Hair clipper
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Hair clippers are specialized implements used to cut human head hair. They should not be confused with razors (which usually refer to tools used to cut facial hair or bodily hair) and scissors.
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[edit] Manual hair clippers
Manual hair clippers are widely used to cut hair and sometimes they are still in use. They are operated by hand, unlike electric clippers. These clippers were invented by Nikola Bizumic, a Serbian inventor. Barbers used them to cut hair close and fast. The hair was picked up in locks and the head was rapidly depilated. Such haircuts became popular among boys, mostly in schools, and young men in the military and in prisons.
Today, manual hair clippers are on the decline, because of the advent of electric hair clippers. Some barbers in Western countries continue to use them for trimming. They are also used in the Russian army. When conscripts enter bootcamp, they cut their hair close to the skin. In some cases this practice is done by using hand-powered clippers[1].
In Greece, male students had their heads shaved by means of manual hair clippers from the early 20th century to late 1970s. The same practice was used in the military, where recruits had their heads shaved as they set foot in the boot camp. This practice was abolished in Greece in 1982, contrary to countries like the United States and Russia where the practice still holds, even by using electric clippers. In 1950s and in 1960s a law was implemented in Greece, saying that head shaving with manual clippers was to be used as a punishment for young people caught by police, such as teddyboys and prostitutes. This practice continued with Greek hippies and leftist youths, during the 1967-73 military regime.
The manual hair clippers are still used extensively by barbers in India to give short back and sides haircuts.
[edit] Electric hair clippers
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This section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Fashion or the Fashion Portal may be able to help recruit one. (January 2009) |
Electric hair clippers have gradually displaced manual hair clippers. Today, electric hair clippers are used by the vast majority of barbers in industrialized countries.
In early 1921, Mathew Andis, Sr. built a working model of an electric clipper that withstood a wide range of performance tests. Production of these new clippers began in the basement of his home, with help from Anna, Mathew’s wife. Mathew sold the electric clippers door to door to barbershops in Racine, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. A year later, he established the Andis Clipper Company. Today, Andis Company remains a family held business, and manufactures handheld tools to trim, cut, curl, straighten and dry hair. The company’s products are purchased worldwide by barber and beauty shops, consumers, hotels, motels, resorts, small animal groomers and large animal groomers and shearers.[2]
All of these companies offer electric hair clippers in differing grades from bargain consumer units to high-end professional units. Most consumer grade clippers are intended for personal use by individual consumers and are often sold in kits which include several accessories such as clipper guides (for adjusting the length of the cut). Professional units are intended for hair care professionals and often are sold without any accessories (which must be ordered separately). The quality difference between the consumer grade and professional grade electric clippers has narrowed significantly over the years. Today the primary difference between the two grades is usually added or enhanced insulating for internal electrical components to prevent the unit from heating up during periods of prolonged usage. Some companies, such as Conair and Andis, replace some plastic parts in consumer grade units with metal parts on their professional grade units to extend the durability and useful lifespan of the product. Some companies such as Wahl Clipper produce specialty clippers such as the Trim n Vac which are designed for ease of use at home.
[edit] Ceramic blades
Ceramic cutters are corrosion-free and long wearing. They remain cool to touch even with prolonged usage due to a lot less heat conductance compared to metals. However, ceramic can be brittle and more expensive.
[edit] Metal Blades
Most of the metal blades are made of stainless steel, so it tends to be more durable than ceramic. Stainless steel is also less prone to oxidizing and rusting.
