Philips QC 5115 hair clippers

I started giving my sons haircuts when they were quite young, after a rather bad experience with a hairdresser who evidently wasn’t used to wriggly children. At first I used scissors, and the results were not particularly good; then we bought an electric clipper set for about twenty pounds. I never looked back. For the next fifteen years or so, until they left home, I cut their hair regularly. 

My husband was so impressed that he suggested I cut his hair too - and we must have saved quite a lot over the years. Our first set of clippers survived about six or seven years before the motor wore out, and our second set a similar length of time. But just recently one of the plastic parts broke, making it hard to adjust; we’d also noticed that the motor seemed to be going more slowly, and sometimes it didn’t seem to cut so well.

CHOOSING THE HAIR CLIPPERS

So when we were in the UK recently, we popped into Argos to see what was available. Evidently home hair-clipping has become more popular, since there are now over thirty different kinds to choose from! We didn’t want anything fancy, and were pleased to see there were five varieties costing under ten pounds. We read the descriptions, checked availability in the store, and opted for the Philips QC 5115 which was in stock, and a brand we knew of.

 

EXAMINING THE HAIR CLIPPERS

While our previous (and pricier) hair clipping sets have come in smart black plastic boxes for storage, it wasn’t really a surprise to find that this inexpensive gadget has no storage other than the fairly sturdy cardboard boxing in comes in. Not a problem, in our case, since I keep clippers in a drawer when they’re not in use. 

I was pleased to find that it seemed much simpler than the clippers we have previously owned. Rather than having a series of different plastic guards to attach, to allow clipping of different lengths, there is just one guard which can be moved up and down the appliance, with markings in both millimetres and fractions of an inch.  The range is between 3mm and 21mm. 

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

There were four different sets of paperwork included, so - not being very technically proficient - I looked for the instructions. I found:

- an offer for an extra year’s guarantee if we signed up online with Philips to register the gadget

- a leaflet in several languages about safety precautions, and a recommendation only to be used by trained people. I wasn’t planning to use clippers under water or give them to children, but I’m not exactly trained...

- a rather confusing leaflet telling us to charge the battery before use, with the power adaptor. Which would have been fine, but this particular set of clippers does not come with a battery or power adaptor; it’s a simple plug-in device. 

- a small booklet with diagrams. I suppose diagrams rather than text are a simple way to make instructions international... except that I have never been able to figure out image-based instructions. Perhaps they are equally incomprehensible wherever they are bought. I handed this booklet  to my husband, who handed it back. ‘Just plug it in and switch it on!’ he said. 

I was glad that I had previous experience with clipping hair, and that our first set of clippers did have extensive text-based instructions which I was able to follow when I had no idea what to do. 

EXPERIMENTING WITH THE CLIPPERS

So we attached the cord - quite a lengthy one - and selected the length of hair he wanted. Switching the device on was easy, with a fairly obvious switch, and set the motor running. I was surprised at how lightweight the whole thing felt compared to our previous sets. It felt a little flimsy too, and with my first cautious sweep over my husband’s hair, nothing much seemed to happen. 

However, as I became more confident, I found that it worked just like our other clippers. I had to lift some of the hair with my free hand - it curls somewhat, and we had let it grow longer than usual - in order to get the clippers to go through. But in a surprisingly short time I had succeeded in reducing the overall length to 15mm.  

I usually cut the back rather shorter, so thought I would adjust the length of the guard to 12mm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage to move the guard at all. I don’t know if my hands aren’t strong enough, or if I was holding it incorrectly, but it wouldn’t budge. I didn’t want to risk breaking it, so I handed it to my husband, who - of course - had no trouble at all. 

After I had trimmed the back of his hair satisfactorily, I wondered aloud how I could neaten the edges. With our previous sets of clippers, that was easily done by using no guard at all, which led to an effect more like that of an electric razor. So my husband took the device once more... then, about half a second later, handed it back with the guard removed. This enabled me to shape the edges and shave the hair growing around the back of his neck. 

CLEANING THE CLIPPERS

Cleaning afterwards was easy enough - the one extra little item included in the set is a tiny brush to remove any hair that gets stuck. These clippers are supposed to be self-cleaning and self-oiling; they’ve come a long way from our first set where I even had to add a drop or two of oil (supplied in the kit) before every use. 

EFFECT OF THE CLIPPERS

As far as my husband was concerned, the feel of the trim and the result were no different from previous haircuts I had given him. While I expect he could get a somewhat better cut from a professional, there doesn’t seem much point in paying for something I can so easily do at home. 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIPPERS

These clippers come with a year’s guarantee, and an extra year if we register online. Even if they only last a couple of years, they seem to me like excellent value. We paid £9.95 for them at Argos, and it looks as though we had a bargain, since the same clippers are selling for £23.99 at Amazon. 

Highly recommended, despite the lack of clear instructions and the difficulty of adjusting the guard.

2023 UPDATE

More than ten years after buying these inexpensive hair clippers, used about six times a year at present, they're still working well. Occasionally it feels as if the power isn't as strong as it was, and it concerns me that they might suddenly stop working mid-haircut.

It also bothers me that the outer coating of the wires is deteriorating and has been for a few years. This is probably due to the heat of Cyprus summers, and my husband assures me that the current is low and I won't be electrocuted. But at some point the wires themselves will probably fail; these hair clippers don't owe us anything: at less than one pound per year they have proved extremely good value. When they do eventually stop working, we'll look for something similar to replace them.