This is a Tool Talk video response to WCR forum member ‘John Germany’s’ video on alternatives to the Unger Ninja clips that have been giving some people a bit of trouble.
do you have to cut the channel to remove the ninja clips? or do the ninja clips come off a different way?
I think Unger should wind up making 2 channels; one with the clips and one without the clips.
The clips are removable. You use a small flat head screw driver to lift a tab and then they slide off.
One thing is for sure, for those that have tried the Ninja and have issues, it always comes down to the clips. I haven’t experienced most of the issues others have but I do admit that the bulkiness of them sometimes gets in the way when closing out on some higher windows.
thanks Mark excellent video, and thanks for the insight.
.i knew there was something significant here the moment i saw it… a hard bodied squeegee with dog eared ends to save time and energy for professional window cleaners due to the saving on detailing
glad some one saw the potential in what i saw it because my new ninja is really a lovely squeegee now !. its does work dont it !! … the significant saving in detailing is number one here and quite surprising. plus it is much lighter and fits lovely in my BOAB ( left right hander )
. so i recommend people that detail a lot to buy one Pronto !
if you want a channel for 35 cm blades. just by a 40 cm channel the length of the 2 Ninja clips is 5 cm. so if want a 45 cm channel buy a Ninja that is 50 cm in length and take off the Clunky end clips and then your channel will be a perfect 45 cm… and you wont have to cut any channel blades up…
Thanks again Mark…
Thank’s Mark great video. I removed em & I like the feel without those pesky end clips. Thank’s again. It’s like we all got new squeege’s
For those that no longer have a need for the end clips you can send them to me and I’ll be happy to give them a home. 
They are goin on E-Bay. Thank’s for the idea. I smell $. LOL
The end clips on the Ninja are a good bit bulky but I haven’t had a problem with performance of the Ninja squeegee since I got used to them. The only problem I’ve had was inserting Ettore rubber blades into the Ninja channels but I guess I’ll just learn to live with that because i really love the Ninjas and i like Ettore rubber.
Early on I took the end clips off of the Ninja and used round tooth picks for end clips. Just push the tip of the toothpick into the channel then bend the toothpick and break off the excess. But the Sarbeau end clips work well also. I tried them the other day and just flattened them out a little bit with a hammer and they worked fine. I’m just sticking with the Ninja end clips for now but may order a few over-sized ninja channels to use without the end clips later on.
To me, the problem here is that if the clips prevent the channel from closing out
when pulled against the frame of a storefront window, the squeegee cannot be used for storefronts.
Closing against the frame is important because it reduces the amount of detailing needed.
Also if the tool prevents running the squeegee tightly against the edge of the left or right frame is a
problem.
I would not want to buy any tool that presents a channel obstruction, so I think that should be
made clear when describing this tool.
Just to be clear about my own experience, the closing out issue is only with a few higher window scenarios where it is harder to have complete control or because of deep mullions/ledges. Storefront is a breeze and no closing out issues because the glass and frames are right in front of you.
Regarding detailing along the sides, John’s and my point was not that the Unger Ninga clips cause unessasary detailing along the edges, so we took the clips off. Instead we are saying that without the clips there seems to be less detailing needed than a regular squeegee.
Here is what I am wondering: do the clips project out further or thicker than the channel does?
Someone said so in an earlier post.
“Less detailing than a regular squeegee” makes me wonder why that would be?
Without the clips it seems very much like a regular squeegee.
It has flat ends with a regular clip. Why would that cause a different result?
yes, the clips are actually thicker than the channel itself.
“Less detailing than a regular squeegee” makes me wonder why that would be?
Without the clips it seems very much like a regular squeegee.
It has flat ends with a regular clip. Why would that cause a different result?
Without the Ninja clips, one has to use an alternate clip which in both mine and John’s experiments resulted in a ‘dog earing’ effect which resulted inless detailng after squeegeeing. I used the Unger green clips and John used a clip from another manufacturer but both of us found similar results.
