Choosing Combs and Cutters for Livestock and Show Animals
Choosing the right cutter and comb for each situation:
Sheep (shearing) |
Sheep (blocking) |
Goats |
Cattle (peeling) |
Cattle (blocking) |
Camelids |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spirit Comb | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |||
Camelid Comb | ✔ | |||||
Apache Comb | ✔ | |||||
Mohair Comb | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
Blackhawk 92 Comb | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
Blackhawk 94 Comb | ✔ | |||||
Phantom R Comb | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
Phantom S Comb | ✔ | ✔ | ||||
Spitfire Cutter | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Storm Cutter | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Ceramic Cutter | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Spirit Comb (13 teeth, 3.2 mm thick, 77 mm wide). General purpose comb. Similar in function to Heiniger’s Ovina, Sunbeam’s Pacer and Oster’s P1082.
- Popular with beginning shearers
- For tagging and trimming sheep
Camelid Comb (13 teeth, every other one elevated, 3.65 mm thick, 77 mm wide). Leaves a cover of 6 – 10 mm of hair/wool. Twin beveled.
- Specialized comb for shearing llamas, alpacas, vincunas, guanacos and camels
Apache Comb (9 teeth, 92 mm, medium bevels, 3.6 mm thick). Enable faster shearing with less effort. Many professionals prefer them. Leaves extra wool for protection from cold or sun. Similar in function to Super 9 or Mach 9.
- For shearing (by experts) range ewes, feeder lambs and farm flocks in winter
Heiniger’s Mohair Comb (17 teeth, 3.5 mm thick, 90 mm wide). Extra teeth reduces risk of nicks and leaves smoother results. Perfectly fits the needs of shearing Angora goats.
- Preferred by some for shearing Angora goats, llamas and alpacas
Blackhawk 92 Comb (13 teeth with only one side flared, medium to long bevels, 92 mm wide, 3.3 mm thick).
- For shearing farm and range flocks
- For blocking show sheep
Blackhawk 94 Comb (13 teeth with both sides flared, long bevels, 94 mm wide, 3.1 mm thick).
- For blocking show sheep
- For shearing (by experts) fine and medium wooled sheep with sticky/tight fleeces
Phantom R Comb (20 teeth, 3.4 mm thick, 77 mm wide). Has rounded tooth tips and shearer’s bevel to reduce nicks and cuts. Similar to the Oster 7112 Goat comb and Sullivan’s Beveled comb.
- For precision shaping of show animals
- For shearing llamas/alpacas
- For shearing goats and coarse wooled sheep
Phantom S Comb (20 teeth, 3.4 mm thick, 92 mm wide). Identical to Phantom R but with sharp tooth tips and no shearer’s bevel. Similar in function to Oster 20 TBC and Sullivan’s Blocking Comb. Do not use for shearing against the skin.
- For precision shaping of show cattle and show sheep
Spitfire Cutter (Standard 4 point cutter, 4.0 mm thick). Works on all 13, 17, 20, 22 and 23 tooth combs. Fits all 4 point 3 in. handpieces.
- For use with most combs to shear sheep, goats, llamas and show cattle
Storm Cutter (Ultra-thick 4 point cutter, 4.6 mm). Specifically made for use with 9 tooth combs like our Apache. Tooth shape enables cutter to run evenly across the comb.
Ceramic Cutter (Professional-grade 4 point cutter). Holds cutting edge up to 3 times longer than normal metal cutters. But they cannot be resharpened. They will fit Premier's 4000s Shearing Machine, Heiniger Shearing Equipment and Lister Lasers. They will NOT fit Premier's old (silver/black) shear head or Oster/Sunbeam heads.
Our combs and cutters fit:
- Premier's 4000s Shearing Machine and previously sold 3000s
- Aesculap® Econom CL and Econom II
- Lister® Laser
- Oster Shearmaster® & Showmaster®
- Heiniger® Xpert, XTRA, E2 and Andis® LG
- Professional handpieces: Heiniger® ONE, ICON Cyclone, ICON SFX, Australian Sunbeam®, Lister® and Oster®
Professional Blade Sharpening Service
Combs and cutters always lose their edge. If resharpened correctly on a high-speed grinder, the result is as good as new (often better). But combs and cutters are easily damaged beyond repair by those without proper machines, methods and experience.
Superior service with fast turnaround. Combs and cutters are sharpened on high-speed grinding wheels by our sharpening experts. Most combs and cutters are sharpened (and mailed) within 24 hrs.
Complete our "Resharpening Form" to get started.