Wahl Clipper Blade Oil

Before or after every use for anything beyond a quick touch-up. A few drops across the blade teeth with the clipper running, so the motion carries it between the cutter and the still blade, then wipe off the excess.

More is not better. Excess oil collects hair into a paste that packs the blade and does the opposite of what you wanted. Three to five drops across the teeth is the whole job.

During long sessions, oil again partway through. A blade that starts to feel warm is telling you it has run dry, and that is the moment damage happens.

Clipper oil is a light mineral oil. In a pinch, other light machine oils - sewing machine oil is the usual substitute - do the same job. What matters is that the oil is light, non-gumming and free of additives.

What not to use: cooking oils of any kind, which go rancid and gum the blade solid; WD-40 and similar sprays, which are solvents rather than lubricants and strip the oil that is there; and hair or body oils, which are formulated for skin, not steel.

Gummed blades are recoverable with a proper clipper wash, but it is an unpleasant job that a bottle of the right oil avoids entirely.

Oil on top of packed hair achieves nothing. Brush the blade out first - most clippers ship with a small brush for exactly this - and for detachable blades, take the blade off and clear underneath, where the debris actually sits.

Blade wash and cooling sprays are a step beyond brushing: they flush the debris out and cool the blade in one go. Useful if you cut often, unnecessary if you use a clipper once a month.

• Heat - the blade becomes uncomfortable to touch after a short run
• Pulling - hair catches and tugs rather than being cut cleanly
• Noise - the clipper takes on a harsher, rattling tone
• Slowing - friction drags the motor and the sound drops in pitch under load

All four resolve within seconds of oiling if the blade is otherwise fine. If they persist after oiling, the problem is alignment, tension or a genuinely worn blade - see clipper not cutting.