Aside from this, the other benefits in the Unger Ninja channel include it being a stronger channel that doesn’t bend or flex when adding pressure, you can use the rubber in a lower slot or upper slot as needed and it takes any standard profile squeegee rubber resulting in a significant cost savings.
I’ve been using the Ninja’s without the bulky end clips today. I have a pack of the the green plastic Unger clips so I put them in the Ninja channels (above the rubber, not under it) and they work great. This is a great improvement to the Ninja channels because of the dogear effect that John and Mark mentioned.
Another thing is that while using the bulky Ninja end clips I couldn’t really see the actual leading edge (or end) of my rubber blade. This wasn’t a problem most of the time but on frames that are flush with the glass you really need to see the end of the rubber so you can control it and avoid it riding over onto the frame. This problem is now solved.
On a side note, I found that without the bulky end clips the Ninja will accomodate the “T” style rubber. There’s a slot below the intended slots #1 and #2 that the “T"
style rubber will fit in. It’s a little snug but it does fit. I have a lot of Soren rubber (leftover from when i used another brand of wide channels) that that will now not go to waste. I’ll be using all of my leftover Soren rubber in my 12” Ninja channel. Another problem solved.
A great big plus is that Ettore rubber slides right into the Ninja channel without the bulky end clips. The main thing I didn’t like about the Ninja channels is that the bulky end clips made Ettore rubber really hard to insert into the channel. Another problem now solved.
Without the bulky end clips my Ninja’s now fit wonderfully in my Unger BOAB. Another problem solved.
I have concluded that these bulky end clips are just too problematic. The Ninja is a much better squeegee without the bulky goofy looking end clips.
Tony, PM me your mailing address and I’ll send you 3 sets of bulky Ninja end clips.
John and Mark, thanks for your ideas and input in this thread!
Oh yeah, I’d like to suggest that Unger start offering the Ninja channels with or without the bulky end clips. I’ve got a feeling that the Ninja channels are going to be a hotter item without the end clips. No need for us to pay for the end clips if we’re not going to use them. Your Ninja channels are perfect with your green plastic Unger end clips. No need to come up with another end clip design…you already have it.
Brilliant video thanks Mark & JohnGermany for sharing your knowledge
when i first saw the potential of using the clip as an alternative / + dog earing and simultaneously holding the channel blade securely . i was experimenting prior to the video and also found that if you dont want dog earing you can place end clips in the middle and have them like a normal squeegee also with out dog earing if you wish… you could also have the end clips in the middle. and then in top section ( the section where the dog earing effect is ) you place a clip that is correct in width and size to get the best possible dog earing and maybe even abolish detailing altogether with the right placement and size clip …
********* " Or you could have something fixed built into the channel or on the rubber itself which creates the dog earing effect its self when the blade goes into the channel automatically ! " ******
so the point is you do not have cut channels to get a dog eared effect … and also the ultimate squeegee for a professional is surely a squeegee that ALSO leaves as little water on the glass as possible… which in turn saves time and energy
John
Hope the manufactures of window cleaning products taking notice of these little modifications that make it easier and more efficient.
Maybe they can incorporate these ideas in there squeegees etc.
Look and See Hear and Listen then try.
This may be a little off subject but it is about tools. The Ninja is marketed to window cleaners only.
I recently visited the local home improvement stores nearby.
I was shocked to see a huge display of window cleaning tools made by Ettore and Unger. There
were strip washers, swivel squeegees and swivel washers. There were many squeegees with a variety of
handles. There were various extension poles and an Ettore 6 inch scraper.
I have never seen anything like the amount of these tools being sold to the public before. They are no longer
tools sold only by the window suppliers or the janitorial supply stores. It must mean that the public
is doing more of their own window cleaning. Why would they want swivel washers? This is a big change
in the marketing of window cleaning tools. My thought is that the public must want to save money by doing it
themselves so they are buying tools they were not interested in before. I may be wrong but this is
how it appears to be.
