The Definitions
What is…?
There are lots of specialised expressions in the grooming world. Some words are used in different contexts, some mean the same, some have various different meanings. It seems the variety increases depending on native English (British, American, Australian).
These are my definitions, based on the Oxford English Dictionary and my practical experience.
They are meant to help you understanding the usage of tools, provided solely as a service for your information and convenience.
Handstripping
/hændstrɪpɪŋ/
Handstripping is the act of manually removing dead hair. This expression is often used for the whole process or limited to removal of wiry or silky topcoat on dogs which do not lose most of their dead hair naturally (found e.g. in Terriers or Gundogs).
Carding
/kɑːrdɪŋ/
Removing the wooly, downy undercoat by combing through the coat using a special instrument such as a carding knife or rake.
Combing (out)
/kəʊmɪŋ/ (/aʊt/)
To pull a comb through hair in order to remove dead coat and make the dog look neat or smooth again. In context with handstripping this is often done for silky coats (like Spaniels or Setters). To achieve better results a rubber band gets woven through the teeth of the comb to capture and hold the soft hair.
It is also done for most of the so called “doble-coated” breeds, which have a very thick coat: from Pomeranians to Retrievers all of those need combing out.
Rake
/reɪk/
Tool with a handle and a row of metal points at the end, used for gathering and removing lots of dead and therefore unnecessary coat. Often used on very thick coats like Golden Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs , Huskies but also wire coated breeds like Airedale or Wire Fox Terriers.
Deshedding
/diːʃedɪŋ/
Act of removing dead hair manually on breeds that lose most of their hair naturally and regularly. The word is used to describe the process for short, tight, smooth coated breeds, such as Magyar Viszlas, Labradors, Pugs, French Bulldogs and smooth coated terriers (Fox Terrier, Parson Russell, Staffordshire Bull Terrier etc)
Blunt – without a sharp edge or point
/blʌnt/
Most of the rakes and stripping knives on the market are sharp and can seriously damage or even destroy coat and scratch your dog, too. Therefore it is important to work with tools, which are simply not cutting.
Our stripping knives and rakes are something special: sharp enough to grab and lift hair, unsharp well to NEVER CUT. They are unique, nobody can copy our blades, the procedure is our secret to big success.
We know lots of companies try to copy the blades, even our handles and colours, but these tools still cut.
Be aware of fake copies!
Groomer.dk knives can be purchased only by accredited distributors or directly.