There are many hoof nippers of different grades of quality available to horseshoers.

The styles of the different hoof nippers are pretty much the same. There is not much one would change about the basic design of the hoof nipper.

The differences come about from the various methods of manufacture, the materials used and the methods used in heat-treating the nippers.

It is not difficult to make a very inferior nipper that looks as good as one of premium quality. So how do you know the difference? That’s easy. You buy the cheap nipper and use it until it becomes very difficult to cut the hoof. It might last you for only 25 horses.

To begin with, materials used to make the nipper are really important. The reins are expected to be light, springy and not collapse or bend while we are using all of our might to cut a hard hoof.

At the same time, the blades are expected to be really hard (around 64 on the Rockwell hardness scale) so the nipper blades will last a long time and keep their edge without needing to be resharpened.

We would like to get a couple of thousand horses or 8,000 hooves out of a nipper wouldn’t we? At the current trim-only price range of $35 to $45 per horse, a couple of thousand horses would amount to $70,000. We do not mind spending a little to make $70,000.

On the other hand, a non-professional who is doing only his own horses and those of the neighbor might be satisfied with lesser quality.

Metallurgical qualities of the steel used to make the nippers must satisfy three different requirements, depending on the part of the tool.

• They need to be springy in the reins to give a good “feel.”
• Softer at the joint so that the nipper will not fracture at the rivet.
• Much harder at the blade, so the nipper blades will last a long time and not need to be re-sharpened.

These qualities are achieved by heat-treating the different parts of the nipper according to what its requirements are. This is not very easy to do — which is the cause of much of our dissatisfaction with a pair of nippers.

Another issue we encounter is that there are no steels that I know of which will meet all three of the requirements we want for the different parts of the nipper. About the best we can hope for is for one steel to meet two of them.

Most steels are very difficult to make springy at the reins, really hard at the blades and softer at the joint. It’s not that it can’t be done. It can. But the end result will be that, even though the blades might be hard enough, they’ll also be brittle at a high hardness. Thus, the edges may chip easily.

Let’s classify the different types of nippers according to the methods of manufacture, materials used and the heat treatment process used.

Low Carbon, Ordinary Steel

Advantages: None.

Disadvantages: This nipper cannot be hardened. It might look like a first-class nipper, but it will be very difficult to cut a hoof with it and the nipper will last a very short time. You might be surprised to know that there are several brands out there that are made of such low quality materials that the nipper becomes unusable after only trimming a few horses.

Hardened, High-Carbon Steel

Advantages: This nipper works moderately well, for up to perhaps 100 horses. The blades do not cut very well, because they need to be thicker than is ideal to prevent the blades from breaking.

Actually, shoers who shoe only a few horses use these nippers fairly successfully. If the nipper can shoe 100 horses and the shoer used it on only one horse every 2 months, it will be a long time before the nippers wear out.

Disadvantages: Nippers made from hardened, high-carbon steel, such as spring steel, will be springy in the reins. However this class of steel tends to become brittle when hardened, which leads to the nipper blades chipping at the corners of the blades. So if your nippers are chipping at the corners, they are probably made from spring steel. Surprisingly there are a few reasonably good nippers made from this steel, but they do not last nearly as long as we would like them to.

These nippers also become dingy looking after being in your box after a month or two.

Two Steels, Welded Together

Disadvantages: There are none.

Advantages: There has been a vast improvement made in manufacture and quality of hoof nippers in just the past few years. It turns out that 410 stainless steel (a stainless steel that can be hardened) has just the right hardening characteristics to make nipper reins which will be flexible and will not collapse under pressure.

Additionally this steel is very rust-resistant, which means that the nipper still looks like new even after 2 or 3 years of use. However, this stainless steel will become brittle when hardened to Rockwell 65 hardness, which is the optimal hardness for a sharp blade.

The blade, instead, is made from H13 tool steel, which can be hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 65 and still be resistant to chips. Additionally this kind of steel is mildly stainless, so it will not rust and ruin the appearance of your nipper.

This steel is so tough that a pair of nippers with H13 blades can be expected to last for 1,000 to 2,000 horses.

The blades and the body of the nipper are made separately and then TIG-welded together. The tool is then ground and finished as one piece.

If you have a pair of nippers made like this, you will always be proud that your nipper has a shiny, brand new appearance and will last you over 1,500 head of horses before it needs to be rebuilt.

As you can see, there are many nipper choices out there. But you already know that. You can pay more and get a better nipper, or you can pay less and get a not-so-good nipper. You already know that, too.

A $200 nipper, which will do a good job on 1,500 horses, has much more value than a $100 nipper, which will do a bad job on only 100 horses.