Automatic Vacuum Hair Cutting System Haircutter Clipper

Back in the 1980's I saw an informercial for the Flowbee, an electrically powered vacuum attachment made for cutting hair. And for the cost of a few haircuts, I got a tool that enabled me to give others and myself a decent haircut. The device attached to the suction hose of a vacuum cleaner and the suction stands the hair up and allows the device to cut the hair in a clean and even manner. One set of attachments allowed the hair to be cut at specific lengths and another allowed the sides to be cut in an even taper. The secret behind the success of this device is simple: when all of the hair on a person's head is cut to the same length, the resulting haircut almost always looks pretty good on anybody. When my son was small, this device saved us a considerable amount of money and countless hours of dragging him back and forth to barber shops. The problem with the Flowbee was that after a certain amount of use, the blades got dull. Then the device didn't work as well as it had before. It tened to pull and to chop at the hair. The kids stopped looking forward to getting haircuts. I looked around, but couldn't find a replacement Flowbee anywhere. So eventually the Flowbee went to Goodwill and we went back to SuperCuts. * * * * * * Fast foward to this year: my son is now in his early 20's and paying for his haircuts out of his own pocket money. So one day he asks about the old Flowbee and can we get another one. So I search the Internets and learn that they say there are Flowbees around but the retailers are all out of stock. But then I discover there's another product, the Robocut, another vacuum powered haircut device, but the Robocut has replaceable blades. So we order a Robocut. It arrives in a reasonable time. We attach it to our shop vac with a universal tool adapter and some duct tape, plug in both devices and give it a try. Any vacuum with a hose works just fine The robocut has a sliding adjustment for the length of the cut as opposed to the flowbee's plastic spacers of different lengths. This is a bit easier to use than the flowbee's spacers but either way you have to pay attention to the cut length during the process of cutting. !! (I get the basic model WITHOUT the attached vacuum and just use my husband's shop vac, which has VERY good suction.) And this time I will take better care of it and oil it before every use! The results are incredible. After reading the manual and a little practice, we get haircuts that are entirely satisfactory. Our haircuts invariably draw positive feedback from a few of the women that we encounter in the course of our day. But the best part is that after a few haircuts, the Robocut pays for itself. It is a big relief that one no longer has to pay twenty dollars to a barber or stylist who does not listen to whatever you say, and one is not obligated to tip him or her a few bucks for the privilege of doing so. So if you are tired paying too much for mediocre haircuts, or if you have a kid who needs a haircut now and then, definitely consider the Robocut.

We owned the original Robocut for over 20 years and it worked beautifully. We only got a new one because the other one was wearing out. We could not figure out why it was not cutting after using it a few times and come to find out the cutter blades have become disengaged. Unfortunately for my husband this was discovered after I almost ripped the hair out of his scalp when the cutter wrapped his hair around the center and would not release it. This product is dangerous and not safe to use. We live in the city where the Robocut was created and founded, and the owner personally delivered replacement parts to us before. If we do not get a full refund we will be highly disappointed. Not all good things can be remanufactured with incredibly cheap parts and workmanship. There is a lot to be said for the little guy and his workmanship ethics for quality above all else.

THE ROBOCUT WILL SAVE YOU LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS! I know because I have saved thousands of dollars. I purchased a RoboCut when my wife and I went to Japan to teach English from 1991-1993. When I first arrived there, my Japanese speaking skills were minimal and it was virtually impossible to communicate precise instructions for cutting my hair. I had to rely on pictures, gestures, a few curt expressions, and be happy with whatever I got. That was the first haircut shock. The second was the price. In Japan there are no discount, high-volume places to get your hair cut. It's all mom and pop shops where they give you not only a haircut, but a shave and a scalp-neck-shoulder massage. It felt really nice, but at $60+ a crack, it hurt my pocketbook. So, in an effort to save money, I ordered a RoboCut and had it shipped to Japan. It was one of the best things I've ever done and I've been using it and saving ever since. That was twenty years ago. If you figure that an average man gets his hair cut 10 times a year at an average cost of $20, that is $200 a year. I multiply that by 20 years and I've saved $4000! Quality? I've been using my RoboCut for twenty years and it's still going strong. You'll find the RoboCut to be simple and ruggedly-built. Maintenance? Not a problem. Just put a few drops of oil on the cutter before you begin and that's it. The vacuum sucks up all of the hair so there is no mess to clean. If the cutting blade becomes dull, it is a simple matter of removing a tension ring, popping the old blade out, and putting the new one in. That's it. It takes literally one minute or less. Technique? Easy. Just cut longer on the top and shorter on the sides. The cutter is easily adjustable and it's just a matter of sliding the guide to the desired measurement. Just remember to go slowly and cut just a little bit until you find what works for you. (You will also need a pair of barber scissors and/or some electric clippers for the outline of your hair.) Finally, throw in the free two-year all-inclusive warranty and there is virtually no risk. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET THE ROBOCUT AND START SAVING!

