Guides · Livestock
Choosing sheep shears for the market you actually sell into
Shearing equipment is one of the few categories where the buyer knows more than the seller. A contract shearing team can tell within a minute whether a handpiece holds its speed in matted wool, and they will not come back if it does not. This guide is about the differences that decide that, rather than the ones that look good on a specification sheet.
Start with the customer, not the machine
Four quite different buyers purchase this category, and they want four different things. Selling one machine to all of them is how a supplier ends up with a category that does not repeat.
| Buyer | What they buy on | What they will not forgive |
|---|---|---|
| Contract shearing teams | Speed that holds under load, and a machine that survives a full season | Slowing down in thick or matted fleece |
| Smallholders and cooperatives | Price and simplicity, often one machine shared between several farms | Being unable to get spare blades |
| Livestock markets and agri-dealers | A brand their customers already ask for, and a repeat consumables line | Stock that cannot be resupplied |
| Vets, stables and show preparation | Quiet operation, a wide blade and control near the skin | Noise and a blade that nicks |
Corded or battery
Corded — the default for volume
A 220–240 V machine delivers more usable power for its weight and never runs out mid-fleece. It is the right answer wherever there is a socket or a generator, which covers most shearing sheds, markets and abattoirs. Frequency matters: a machine built for 50 Hz behaves differently on a 60 Hz supply, so match the machine to the market rather than to your own test bench.
Battery — where there is no socket
A belt-mounted pack keeps the handpiece light, which is what actually matters over a long day, and lets a shearer work in a field with no power at all. The question to ask is not "how many volts" but "how many animals per charge", and then "how do I charge it on a farm with no mains" — usually a vehicle or an inverter, which is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Wattage is the beginning of the answer, not the answer
The number on the label tells you the input power. What a shearer experiences is stroke speed under load — how many cuts per minute the handpiece sustains once the comb is buried in thick, dirty or felted wool.
A higher-wattage machine with a weak motor and a cheap gearbox will start fast and slow down under load. That is the single most common complaint about low-cost machines, and it is why the honest comparison between two shears is not the wattage line but what happens in the third minute of a matted fleece.
Where a heavier machine earns its price. The difference between a mid-range and a heavy-duty handpiece is rarely visible in clean wool. It shows up in thick, dirty or felted coats — and in whether the machine is still running normally at the end of a season rather than halfway through it.
Blade gaps: the decision that gets missed
Cutter and comb sets are not interchangeable across coat types. Choosing the wrong gap is the fastest way to a customer complaint, because the failure is visible immediately — either the machine will not feed, or it cuts the animal.
- Fine gap — fine wool breeds, where a close cut and a clean fleece matter more than throughput
- Medium gap — the general-purpose choice, and the right default for a mixed or unknown flock
- Coarse gap — thick or matted coats, and cattle work, where feed and speed matter more than a close finish
- Wide, low-stroke setups — grooming and show preparation, where control and a quiet machine matter more than speed
The consumables line is the business
A shearing machine is sold once. Cutters, combs, brushes and lubricant are sold every season, to the same customer, without a new sales conversation. Most dealers who treat the machine as the product and the blades as an afterthought end up with a one-off sale and a customer who buys consumables from whoever has them in stock.
Practical consequence: when you place a first order, ask what the consumable item is for each machine and stock it deliberately. On our side that is a cutter and comb set that fits every machine in the range — which means one spare line covers four products, and a low minimum on the consumables makes it possible to test the repeat business before committing to volume.
What to check on a sample
- Does it hold speed in the thickest coat you can find locally, not in a clean fleece?
- Is the plug type and voltage right for your market, including frequency?
- Are the cutter and comb sets available as a separate line, and at what minimum?
- Can the blade tension be set by the operator without tools?
- Does the battery pack, if cordless, charge from a vehicle supply as well as mains?
- Is there a lubrication schedule in the manual, and is it realistic for the way your customers work?
What to send us
- Which of the four buyer types you sell to most
- Whether corded, battery or both
- The main coat type in your market, and whether cattle work is included
- Your destination country and port
We supply corded and battery shears, cattle and horse clippers and the cutter and comb sets that fit them. See the range, or send us the coat types and quantities and we will tell you which two machines would cover your market without duplicating each other.
Tell us the coat type and the volume
We will send a written quotation covering the machine, the spare cutter and comb line and the packing, with MOQ and lead time — usually within one business day.