Wahl Clippers Not Cutting(Causes and Solutions)
If your Wahl clippers not cutting, then you are in the right place for answers.
In this article, we’ll go over the common reasons why your wahl clipper may not be cutting, and the simple steps you put in place to troubleshoot
And what you can do to keep them cutting.
So with that said, let’s begin.
Wahl Clippers Not Cutting
Wahl clipper blades may struggle to cut due to a multitude of reasons, these are the most likely cases:
- Missing teeth
- Weak power output
- Dirty/uncleaned blades
- Rusted blades
- Blunt blades
In this guide, we’ll address each of the possible problems.
But, before troubleshooting your clippers, make sure you are past your warranty date.
If you are on your warranty date, attempting to fix could void you of a free replacement/ refund or service.
Always contact Wahl and read the specific manual of your clipper to make sure all is in order before attempting any fixes.
If all is well, you may carry on.
How to Fix Wahl Clippers Not Cutting
To get your hair clippers cutting at their best you need let to understand each problem.
Work through this guide in order to check for possible problems and try to fix them in order.
The first two fixes are ones that you can do with the blades on.
Let’s begin.
Why Are My Wahl Clippers Not Cutting
Let’s go through why your clippers won’t cut and address some low-hanging fruits.
Missing Teeth
Missing teeth can affect the cutting performance of your clippers. This is especially the case if the teeth are missing from the top cutter blade.
Missing teeth means your blades will struggle to cleanly cut through any type of hair.
The gap caused by lost teeth makes it hard for the cutting blade to grip to hair and cut.
This is the same for damaged clipper blade teeth. These teeth too will not be able to be cut cleanly.
Look to see if have any missing teeth on both blades, especially the top-cutting blade.
If your blades are damaged or critically rusted (talk on this later), you may need to get them replaced.
Here are some replace my wahl blades at their best current price.
Weak power output
There may be nothing wrong with your clipper blades they could simply be not powerful enough.
Weak clippers give the allusion that the issue is with your blades or other parts of your clipper but it really could just be with the tension within your clippers.
Luckily, this problem can be easily fixed and it can be don’t through the wahl power screw.
First, let’s check the power, here’s how to do it:
If it did, the power in your hair clipper (motor) is weak.
If the cutting still moved as usual then the power output in your blades is fine and you have nothing to worry about.
For the next steps, you will need a flathead screwdriver.
Step 2: Use a screwdriver to tighten the screw
Using a flathead screwdriver, find the wahl power screw at the side of the hair clipper.
Tighten the screw clockwise until you hear your clippers screech, then turn it half a turn anti-clockwise until they go back to being quiet.
This should tighten the spring in the clipper and improve the power output.
Step 3: Make sure your blades are aligned
Fixing your clippers with the method can misalign your clipper blades so make sure your blades are aligned correctly.
Just make sure the top cutting blade is straight and in line with the back blade.
Also, make sure that the cutting blade is always below the front cutting blade/guard blade at all times.
To achieve this, tighten the screws on the back of the blade.
However leave enough wiggle room so that you can make the right adjustments, when everything is in place, you can pop the blade back into your hair clippers.
If you would like a visual representation of this process, you can do so from this video
Side note, If your clippers don’t cut and make a loud noise, check out my article on fix loud wahl clippers.
Some of the steps overlap and you may find those fixes could benefit you, but only do so after trying the fixes in this article!
Wahl Clippers Not Working
General clipper maintenance is stopping your clippers from cutting.
This is both internal and external.
Dirty or unkempt hair clippers can dramatically decrease the performance of your clippers.
You should thoroughly clean and sterilize your clipper every few uses and you should oil your clippers every 2 uses.
These are the basics of hair clipper maintenance.
Check out this article on how to properly clean your wahl clippers:
How To Clean Clippers (Say Goodbye to Dirty Clippers)
Rusted Clipper Blades
Be on the lookout for rusted hair clipper blades.
Rusted hair clippers will struggle to cut hair, especially if the rust is on the teeth.
You should look to try and clean your clipper blade as much as possible to try and remove as much rust as you can.
Check out this guide below on how to clean rusty clipper blades.
Try cleaning your blades first.
Then assess whether they can be sharpened.
But if they’re still:
- Slightly rusted
- Damaged the teeth
- Chipped
Then I would suggest you take your blades to a professional blademan or invest in some new ones.
Sharpening them, which is the next step may do more harm than good, and even if you were to sharpen them, they wouldn’t cut/perform too great either.
BLUNT CLIPPER BLADES
Blunt blades are the last but truly main reason why your clipper your wahl clippers are not cutting.
It mainly happens due to a lack of oiling!
like I said before at the minimum you should be oiling your clippers every two uses, to reduce friction between your blades.
You can start oiling your clippers now and test them out, see if they get better then do the last step.
Sharpening.
Sharpen
Blade sharpening can be effective.
However, you must check the previous possible issues before you arrive at this step. (This is why it’s last)
Ultimately, the natural solution to blunt blades is sharpening.
But how do you know if blunt hair clipper blades need sharpening?
It’s simple you need to check if your blades are pulling hair. (If you are here, they more than likely are.)
This is when your blades take multiple passes to cut a section of hair and seem to drag hair with them as you pass.
So if you’re looking to sharpen your blades, you can do so through two methods that are with grindstone or sandpaper.
Below is an in-depth guide on how to do both:
How to Sharpen Clipper Blades With a Stone (Step-By-Step)
How To Sharpen hair clippers with sandpaper (Full Guide)
Try sharpening your blades as a last resort.
Then test them out and see if you notice any changes.
If you want to go an extra step, you could zero gap your clipper blades by putting the cutting blade right at the very edge of your guard blade meaning your clippers should cut better!
here is a video on how to zero-gap your wahl clippers after you’ve sharpened them:
After all, we’ve been through, your blades should now be cutting effectively!
If your wahl clippers still not cutting and you’d like a new model. Then you may need to look into re-investing in a new pair of clippers.
I talk more about this next.
Getting New Clippers
If you’re looking to keep it to wahl, below are the most reliable wahl clippers.
But if you’re looking for a different brand, I go over some good clippers for fades in the article below.
Best Clippers for Fades (Master The Art Of Fading)
Best Wahl Clippers For Barbers 2024: How to Achieve Precision Grooming
Conclusion
In this article, we went over Wahl Clippers not cutting and how to approach fixing the possible issues.
In the back of your mind, if your clippers, start to cut poorly again, run through the checklist below to see which problem could be holding your Wahl Clippers back.
- weak power output
- Blunt blades
- missing teeth
- Heavily rusted
- Poorly maintained
If you have found this article helpful, please comment and check out other articles relating to this topic below such as what to do if your Andis clippers won’t cut.
