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4.5
I’ve always used Wahl Senior Clippers. The price was perfect. Arrived on time.I have been using a Wahl Senior for a decade or so, but wondered what would happen if it should fail or die or fall in some water or something. I'd be in trouble, especially if I was... ...halfway done. I called Wahl and was told that the Wahl Senior = the Wahl 8500, so I bought one of the 8500s as a backup to the Senior. I was hoping that the recent one would come with a case, but looks like the only case options would be Third Party, so I'll have to hunt around Amazon for a case when there is time. (Update: Found a nice case on Amazon!)Other Trivia. Seems there is now a "Cordless Senior" as well, but I just forked out for this corded one, so with two corded models in my possession, no need for a third unit at this time. Minor Edit: I was re-reading some of the Wahl Site Comments and allegedly an "official cordless Senior" might be coming out in "a few months". Whatever is out "now" (mid 2018-ish) is a Limited Edition (?).Extra Trivia: I think I read that (allegedly) US versions May Not (?) ship with "Premium" (??) Guides. No clue what a "Premium" one might be. I know this one shipped with three Plastic-y ones, but I ignored them and used the ones I already have. The guides that came with this Senior are: 1/16" 1.5mm; 1/8" 3mm; 3/16" 4.5mm. If you want something better or different, Amazon has lots of options to choose from. This Wahl also came with a little brush for cleaning, some blade oil, a plastic "blade guard", and a users manual.Here are some Other Guide Sizes (from a set I bought on Amazon a few years ago):000 01/32" 0.8mm; 00 01/16" 1.6mm; 0 03/16" 4.8mm; 0A 05/16" 7.9mm; 1 07/16" 11.1mm; 1A 09/16" 14.3mm; 2 11/16" 17.5mm; 3 1" 25.4mm. That set did not include a 1/8" 3mm one, but I guess that means there are other variations are out there for the picking. I suppose when combined with the little Taper Lever one can get even more variety of cuts, but for myself, after a few years I have three (or four) favorite guides and the others just hang out in storage.Other Stuff: I guess I should plug this into my Kill-o-Watt to find out how MUCH "power" it actually uses in terms of wattage (someday), but there is a "power screw" on the side that allegedly allows one to adjust the amount of "power" the Senior makes use of. No idea as I have never touched it. I see that my original model has a flat-head whilst the new one is a Phillips-screw.Blade Stuff. The Senior uses a Three-hole two-piece blade (usually known as part #1005) and it seems you *only* need to take out the middle screw when replacing it. The blade kit ships with other screws and such, but if you remove those, then you get to Have Fun re-aligning everything. There is also a #1026 blade which allegedly "cuts closer", but seems to cut Too Close For Comfort (may snag hair, etc) according to other reviews. The manual also says one is supposed to "oil the blades after each use (with clipper running)."A Wahl by any other name:Looks like the Senior can also go by 8500, 850 (my original one says this) and (?) 785005.Está un poco estrellada, y la caja venía aplastada. Supongo maltratada en la paquetería. Funciona correctamenteBuena, Buena, BuenaDesperate times call for desperate measures. I couldn’t go much longer without a haircut, so rather than wait it out, I ordered these and got the job done.The good: works very well, just like the ones at the barber/hair salon. Normally go to Sports clips and pay $35 for a good hair cut. With these, in about 3 cuts, I have my money back.The bad: I received used clippers. The face plate was a little scratched which was the giveaway. Still, desperate for a cut, I kept them. They work fine. Also bad... they came with 2 of the comb attachments and they were for very close cuts. I had to order a set of 8 combs to use on my hair. That was not immediately obvious to me, but I probably didn’t do enough research before I bought.Recommendation: these worked fine for a basic clipper cut. I am not skilled in this area but after watching a couple of YouTube videos and getting the extra combs, I can do a basic cut/fade on my own hair, and I can do my son’s as well. I was concerned about the power cord getting in the way, but it wasn’t a factor. Save yourself $100 - you don’t need the cordless.Still very good, but it doesn't cut as close to the skin as previous iterations of the professional senior 8500. That extra millimeter of hair after the haircut makes a difference. On a great note, my 18yo son cut his own hair for the very first time with these clippers -- he did an excellent job, and the extra layer of hair is perfect for him. We will keep these, but I will upgrade to a professional barber version.I do my own haircuts and find myself cutting my family hair as well. I was undecided between the the Andis Improved master and the Wahl senior. I wanted a strong long lasting professional grade clipper that will live 10 years as did my previous clipper. My last clipper was an Andis and nearly lasted 10-12 years until recently the motor began to slowly fade to silence also adding the fact that i was careless with it and never oiled the blades. It still fights to continue and cuts hair but its done its service wonderfully. So with that in mind, my eyes were set on another Andis but the price was a little to much for my budget especially after adding $20 for guide combs. So in a tight economy I ended up getting the Wahl senior after of course i did my delicate research and I am happy to say i don't regret it. The motor power is there, the blades were easily aligned and I performed a wonderful fade haircut on myself within minutes. The blades do need to be aligned straight from the box which is expected and stated in the small manual, I did my fade in 15 minutes and the machine never shut down on me as one unlucky reviewer has experienced and also i did notice a respectable amount of heat, nothing serious, but that should be expected coming from a professional clipper. This was all in one day so hopefully i will not have to return to this review and change my view on this clipper but i honestly don't think i will have to. So all in all I think this is a great clipper. If your a stylist or have skill with cutting hair or need power with mowing through thick hair this is a option worth considering, otherwise a lot of other machines will do a respectable job for less.Sturdy, solid and reliable.
