The Wahl Clippers story began in 1911. Leo J. Wahl, as a Sterling, Illinois High School Junior experimented with a vibrating electromagnetic motor. Later as an engineering student at the University of Illinois, Wahl designed a vibrating medical massage unit for his uncle, Frank Wahl. Frank began manufacturing the massage units in Sterling and in his spare time, Leo sold them door to door at barbershops. During this time, Leo realized the apparent need for improved barber tools.
Leo experimented with a new electric hair clipper and in 1919 received patents for the parts. By that time, he had taken over the massage manufacturing plant from his uncle, and began manufacturing the Wahl Hair Clipper in that plant. To improve their offering of animal/large animal clippers, Wahl purchased Lister, a UK company that started producing sheep shears in 1909. Today Wahl is an international company, still managed by the Wahl Family.
This article reviews 16 of the Wahl/Lister large animal and horse clippers/trimmer. Like the other clipper manufacturers we have reviewed, Wahl/Lister offers trimmers for the ears, eyes and bridle path, single speed, multispeed and professional grade clippers.
Trimmer - The only Trimmer we will discuss is the Wahl Pocket Pro Compact Pet Trimmer. A rechargeable unit that fits nicely into the hand is very reasonable priced at under .
Single Speed Clippers - There are 14 single speed clippers in the Wahl/Lister line up built for horses and other large animals. They range in price from about to 0.
Show Pro Adjustable Horse Clipper - 7,200 Strokes Per Minute (SPM)
Purple ProSeries Rechargeable Clipper - 3,600 SPM
Blue ProSeries Clipper and Pocket Pro Combo Kit - Clipper cord or cordless - 3,600 SPM
Tough Enough to Wear Pink, ProSeries Rechargeable (Donates to Breast Cancer Awareness) - 3,600 SPM
Iron horse Clipper Kit - 3,600 SPM
Stable Pro - 3,600 SPM
Tough Enough to Wear Pink, ARCO SE Cordless Adjustable Clipper (Donates to Breast Cancer Awareness) - 5,500 SPM
ARCO SE Cordless Rechargeable Clipper - 5,500 SPM
Chromado Cord/Cordless Clipper - 5,000 SPM
Bravura Clippers - 5,500 SPM
Lister LIBRETTO Super Trimmer Clipper Kit, Cord or Cordless - 3,600 SPM
Lister Star Clipper - 2,500 SPM
Lister Legend Clipper - 2,700 SPM
Lister LIBERTY Clipper Cord or Cordless
The Wahl LIster single speed category of clippers is unique from the other brands we have reviewed in the area of the corded-cordless combinations they offer. This option allows the user to operate as a corded or cordless. This feature reduces(does not eliminate) the two areas of concern with fully cordless clippers:
Shortened operations time due to needing recharge
Reduced cutting quality as clipper gets closer to needing a recharge
The first recommendation is for the intermittent groomer that will being doing trimming and some whole body grooming. The Blue ProSeries Clipper and Pocket Pro Combo kit is corded or cordless and runs only about . Great bargain and you are not constrained by the cordless concern on the whole body cutting.
The second recommendation is one of the Lister clippers. Lister got its start in animal clippers and has focused on animal clippers since the early 1900s. This recommendation is for the professional groomer that has cutting jobs where a cordless is required. The Lister Liberty is the high end of the line at about 0, but is a quality clipper that goes all day long as corded, but still has the flexibility for those situations that the full time groomer needs a cordless.
Two Speed Clipper - Our review only considered one two speed clipper, the KM2 Speed Clipper. At about 0, this is a really good buy for a clipper that operates at 2,700 or 3,300 SPM. The ergonomics is not such that we would recommend it for the professional groomer, but for the intermittent groomer it is high quality, low cost unit.
