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.

This Wahl SuperTaper replaced a much cheaper kit I bought years ago from a local store. For some reason I decided to upgrade, and after reading reviews, I settled on the Wahl. Good choice. More expensive, but for a reason: superior quality and cut. This comes with 4 modifiers for different length cuts, but I just use a #1 all over. My wife actually does the clipping every 10 days or so, and she appreciates the better performance. The older, cheaper model didn’t get all the hair so she had to go over with scissors, chasing the recalcitrant hairs. No more. I haven’t taken the blades off yet, to clean underneath, but I’m quietlty confident that I’ll manage quite well. There are lots of instructions/videos online. Part of my upgrading included a proper hairdressers “cape” that protects clothes, and a big, soft hairdressers brush to clean the neck. Also excellent investments. And given the cost of even a #1 cut all over (outrageous!), this kit pays for itself very quickly. By the way, I don’t know why it’s called a “super taper”; it doesn’t do anything differently to other clippers, just better.