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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 87 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
117 of 119 found the following review helpful:
 Why didn't I buy this sooner? Jul 12, 2007
By AKP
After using a wonderful hand-me-down Oster Lucky Dog clipper on my Australian Shephard/Lab mix (medium length hair, VERY thick coat), the clippers finally gave up and it was time to find another clipper. Since my dog has such a thick coat I did not want to purchase underpowered clippers and deal with the resulting frustration. I finally decided to take the plunge and purchase the Golden A-5 Single Speed Clipper with a #10 blade. After receiving the clipper I took my dog outside for her first trim with a new clipper. Her coat had grown about two inches since her last cut, and I was expecting to have a similar cutting experience to that of the Lucky Dog- I was not expecting what actually happened. I began to clip my dog, and the clipper really did go through her coat like a hot knife through butter- suddenly the 40 minute job (I have a squirmy dog) was cut in half- to be fair, it took 15 minutes at the most. The noise is not loud, and the dog did not seem to mind the clippers at all. (Her squirmy-ness has much to do with squirrels and birds visiting the yard, and not with clipping.) This is a wonderful product, and if it lasts as long as the Lucky Dog I will never need another clipper!
93 of 95 found the following review helpful:
The Clippers The Pro Use Dec 27, 2004
By J. Zimmerlin
"JimZim"
The Oster A5 is professional grade. We are dog breeders with five adult dogs, and when we have a litter of puppies there are days where I might clip ten or more dogs in an afternoon.
You might be wondering why not just get the less expensive single-speed A-5. The answer is that the high speed cuts the best, but the low-speed makes less noise. So, for dogs who are scared by the clippers, use the low-speed when you are working around the face or ears. It's less intimidating to the dog. Then kick it in to high speed for the rest of the job.
The other review I read about this product complained that the Oster A-5 worked great out-of-the-box, but then stopped working well after a few uses. This is a typical complaint from users who do not read the owners manual. The manual makes it quite clear that this will happen if you do not properly clean and lubricate the blades after each use. Also, it's helpful to buy a can of Kool-Lube and spray some of that on to the blade once or twice during the grooming of each dog. It's also recommended that you not trim dogs with dirty hair or wet hair, as this will dull your blades. The moral of the story is that if you want this tool to work as well after 100 uses as it did out-of-the-box, you've got to give the dog a bath first, get the dog completely dry, and clean and lubricate the clipper blades BEFORE you begin clipping the dog. If you take shortcuts, your blades will get dull much sooner.
Anyway... great product, if used according to the directions!
87 of 92 found the following review helpful:
Recommende for CATS ! U.S.A. MADE !!!!!!! May 04, 2007
By ' Groovin' guy
"music historian"
Recommended by my veterinarian for clipping Persian Cats I breed, I also highly recommend this clipper.
It will clip off even severe Persian cat matting.
It is to be used with Oster #7 Blade. (if you are interested in grooming hard to clip long hair and double haired cats, especially Persian cats.
Again, I'd like to mention it is Made In America !
53 of 55 found the following review helpful:
Works well, once comfortable with using it Mar 13, 2008
By gork57
My wife and I have "Missy", a long haired Black Persian cat. As owners of this breed well know, Persians are prone to develop big time mats if their coat is allowed to grow too long. Owners also become aware of how much it costs to pay groomers to deal with this issue; pet stores such as Petsmart charge $65 or more per session. We decided enough of that; we felt we could learn to do the job ourselves. We also felt Missy would be much more comfortable letting us handle her, rather than a stranger she had never seen before.
We bought a set of Andis clippers for $36.99 from Foster & Smith. These were not up to the job-the mats were simply too thick, so we returned them. I decided to buy this item due it's larger motor and the good reviews here on Amazon.
In trying to find information about how to perform this task, we quickly discovered there is almost no reference material for the DIY cat groomer. Few books and no videos are available. We did find some stuff on YouTube, with people making movies of their cats being trimmed by groomers. This helped a little. In the end we decided to do it by trial and error.
