Blade guards for hair clippers

Clipper guards

— separately sold blade guards for hair clippers.

The blade guard, consisting of two rows of teeth — one stationary and the other oscillating — acts as the working part of a hair clipper. Hair that enters the space between the teeth is cut off during the oscillation. Blade guards vary in width, teeth length, and most importantly, cut height, ranging from fractions of a millimeter for a "zero" haircut to a centimeter or more. If you frequently need to maintain a specific hair length, using a blade guard with the appropriate restriction or adjusting the cutting height may be practical, potentially eliminating the need for additional attachments.

It's important to highlight that blade guards come in different materials. The traditional choice is steel, but modern options include ceramic blades. Generally, ceramic is considered more advanced, offering greater efficiency and prolonged sharpness compared to steel. However, exceptions exist, as some high-end steel knives from top brands outperform ceramic counterparts in cutting quality and reliability, particularly with coarse, thick hair. Additionally, steel blades can be easily sharpened, whereas sharpening ceramic ones is both complicated and expensive.

Regarding compatibility, it is worth noting that many manufacturers of blade guards are interchangeable. In other words, it is far from necessary to look for blades from the same brand for your hair clipper — a suitable part may well be found in the assortment of another manufacturer.