First impression: Oddly I received my new RoboCut having the screws only loosely attached on the motor/gear assembly... not positively impressed with that, but other than that the quality seems fine. I secured those screws before testing it out. Old model: I own a previous white model RoboCut which I purchased about 13 years ago. Months ago the gears started to fail, causing the blade to intermittently stop turning & grab hair. For some period of time I could get it to not slip by applying pressure to the back of the motor/gear assembly. I was able to give it a little more service time after I cracked the assembly open (no screws, but snap-fit on the old unit) and swapped the gears around (yielding another 1-1/2 haircuts - as which you can imagine resulted in an unfavorable situation). Attachments: I'm hoping the new length extenders are of better quality than the old. A few of those old ones cracked & broke within a year or two of buying it. The old ones were designed to hold together by the pressure fit, whereas the new attachments have an interlocking design that seems to be an improvement. We'll have to see if those resist cracking at the locking points. Functionality: I am satisfied with the performance of the unit. The blades cut well and I haven't had any problem with it seizing up or getting hair pinched up in it. I'm using a fairly powerful (maybe too powerful) shop vac with it and at times I've worried that my skin could stretch into the blades, but so far that hasn't happened. The noise of the cutter & vacuum can make for quite a loud hair-cutting session. The importance of stopping often to keep the blades oiled during the haircut cannot be overstressed. You'll hear the cutter start to slow down when it needs oil. Conclusion: Despite the hopefully rare incomplete assembly of the new (& mediocre robustness of the old version), the new version seems to be improved in overall quality and I feel it will last longer than the old one. I chose RoboCut based on its value, versatility, & truly great haircuts possible. The unit I received is blue. It was unclear from the description/pictures whether it would be red or blue. NBD!

Since I bought a Flowbee years ago, I have something with which to compare it, and the RoboCut cannot compare. First of all, I don't understand the circular design. When you section hair, you usually section in rows that are rectangular in shape, so this makes sectioning the hair much more difficult and time consuming. The blades seemed dull. I think it is important to note that my hair is super fine, and a hairdresser once told me she hardly had to move her scissors, that my hair cut so easily. Next, I washed & dried my hair immediately before using the RoboCut and didn't use any thickeners, hair sprays, etc. It was totally clean & should have cut with ease. Not so! I had to move the thing up & down ad nauseum to get it to cut, and even then, the ends weren't cut straight across as they would have been with a Flowbee, and I fed very little hair to the cutters. I may as well have been using a Weedeater! It couldn't even handle 1/2" at a time. Also, I simply cannot understand the hole in the hose that is meant to be there, as it decreases the vacuum's suction power a LOT. I held my thumb over it, and then the hair went to the blades much better. This has to be the wimpiest haircutter on the market, and I don't see how they sell them. Their return rate has to be very high, and I am returning mine for a refund. I bought it because it was a lot less expensive than the Flowbee. Too bad I had to give it even one star.

My mother wanted a simple summer cut and wanted to borrow my Flowbee. I had the Flowbee several years ago and it did an ok job. Think I gave it away a long time ago. Thought we could try out the Robocut and then let her take it home so she could do it herself. Noisier, designed with a hole in vacuum tube for electric cord, so less suction, adapter extenders do not "screw on" or fit on the robocut or atop other adapters. Put both 2 inch adapters together and taped it to the robocut because did not want hair cut 2 inches long. Not enough suction (using a Dyson), so taped the hole shut. Had to bounce it on the head to get the hair to enter the cutter. After 15 minutes, it was a choppy mess. Took it down to a single two inch adapter and started again. After 5 more minutes of the bounce method, it was as good as it would get. Not cut evenly, but better. Measured the hair and it was about 1 !/2 inches long. Maybe the 2 inch AND one of the other adapters would add up to 2 inch hair. But they do not fit together unless you tape them. What a mess. Definitely not something my mother could do for herself. And the hairstyle looks like..... there is no style. If you want to use it for buzz cuts, it would probably work. Also says you can groom animals, Could work on short fur, if they will put up with the motor noise and vacuum noise.

Important: I oil the blades before starting, & 1/2 way through (~2-3 minutes). If you hear the blades slowing down it needs to be oiled again so they don't overheat which will compromise the plastic, damage the blade temper/edge and become dull. I've been using the RoboCut since I ordered it from Popular Science about 20 years ago. Works excellent on my hair, my 2 sons, friends and the wife on occasion. I started with the original white plastic version in ~1987? but after using some synthetic Teflon oil (mistake: NOT clipper oil) the oil caused the plastic to crack around the blades so I bought the newer red plastic model after ~10-15 years or so, which has been working excellent since. I have also never replaced the blades. I cut my hair more often (every 2-3 weeks) since it only takes ~5 minutes, but if you count $20-$25 every 6 weeks for the hair cuts over ~20 years it's saved me over $10,000 sor far and counting. A frend has used the Flowbee for about 15-20 years too but I think it takes too long ~10-15+ minutes and having to do the Flowbee up and down motion is a pain compared to the faster sliding motion of the RoboCut (like using an electric shaver on your face). One RoboCut downside is: if you have very thin hair or try to cut too much or use dull blades it could pull you hair a little. My sons have complained it pulls their hair if I cut too much, or move too fast; but over their 19 years of haircuts I've had few complaints so that's not too bad. Being an Engineer it looks to me the folks that complained about the RoboCut either had very thin hair, didn't lubricate the blades frequently: causing the blades to dull, motor & plastic to overheat, or used an aggressive oil instead of "Clipper Oil" which causes the plastic to crack. I thought about buying a Flowbee but after reading all the complaints on both the Flowbee and RoboCut I'll stick with the RoboCut.

I have been using either a FlowBee or a Robutcut for many years. They used to be good. Their customer service used to be great. No more. The original FlowBee ran great, but it got old & overused & finally died. So, I purchased a Robocut (same company). It would yank & pull at my hair instead of cutting. I contacted them, & they sent me a whole new product. I dropped the cutting head on the concrete floor, & that was that for that one. I recently purchased another Robocut. More yanking & pulling! I contacted the manufacturer by e-mail several times but finally they responded via phone. They asked for my address so I gave it to them. I had to call them several times. They finally sent replacement blades. With no instructions at all. Not seeing another way to get to the blades, I unscrewed the 4 screws & removed the bottom with the motor. Unable to get to the blades, I put it back together. Now, it doesn't work at all. That was the last Robocut I will ever buy!