Having never tried it before, we went slowly to be sure not to catch the clippers on Missy's skin (she has loose folds under her chin, legs, and belly, and one must also be very careful around the hindquarters/genital area). We went in stages over a period of three days, with the goal of trying to create the classic "Lion Cut" with all hair except the head, feet, and 3 inches of the tail trimmed down to about 1/4-1/2 inch or so. I did all the cutting while my wife held Missy firmly. With each session I got more confident, and was able to cut more hair without fear of hurting our kitty.
The final result was not quite as good as a pro, but we did get all the mats off, and Missy is much happier now. The Oster A5 worked well; one must be sure to keep the supplied #10 blade close to the skin, but angle it slightly upward to avoid pinching or cutting the kitty. Often the mats will be very close to the skin, so the technique is to get under them-trying to cut directly through the mats pulls the cat's skin, which is painful. I made sure to lubricate the blade with a drop of oil before each trimming, then cleaned it thoroughly afterwards.
The Oster A5 did a good job for us once I developed confidence in using it. The one complaint I have is the fact that it does not come with a case or combs. I will soon be running over to Home Depot to get a small toolbox to hold the clippers and other cat grooming accessories. I will also be purchasing a set of combs (or "guards") to maintain Missy's fur at a manageable length of 1" or so.
The Oster A5 is a good item for the DIY cat groomer. If you want to give trimming your cat a try, just be careful and take your time. Remember to maintain your clippers properly. You can save a whole bunch of money-if you have the confidence to give it a shot...
April 2010 Item Update:
We originally bought the A5 in March 2008. It has now been more than 2 years since the original purchase, and the A5 is still going strong on the original blade (I imagine it's about time to replace it). We have now gotten to the point where we can trim Missy in around an hour or so. We've found that it is a good idea to try and break up her mats with a special mat-breaker comb before cutting begins; of course Persian cat hair can mat so badly this is often not possible. Some reviewers have stated that the A5 "doesn't cut at all;" they must be using a bad technique. If you're cutting heavy mats, DO NOT try to cut straight through them. Get UNDER the mat, close to the cat's skin, angle the blade up slightly, then use smooth, careful strokes until the mat comes off. It also NOT a good idea to use combs (or "guards")to try to cut through mats. This will not work! Use the blade WITHOUT a comb for cutting off mats. Combs are useful when cutting unmatted fur, or after you've finished removing all mats for smoothening out the coat. We've also found that combs seem to work better when you cut with the direction of hair growth, rather than against it. If you're using a comb with the A5, you'll find you have to stop cutting frequently to clean the hair off, so you have to be patient. Patience is a key word here: Don't try to zoom through this; take your time, and you'll find you do a better job. The more you do it, the quicker you'll get at it.
Other posters have complained about the A5 getting hot. A simple way to deal with this is to purchase a second blade and carrier assembly. When the blade gets hot, change to your alternate set-it only takes a few seconds (our cat doesn't seem to mind the heat very much, so we haven't had to do this).
Good luck home groomers!
102 of 111 found the following review helpful:
 Very Frustrating Product Jul 03, 2004
By B. Ogatiy
"bogatiy"
Ok, right out of the box this worked like a dream. After about the 10th use it would not cut very well. I bought a new blade for $30 and it worked about another 2 times. When I called Oster service they said my blades were dull. I checked these blades against new ones and they were both as sharp as new blades. Then oster service had me send it in for repair. This should have been warranty but they charged me $49. For repair they replaced the great on/off switch with a really bad one. As I didn't send it in for a power switch issue this was perplexing. Again, it worked about once, then started not cutting. It's not clear just why it won't cut but it appears to be a change in the throw of the arm that moves the blade. So the blade vibrates but won't move enough to cut. Again I called service, and again they want $50. So here I am writing this review after having spentover $235 and have an Oster A5 that will not work.You think I got a dud? Well maybe I did, but their service is just not world-class, the product while seemingly well built, just won't perform, and dealing with their service is just like what I'm left with, with the cutter, they just don't cut it.
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