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** All About Northern Tails Sharpening **
-- Why its better to use our service than any other sharpening service --
You NOW have a better choice!
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Northern Tails Sharpening was started by Jeff Andrews as a sideline to his grooming and boarding facility in Michigan. Sharpening was very bad in Michigan, and whenever they got equipment back from the sharpener it didn't work very long if it worked at all. This inspired Jeff to find a way to sharpen his own equipment so their equipment wasn't at the mercy of sharpeners that didn't know what they were doing.
He was trained by the best sharpeners in the United States. He went to Kansas and Nebraska for training in sharpening clipper blades, then to Illinois and Ohio for training in sharpening regular and high dollar convex grooming and beauty shears. It seemed like overkill for a groomer just trying to find a way to sharpen his own equipment, but it was the starting point for someone who turned out to be
"One of America's Favorite Sharpeners".
After dealing with some family issues, Jeff wanted to move south where his roots are. So after Hurricane Katrina, Jeff moved his very well known mail-in sharpening service to the Alabama Gulf Coast region, where local groomers had no help with their sharpening and repair needs. The "on-site" service area went from Pensacola FL to as far as Lake Charles LA. It seemed everyone was mailing out to someplace and were now very happy that a "World Class Sharpener" had finally come here.
Today, Northern Tails Sharpening has evolved from a groomer sharpening his own equipment in the back room of his grooming shop, to sharpening and helping groomers from all over the U.S and the world. Here are some of our accomplishments and goals to be mentioned, because it took years of hard work to get the trust and confidence of groomers from just about everywhere.
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* We advertise in three major pet grooming magazines that go world-wide.
* We advise and advertise on three major pet grooming bulletin boards. This gives groomers with problems immediate help with their equipment. There are several great sharpeners on these BBS's so help is always available anytime 24/7.
* Jeff gives equipment care seminars to several grooming schools, corporate salons, and vet colleges along the Gulf Coast. He is also a published author, and pioneered self-help video's for equipment care for groomers. He has uploaded his video's to other sharpener's websites so groomers everywhere can benefit from this instruction.
* We correspond on Facebook. Search for "Northern Tails Sharpening".
* We are a Wahl Distributor and Service Center for Alabama.
* We are a Laube Distributor and Service Center for Alabama & Louisiana.
* We are an Andis Distributor and Service Center in Alabama.
* We are a certified sharpening center for many shears to include "SharkFin"
* We insist on being the most affordable sharpening service in the United States. $4.50 for regular shears and $4.50 for steel blades ALWAYS! This is Jeff's way of taking care of fellow groomers that helped and inspired him so much in his life. Its not always about money, its about service and doing the right thing.
* Our employees are groomers presently working in the grooming industry. This makes Northern Tails Sharpening a "Groomer Based" sharpening service.
* We now have two "on-site" sharpening area's to help more groomers with a timely service. One area goes from Pensacola FL to New Orleans LA. Our New Orleans location handles an area from New Orleans to all area's in west and north Louisiana when needed. These groomers really appreciated someone coming to their shop and sharpening rather than mailing out and waiting weeks for it to come back. We have over 300 on-site customers in 5 states along the Gulf Coast.
* The "Mail-in" service has grown to where one person can not handle it alone. Jeff trained some very focused individuals who know the grooming industry. What better employees to have because they know everything there is about the tools they are working with. When we get equipment in that isn't quite right we call you, we just don't try to fix junk and mail it back to you. We always do the right thing.
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Jeff's experience started at a time where there weren't many mobile sharpeners, everything had to be mailed out and you waited weeks to get it back. During this time, YOU had to maintain what equipment you kept so you were able to groom until your blades came back in the mail. If something didn't work YOU had to figure out what was wrong and fix it. This is what an "Old School" groomer is.
The articles and videos Jeff has written and filmed are from his years as a groomer keeping his equipment in top shape and running. This media is for YOU, so you don't have to figure things out and make the mistakes he did over the years. No other sharpener in the world will do that for you.
