Open vs Closed Clippers: Which One to Choose?

Not a lot of groomers know what it means for a clipper to be open or closed, and the things can be achieved for each of these settings.

For both, there exists certain upsides and downsides that cannot only be learned in theory, rather practical practical use is also an integral part of the system.

I’m here to lay out the foundation of knowledge for open vs closed clippers and tell you precisely how capable these two modes are.

So start scrolling now and learn all the secrets, tips and tricks you can utilize with your open and close clippers to nail the look of your desire every time!

Open vs Closed Clippers: The Differences

From the table below, you can see the basic differences between open and closed clippers. Each has unique functionalities and as a groomer, knowing both is of utmost importance.

For instance, some particular haircuts require you to open the clipper blades while certain styling techniques demand you to close them.

In the following section, I’ll be breaking down both open and closed clippers from basic definitions to advanced usage, so bear with me till you reach the very end.

Open Clippers: Pros and Cons

Open clippers suggest that you’ll push the lever (the tiny handle at the side) all the way toward the back and it extends the gap between blades to the maximum level.

The easy way to identify it is by moving the lever around and noticing the blades. Once you see the blade gap increasing, push it all the way toward that direction to reach the most open state.

You should know that not all the clippers are the same when it comes to open or close. For instance, Andis Fast Feed opens the gap more than most clippers I’ve ever owned.

Advantages

There are certain advantages to having an open clipper as it’ll elevate your styling potential and allow you to perform certain cuts which other clippers won’t be able to carry out.

Enhanced Safety Features: Safety is a major concern for many groomers. While it can be achieved by putting on a guide comb, it’ll compromise the shorter length you’re hoping for.

If your clipper has an adjustable lever, you can fully open that or go to a certain extent so that there’s a gap between the blade teeth.

At that point, trimming hair should be very safe without any risk of nicking the scalp or causing discomfort in general.

However, skilled groomers can make do with both open and closed clippers, so safety isn’t an everlasting concern if you master such sort of grooming.

Suitable for Bulk Cutting: Let’s get this straight, open clippers are best suited for removing hair in bulk quantities.

With the blades wide open, you can go about in any motion to remove hair in large quantities and it’ll leave behind a particular length to fine tune later on.

From a professional’s perspective, open clippers work as the foundation for the overall haircut.

Once you clip the entire hair body at a specific length, you can then go on to closing down the clipper for a more detailed work.

Also, open clippers have the surface area to grab more hair at one pass, so it’ll take you less time and effort to reach the length of your preference.

Limitations

Like everything else in the world, open clippers have their own limitations and it’s essential to learn them as well to complete our journey into open vs closed clippers debate.

Reduced Visibility: Since open clippers aren’t the sharpest tool in the lot, you can’t expect a higher degree of visibility from the haircut outcome.

Rather, you’ll find the hairdo to have smooth blends with a higher degree of height and overall blurred outlines.

If such blurry haircuts are your forte, then be my guest. Because otherwise you’ll have to close out your clipper or bring something like a T-Liner to draw the lines.

Challenges with Intricate Designs: Open clippers cannot create intricate designs. Creating such designs require the closest gapped clipper or trimmer possible.

Although it’s not entirely impossible to carry out such a feat, you’ll require tons of patience and practice to get things right.

Even then, the finer details will be rendered somewhat lacking and a closer clipper will then be demanded to create the perfect craft.

So now you know all about open clippers, where they excel at and which is the extent of their superior performance.

Closed Clippers: Pros and Cons

Closed clippers imply the position of blade teeth being very close together and to be ready for agile as well as highly responsive haircuts.

The closest you could get with a hair clipper is recognized with a widely known terminology – zero gapped blades.

Not all the clipper blades are zero gapped though, some leave a difference of half a millimeters to ensure safe operations.

However, the closer you get to zero the finer your details would get. You have to pull the lever outward, given that you’re holding the clipper face-side up.

Otherwise, you can determine in the same manner as you did with open clippers, just move around the lever to see how the blade gap reacts and adjust accordingly.

The pros and cons of closed clippers are something like an inverse function to open clippers. Let me dive in to make you understand the principles with some clarity.

Advantages

Advantages of closed clippers are generally toward designing out sharp concepts and overall neat outcomes.

Greater Visibility: No matter what sort of cuts you make with your clipper closed, the sharpness is bound to seem apparent to the naked eye.

The hairstyle usually looks crispier and the tactile feeling tells you there’s less volume than you’d have with open clippers.

If fades or disconnected looks float your boat, there’s no alternative to using a closed clipper with minimal gap between the blade teeth.

See closed clipper as your finisher since it adds the final touches after a base cut you’d perform using an open clipper.

Ideal for Intricate Designs and Fades: All sorts of intricate designs, bald fades, outlines or even textures – a closed clipper is an absolute necessity to achieve that.

