These are some of the sharpest nail clippers you will find. There was a deal on two, and this is one of the few items I can definitely use more than one of, so one is in a small case in my purse (they are too sharp to just leave dangling around-I wish they’d come with a carrying case other than the outer packaging that was fine for a while as I looked for the right container), the other in a box with other small tools that are easy to lose.
I’ve only used the file a few times when a nail was a little uneven but not to a point of cutting it, and it is a little strange at first but actually worked really well! I appreciated that the smooth handle served as a way for my skin to not touch the filing surface since my nails are always kept quite short! I don’t think it would replace files for more fancier manicured nails, but my only real needs are smoothly cut nails that are a bit “feathered” so they don’t chip. These do that quite well with minimal effort beyond lining them up well.
The biggest detail that is uniquely strong for these is the DESIGN that allows for a few different ways of holding and quite importantly facilitates solid control even for people without great hand strength. I have pretty severe arthritis in my hands and am prone to spasms, too, not so unlike tremors but more from strain and overuse than neurological causes, and I really appreciate that these do not require much force but also don’t slip/aren’t so loose I can cut too much because they move around. The handles are not slippery and have very smartly located curves AND “WiFi signal” icon resembling deep and wide grooves both on the bottom of the clippers and the “inside” of the handle when closed which is where the thumb presses in when open. The handle has what is very like a pinky finger indentation that is deep enough to, when at a bit of a side angle as I cut around OR when cutting nails of someone in front of me (pro manicurists, this might be your new best friend), keeps my thumb from slipping down the handle and doesn’t make me have to awkwardly angle my wrist. When the clippers are facing me, the “WiFi signal” grooves are what secure my thumb perfectly. On the bottom, there is an even bigger set of WiFi grooves but also a really thoughtfully designed shape. Instead of just having a straight body, they screwed onto the normal slick clipper body an extra piece that is brushed steel, not slick, and protrudes out to make a small hill of sorts for the fingers to wrap around, one of them acting as a “slippage stopperl where the “steep” part of the hill meets the slippery base clipper… it makes it nearly impossible to slide down the handle and drop them or worse still, cut haphazardly. The mix of the curves and those precious grooves make it very easy to hold them even with stiffer and more inflamed joints than normal. Cutting straight ahead with my thumb in that “pinky indentation” pit, my index finger is the “stopper” and the WiFi grooves will have my middle or ring finger against them (whether the tip or further down, it works). Turned to the side, my middle finger supports while my index is on the WiFi grooves. Facing me to cut my nails straight across, them index is on the grooves and the other three past the stopper point on the slippery steel base. It is truly versatile and works however you might grip your clippers and regardless of whose nails you are clipping. (They also work for both my small hands and smallish feet, but they might not be as great if your toenails are super thick-not because they can’t cut them because they can, just a matter of whether you are able to easily slide your toenail in as the opening isn’t huge-neither super wide nor super narrow…
They are longer than little portable travel options, and they are far heftier than the cheap stuff sold in drug stores, but I like the quality enough to gladly give up the space and add the weight of these over cheap options! The curve of them, by the way, is not as extreme as US brands make theirs. I find this minimal curve far more precise as I can simply use the tip anywhere I want to refine the shape, but it might take some getting used to if you don’t already clip a bit more carefully than whack it once or twice and be done with it which is how US brands seem inclined toward (but which makes them a headache for nails that don’t fit their shape well!)
Just order ones shipped from Amazon. The worst that can happen is you need to take it to one of a dozen places or toss a label and tape on it and mail it back… the guarantee and Japanese craftsmanship is why I tried them, the incredible quality and “if OXO was still truly made for people with bad grip, they’d make these” remarkable ease of use in a dozen positions that accommodate so many kinds of hand issues and give so much more control and stability than others, ideal, too, if you clip your nails after showering when your hands might be a bit more steamy, fingers a bit pruned up, than usual. (I would still store them somewhere dry… I never keep things like clippers in the humid bathroom since the joint or fine edge of the cutting surface could still rust from moisture all those days I am not clipping my nails!)
Teasel
smoke11