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Northern Tails Uses the Best Equipment
Here is the sharpening equipment we use and why we use it
You NOW have a better choice!
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| The Shop Machine |
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| Clipper Blades
We use the best clipper blade machine in the business, its a machine developed by Mitch Kingsland and "The Shop Inc". Known as "The Shop Machine" it puts the perfect hollow grind on the blades that doesn't drop down on the outer teeth like most other sharpening systems do. This technology enables the blades to cut weeks longer if you practice good blade care techniques.
We have several of these machines that use the "automatic" feature, which moves the blades back and forth on the honing plate along the sharpening plane perfectly. Human technique in the process contributes to most blade failures, and these automated systems eliminate it completely. This means your blades will be sharpened perfectly and consistently every time.
For information about the "Shop Machine" to include pricing and training, visit the website: www.theshop-inc.com. Or call and talk with Mitch Kingsland toll free: 800-442-6144
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Regular Grooming Shears
Regular grooming shears are still sharpened the old fashioned way using a "Twice-As-Sharp" scissor sharpening system developed by Wolff Industries many years ago. This may be slower than using the more popular "Flat Hone", but with this system we can control how much metal, if any, is taken off shears as they are sharpened. You'll never have shears come back ground up, or having that "banana" shape to the blades.
As a groomer, Jeff will sharpen and set up these shears as if he were going to use them. But if the tension feels a little off for your grooming style, it's OK to take a screwdriver and adjust the tension yourself until it feels good to you. "Old School" groomers re-adjust the tension on their shears as soon as they get them back to fit their hand and style.
For more information on shear sharpening, types of machines available, or training, visit the Wolff Industries website: www.wolffind.com. Or call and talk with the training department toll free: 800-888-3832
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| Twice-As-Sharp Machine |
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| Ceramic Japaneese Waterstone |
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Shears Requiring A Convex Edge
These shears are very different than regular shears, and have to be sharpened in a completely different way. Instead of having a "beveled edge", premium shears have a "convex edge" which looks as if the edge is a sharp razor. The insides of the blades are contoured to make this edge stronger and slice the hair rather than cut. Most times, good convex shears cost anywhere from $150 to $500 a pair because of the high grade metal needed to support the convex edge.
We sharpen convex shears using the "Ogamii Sharpening System" developed by Wolff Industries. The blades are first buffed with a polishing paste on the Ogamii polishing wheel until the cutting edge is polished perfectly to eliminate any nicks and blemishes. Then each blade is then honed on a Japanese waterstone (as shown) until the polishing burr is gone, and a razor edge is restored again. This system takes very little metal off the blades if any. It takes longer to do it this way, but thats how they do it in Japan.
If your not sending these high dollar shears out to the manufacturer for sharpening, Jeff can do it for you right here.
NOTE: We never use a "flat hone" to sharpen shears, because most grooming shears are curved and the flat hone was designed to sharpen a 4" straight shear for the beauty industry. Many sharpeners do use a flat hone to sharpen 8" and 10" curved grooming shears. The technique used for curved shears is inconsistant with the technique they were taught for straight shears. So, they develope their own technique and this is why there is variation in their work.
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Clipper Blade Tension Scale
This scale should be part of every sharpeners toolbox. It accurately measures the tension of the cutter blade spring with consistancy each time. Now put the correct tension on blades as determined by the manufacturer. This tool is great for groomers as well to check tension on blades.
Watch the video for information, then call "Sharp Edges" at 217-422-0911 and order yours today!
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Who Works at Northern Tails Sharpening
-- What "optimizes" the sharpening process for the "Mail-in Service" --
-- Why we can maintain a 48 hour turnaround with the volumes we do --
You NOW have a better choice!
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Dana (MG, NDGAA)
Blade Technician / Master Groomer
Dana is a successful groomer and shop owner in Mobile AL for over 30 years. There is nothing she doesn't' know or hasn't done in the grooming shop in that time. What better person to see your equipment and check it for damage or if its worn out past its usefulness. We'll call you if we find missing or damaged equipment, we don't just sharpen anything!