There are certain trimmers too that can help you out in this regard, something like a Ufree trimmer is one of those examples.

But in general, closed clippers are masters at creating disconnected or contrastive looks.

If you have a beard, no other clipper setting can elevate your looks than a closed one since it adds a distinction between features and generates a detailed, neat result!

Limitations

Let’s go through the limitations of closed clippers to learn the limits and not botching a haircut by trying to transgress those boundaries.

Limited Protection against Accidental Cuts: Since the blade teeth contain very little gap, know that these can be deadly in wrong hands.

By deadly, I mean you’ll have to maintain a certain degree of caution while going into grooming using a closed clipper.

It’s going to be very sharp and dipping the blades hard in 90-degrees can easily leave behind some nasty cuts.

So it’s your obligation to learn how to hold closed clippers against skin, which angles are safe and the most efficient for cuts.

To create sharp designs, there’s no other way than going 90-degrees, thus your experience will tell you how much pressure you need and the techniques you should incorporate.

Less Suitable for Bulk Cutting: From the technical aspect, you can realize that closed clippers aren’t suitable for removing hair in bulks.

The gap between teeth isn’t wide enough to grab tons of hair and is overall something not efficient for such an operation.

If you force it, it’s going to take you tons of time to complete the task, the outcome won’t be smooth and it’ll not be overall safe to do so.

Thus, your reliability has to shift toward open clippers for bulk removal because those are the intended ways for the clipper technology to work.

At this point, you’ve gathered sufficient knowledge about both open and closed hair clippers. Now we’re ready to move on to the more advanced discussion on the matter.

Open vs Closed Clippers: Factors to Consider

After the basics, it’s time for us to look at the considerable factors so that you’re able to squeeze the best out of both open and closed clippers without jeopardizing your operation!

Skill Level of the Barber/Hairdresser

The level of skill of the barber or hairdresser is very important to properly utilize both open and closed clippers.

For open clippers, experts can trim at the precise length of their desire without having to make additional passes to even the cut out.

As per closed clippers, professionals are able to draw intricate designs or sketch out the precise style without ruining the design or causing any discomfort to the client.

Type of Haircut Desired

The type of haircut you’re intending for determines whether you need to use an open clipper or closed.

For instance, if you’re looking for a longer haircut in general with seamless flow, longer fades or blurred out edges, open clippers is what you should opt for.

On the other hand, if sharp designs, outlines or textures are your requirement, nothing can match the results like a closed clipper.

Client’s Comfort and Preferences

Ensuring that your client has the utmost comfort is among the first priorities for a groomer. The safer option for sensitive skinned clients would be to pick an open clipper.

With sufficient knowledge and prowess, even closed clippers can be utilized pain-free on any type of scalp or texture of hair.

But if you’re new to this, I’d ask you to start with open clippers and earn your way toward utilizing the closed ones.

Attachments

You might wonder: do guide combs work better on open or closed clippers? From experts and my own experience, I can assert that they function better with open clippers.

You have to adjust the length setting to the wide end using the lever and then calculate your expected cutting length to pick the right guard.

That way, your clipper will grab a larger volume of hair and efficiently trim within a very short time.

With closed clippers and guide combs, your efficiency will be lower and take a longer time to remove hair in bulk.

Budget Constraints

Not all clippers are equipped with a lever that you can adjust at will. And some clippers don’t have the best quality of levers to alter between open and close with precision.

Generally, quality clippers cost a little extra than regular clippers and have a better payout in the end.

So you have to assess how much you’re willing to invest in your clipper, whether it’s better to buy two separate clippers that are set at open or close settings from the factory.

For example, Wahl Balding Clipper is something you can use for a closed clipper whereas Oster Classic 76 is a worthy open clipper for removing hair in bulk.

How to Open or Close Clippers without Lever?

If your clipper doesn’t have any adjustment lever, there’s still a way you can swap between open to closed settings but it’s fully manual and not convenient at all.

All you need is a screwdriver to unscrew the blades so that they can move around for adjustment.

Set the blade teeth gap according to your desire and tighten the screws back. Again, it’s time consuming and something I won’t recommend doing on a regular basis.

It’s worth noting that not all the clippers can be manually adjusted for a better performance, so make sure to do your research beforehand.

Final Thoughts

I’ll draw the blinds on the open vs closed clippers debate. Is either one of these two better than the other?

It’s an unanswerable question because there’s no winner or loser in this argument. Rather, each performs a specific set of tasks that the other cannot.

So it’s wise to say that you’ll need both an open and a closed clipper to start a haircut from scratch and reach the final, neat version by the end.

My recommendation would be to pick something like a Wahl Senior for the best results as cheaper clippers can hamper your journey and leave you wanting for more out of your cut.