NU—March 8, 2024✓ Verified purchase
ITEM: Toenail clipper Blizzard 6 inch (total length), concave head, barrel spring, (and with an apparently compound action which acts to extend the jaws and to close the jaws in parallel). SUMMARY: I took away one star because the first shipment's item was grossly defective; (Amazon's quick replacement was of usable quality although at a price between cheaper but smaller/similarly sized designs which I judged to be problematic and much more costly Amazon offerings unexamined by me). PROS: a.) The 15 cm (6 inch) length when closed permits my 8.5 cm (3.75 inch) wide fingers to fully act, unlike shorter clippers from Amazon, which include both a 5.5 inch heavy duty (but defective, at about $35), different style, and a 5.5 inch slender (but well made, perfect for thinner nails, and much cheaper) Wanmat. Amazon also currently provides more expensive nail clippers around $80 and above, which I have not seen. I am hoping that the replacement for this item, at around $50, will prove to be a satisfactory, heavy duty toenail clipper for my home use. This item appears to be: 85mm O.D. at the handles and is 14mm at the jaw when open, and 44mm O.D. at the handles when closed. b.) The action is smooth and without wobbles. c.) The jaw edges appear to meet closely. The jaws close leaving a very thin space between them except at the tips which meet, per the seller's description. The blades appear to be hand shaped, but are not sharp to my touch. The theory appears to be that this configuration protects the blade edges from widening/blunting each other, coupled with the thought that the very thin space will not prevent the clipping of thick nails. d.) This replacement clipper has a unique number that is (weakly) engraved on the surface below the left jaw, per the Amazon description, e.g. "##.###.BCON ####", which might be useful if stolen or if more than one. The engraving on the opposite jaw is: Blizzard (R) -England- CE Stainless Steel UK CR e.) I have not yet used this item (nor the included nail file) on nails, because the clipper which was shipped to me from the seller, Blizzard, is defective (see CONS:, below), and I am requesting an Amazon replacement. CONS: a.) The base of one of the jaws has a visible, critical defect, which appears as a black, 5 mm crack in the metal and is associated with an open, black, irregular pit. Both the crack and the pit would have been visible during sharpening and assembly. b.) Many corners and edges of the item are dangerously sharp, and unnecessarily so, since simple chamfering of the edges prior to assembly would eliminate these hazards and then conform to usual expectations of quality. These hazards endanger skin, as well as the integrity of the user's gloves (worn to prevent skin contamination). Therefore I suggest that the edges and corners be chamfered. c.) The bottom, safety latch has two defects I noticed: c.1.) The safety latch only hooks when the two blades' edges are strongly forced together and the blades stay so forced together during the period the latch is employed, thereby defeating the intent of the blades configuration, i.e., to prevent the blades from actually pressing on each other except at the very tip. This defect can be most simply remedied if the inner side of the outer part of the latch's hook is reduced a few mm. Otherwise, users may wish to store this clipper, open, in a protective, transparent box. c.2.) The spring of the safety latch is very strong, and when the latch is released, it opens its unchamfered edges very quickly and with strength, and if the user's fingers are in the way, the latch strikes them. My general suggestion to chamfer all exterior edges and corners, includes this latch. d.) The clipper's blade cap is made of a tough but soft plastic with a high friction coefficient. This cap is difficult to remove and to replace. It may be that this cap is only meant for protection during shipping, but I wish this cap was made of a plastic which could be more easily removed for use and replaced for storage. Otherwise, users may wish to store this clipper, open, in a protective, transparent box. e.) Two of the four axels in this item have what appears to be a screwdriver slot ground into the metal in an uneven manner. It is unclear to me if these slots are functional or cosmetic, and if they are functional, under what conditions should they be used? f.) A wide nail file is included, but I did not try it. UPDATE-REPLACEMENT: Dropped off at an Amazon-provided location. Received replacement within 3 days. Replacement is significantly in better condition than the original item. PROS: c.) The jaw edges appear to match closely. The jaws close leaving a very thin space between them except at the tips which meet and are now pointed, all per the seller's description. The blade edges appear to be carefully hand shaped, unlike the original item's, and are much sharper than the originally shipped item. The theory appears to be that this configuration protects the blade edges from widening/blunting each other, coupled with the thought that the very thin space will not prevent the clipping of thick nails. d.) This replacement clipper has a unique number that is very clearly engraved on the surface below the left jaw, per the Amazon description, e.g. "##.###.BCON ####", which might be useful if stolen or if more than one. The engraving on the opposite jaw is: Blizzard (R) -England- CE Stainless Steel UK CR e.) I have successfully used this item on (thin) fingernails and very thick toenails. CONS: a.) No visible metal defects. b.) Only the corners and edges above the barrel spring and of the latch are dangerously sharp, and unnecessarily so, since simple chamfering of the edges prior to assembly would eliminate these hazards and then conform to usual expectations of quality. These hazards endanger skin, as well as the integrity of the user's gloves (worn to prevent skin contamination). Therefore I suggest that the edges and corners be chamfered. c.) The bottom, safety latch has two defects I noticed: c.1.) The safety latch only hooks when the two blades' edges are strongly forced together and the blades stay so forced together during the period the latch is employed, thereby defeating the intent of the blades configuration, i.e., to prevent the blades from actually pressing on each other except at the very tip. This defect can be most simply remedied if the inner side of the outer part of the latch's hook is reduced a few mm. Otherwise, users may wish to store this clipper, open, in a protective, transparent box. c.2.) The spring of the safety latch is very strong, and when the latch is released, it opens its unchamfered edges very quickly and with strength, and if the user's fingers are in the way, the latch strikes them. Also, I just discovered that when the clipper is open, the latch can be pushed to the inside of the handles where its spring will hold it out of the way and unused. My general suggestion to chamfer all exterior edges and corners, includes this latch. d.) The clipper's blade cap is made of a tough but soft plastic with a high friction coefficient. This cap is difficult to remove and to replace. It may be that this cap is only meant for protection during shipping, but I wish this cap was made of a plastic which could be more easily removed for use and replaced for storage. I just discovered that the cap works well if it is gently placed on the closed jaws, where it firmly remains when the clippers are allowed to spring open, then the cap is easily removed when the clippers are squeezed shut. I suggest that the user mark the cap on both sides with a Sharpie to increase its visibility. Otherwise, users may wish to not use the cap, and store this clipper, open in a protective, transparent box. e.) Two of the four axels in this item have what appears to be a screwdriver slot ground into the metal in an uneven manner. It is unclear to me if these slots are functional or cosmetic, and if they are functional, under what conditions should they be used? f.) A broad, two sided nail file is included. It is two sided. It is awkward in use, and the cheap, slim, hatched steel file included with my small, Wanmat fingernail clippers from Amazon works much better. g.) As with most Amazon purchases, there is an excellent, 30 day return policy. In addition, some items provide a longer, manufacturer/Asurion warranty period. It is best to retain all the original parts of the shipment, in case the return policy requires that all parts need to be includes. Read more