Dana's job is checking in the boxes and logging in the equipment. She dismantles, de-rusts what she can, and cleans the blades prior to sharpening. After the blades are sharpened, she re-cleans the blades in bladewash with a rust inhibitor, then re-assembles the blades for Jeff to adjust into spec and ship.
Her grooming facility grooms around 30 dogs a day, and we use it to test out equipment we've repaired on real dogs (if needed) to make sure it works for you in your shop. We also use her shop to try out new equipment introduced into the grooming industry. Several manufacturers have sent their new products to us for testing in the shop for our opinion.
Dana joined the Northern Tails team because she wants to give back to the industry, and she likes what she's doing very much!
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Daryl ( G, NDGAA)
Groomer/Blade Technician
Daryl is a groomer and sharpener, he works on the mail-in equipment and helps when we sharpen at Dog Shows. He is a competent sharpener and problem solver, and Helps with the teardown, cleaning, and re-assembling of blades to help meet our 48 hour turn around time.
Daryl has been training with Jeff for several years, and is a certified groomer in our grooming facility. Daryl uses the same equipment you do every day and knows how its suppose to cut after it's been sharpened. He is also a mobile sharpener in our 2nd unit, and sharpens southern Alabama and western Florida. He also works with two rescues and placement.
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Jeff (Groomer, NDGAA, IPG, NAPCG)
Master Sharpener / Groomer
Jeff has worked in his own grooming shops and knows how equipment is suppose to cut. He is a trainer and lecturer, and has produced "How-To" videos to help a groomer help themselves with equipment care. These same videos can be seen on other sharpening websites to help those customers as well.
Jeff's job is the hardest.
He tests every clipper blade after sharpening.
He sharpens all the shears.
He sharpens all the Vet and surgical tools.
He repairs all the clippers.
He invoices every order, and packs every box to ship.
He also talks to all the groomers who call about the sharpening service, and calls those groomers who sent in questionable or damaged equipment with recommendations. He gives advice on "Old School" methods of grooming and equipment care on several grooming BBS's, and still grooms a little when the workload permits it.
Jeff operates the eastern "on-site" sharpening service area. All the jobs we talked about above, he does by himself going to grooming shops along the Gulf Coast 2 or 3 days a week. The eastern area includes Western Georgia, Southern Alabama, Southern Mississippi, and Southeastern Louisiana. Our western sharpening service is out of our New Orleans location, covers everywhere west of New Orleans to Texas, and up north to Leesville, Alexandria, and Monroe LA.
Jeff sets up and sharpens at five dog shows yearly in the Gulf Coast.
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The Complete Sharpening Process at a Glance
This flowchart shows how we can sharpen alot of equipment in a short time without rushing the work, rushing causes equipment failures. This process enables us to be consistent, precise, and a dependable sharpening service.
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| Curved Shear Configuration |
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| The Flat Hone Shear Sharpener
We DO NOT use this sharpening system
The Flat Hone Sharpener has a universal technique used in sharpening straight shears, you can see by the way the shear is clamped in the machine. BUT, when doing a "curved" shear, the technique isn't the same. In fact, the technique is not the same from one sharpener to another using this machine, everyone develops their own technique. This can cause the angle along the beveled edge to flatted in the center of the shear blade causing cutting problems. Its even worse on convex edges, it sometimes fattens out the convex part of the shear making your $200 shears cut like $20 shears and fold hair in the middle.
I've watched several sharpeners use the flat hone to sharpen a curved shear and they all did it with a different technique. How consistent is that?? Some even sharpen clipper blades using this machine. If your always having problems with your curved shears cutting after they've been sharpened check and see what kind of system that sharpener is using. If its a flat hone that may be the problem.
To sharpen a curved grooming shear, beveled or convex edge, the machine to use is the "Twice As Sharp" system developed by Wolff Industries. Its the only machine we use for all shears.
This is my opinion of this machine used with curved pet grooming shears. The flat hone works outstanding where it was designed to be used, sharpening straight shears for the beauty industry.
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| Example of a Flat Hone Sharpener |
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