearly bald, so I have no contouring or layering or anything to deal with.

[cchrissyy]

ours are at least 12 years old, not heavily used but still, they're old and going strong.

see if yours need oil or cleaning or is there is any sign of damage. but if your only problem is that you have to pass over the same spot multiple times, don't worry, that is normal for all clippers.

[shuffler]

Started shaving my head in ... 1998.  So, 19 years on my clippers?