Customer Reviews

Smartek ST-25N Deluxe Clothes Shaver

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rest of (all three) reviewers seem to be from Sharper Products promoting their products. You can tell this by clicking "View All My Reviews" link and you'll see they have reviewed only shaprer products giving 5 starts to every product they reviewed. I strongly believe they are somehow connected with Sharper Products and promoting their stuff.

PS: I have not used this product so I am giving it neutral rating. Intent of this post is to make others aware of what is going on. Thanks!

I bought this SMARTEK ST-25 Deluxe Fabric Shaver through Amazon.COM and had it shipped to Australia through an external freight-forwarding company. This was because shipping was only available to locations within the USA. In Australia, I've only ever seen really small fabric shavers being sold in supermarkets and drug stores -- those are the ones whose flexible metal grilles break if pressed too hard against a concave surface. I was hoping that the SMARTEK ST-25 Deluxe Fabric Shaver would have a strong grille and also do a great job at removing pills, fuzz and lint from fabric.

When I received the shaver, the first thing I noticed was that the power adaptor which came with it was rated for 110V-120V only (this is the kind of house electricity found in the USA, and also in Japan). Fair enough; this item wasn't meant to be sold to places outside of the USA anyway. The shaver had no problems operating with my own power adaptors in Australia, or with rechargeable AA-size batteries fitted with AA-to-C battery adaptors. The metal grille on the cover is strong and mostly flat, so it is extremely unlikely to break by accident. The shaver is able to remove *hard* pills -- such as those found on the sole of cotton socks -- from fabric, but it doesn't do a very good job of making sure those pills end up in the dust box. Instead, they end up in your lap or on the carpet / floor.

Unfortunately, that's all there is to say in favour of the shaver. It doesn't do a good job of removing *soft* pills (such as those found on nylon jackets with polyester filling), lint or fuzz. The fabric doesn't get nicked by the shaver blades and the grille doesn't break, but no matter how tightly I screw the cap on or how hard I press against the fabric, the *soft* pills, lint and fuzz remain. I suspect that this is because the design of the shaver didn't allow it to pull the pills, lint and fuzz into the holes of the grille where they would be cut by the blades. Even the $7 fabric shavers from the supermarket or drug store can do that, despite their easily broken grilles and lack of an external power socket.

There are Japanese models of fabric shavers that are as large as the SMARTEK ST-25 Deluxe Fabric Shaver that have a socket for external power, but which use only two (2) C-size batteries instead of the four (4) that the ST-25 requires. They have strong grilles and can remove *hard* pills, *soft* pills, fuzz and lint. They aren't sold in Australia (and probably not in the USA either), but I was lucky enough to be given one as a present by a Taiwanese friend (they are made in Taiwan: Model LS-999).

I am looking for a high-quality fabric shaver to use on upholstery that my cats have pulled (some accidential and some NOT!). Willing to pay for a good device, but when I read the review herein that points out of the few existing reviews on this item, one of them was done by someone who reviewed ten Sharp products in a ten month period - 5 Irons and 3 Fabric/Sweater Shavers. Wow - how many irons and sweater shavers does a person need? Is this a standard practice - do manufacturers hire testers or give products gratis to consumers for testing? I thought Amazon reviews were by the average-Joe consumer, and this has raised questions and doubts to me about the authenticity of the reviews. I trust Amazon reviews and frequently look to them before making a purchase. Maybe there is a legitmate explanation, but now the whole slew of reviews on this product seem suspicious to me. I have not used the product and do not want to judge it unfairly, but the reviews do smell fishy to me. BUYER BEWARE! Next time I check reviews, I will check the other reviews by a particular reviewer. I may come back and buy this product after all, but not before I investigate some other independent reviews.

I think I bought used/tried about 6-7 drug store clothing shavers in the last year, of different makes and models. Although some were definitely better than others, I was always left wishing they worked better. (Some were complete disasters, and did more harm than good!) I finally decided to give the Smartek ST-25 a try, since I had spent so much combined on the cheaper ones, and I also checked with a commercial laundry service who said they use it. Personally, I REALLY like it! -I like it enough that I have decided to buy more of them, and use them as gifts throughout the coming year.
It works well both with the cord, and also when using batteries... And the blades are replaceable!

The only reason I didn't give it 5 out of 5 stars, is because I generally always feel like there is room for improvement. Also, although I have used it tons since I got it, and at times for well over an hour continuously, I have only owned it for approximately a month. Who knows what the future holds?!

UPDATE!!! Now that I've had this for a month or two, I have figured out the one (?) thing that I don't like about this fabric shaver, and to me it seems like it's a pretty big drawback....
This shaver doesn't 'draw' the lint or strings up into it. to be cut off, or disposed of. Every other shaver, no matter the cost, has at least done that! Because this one does not, I have had a tendency to "over-shave". Shaving too large an area, and shaving too much off. PLUS it doesn't do as well on lint, as it could.

Bummer!

I still like it and would recommend it! -Just my opinion.

Good luck, and ENJOY! Ü Ü Ü

The shaver didn't shaver lint pills off of clothes, very dissatiffied. I tried to return back to the company, and they were going to charge me 30% restocking fee. I wished I had not bought from them. Make sure you know what you want before buying from them, I was very unhappy.

I can understand people being suspicious about the 5 star reviews, but I am disabled and don't work and I think this is an excellent fabric shaver for the following reasons. 1. You can plug it in - no batteries - better for you and the environment. 2. It has a large surface area and waste capacity, so you are not constantly emptying it. 3. It works very well on pills, my sweaters look great. 4. One caveat - it won't pick up hairs, no way, no how! I am long haired and I seem to shed and so does my cat. That's my only complaint, but the product does say it's a sweater shaver not a lint roller and it does what it says it will do. I recommend it highly.

I bought this shaver recently from [...] (I see it's cheaper here, but I had a gift card to use up). Anyway, I think this shaver is great! I had a battery operated one for years that finally died. I bought this one to replace it. This definitely gets rid of ALL the fuzz. I did have to rub over the same spot a couple of times to get it all, but I was shocked at how much better the electric one works than my battery operated one. This shaver takes either batteries or an adapter cord that comes with it. Definitely use the cord - it's much stronger that way. I don't know why people who have never even bought this are posting reviews, but for me - I'd buy it again! If you look at the customer pictures - (I'll post some pictures in a minute) of a pair of my kids mittens. The amount of lint/fuzz/pills it removed is awesome. Almost like buying a new mitten [...]

I started using this device to remove areas where the cats scratched my furniture.
I am satisfied thus far.
The motor and blades are light duty but if you take your time you can receive good results.
I also like having the power adapter instead of batteries.

I got an coat that cost me $250 and it got white balls all over it from the wash. I tryed the roller did not get them off i started picking them off and that was taking for ever. It was next to new and i was so mad. I just hung it up and bought a new coat and thought nothing of it. I came on here and saw this lucky for me i was drunk because i read what people said about it that seemed to never have tryed it tho they got me thinking this things a scam.I was drunk and fig whats 20 bucks if it can save my coat that i liked alot worth a try. Well i got it today and tryed it out. I just pluged it in and put it all over them damn white things what where all over my coat and i should add my coat was black so really stuck out. It took maybe 2 min and i got them all off. This thing is awesome now i know ill never have that prob again. I felt the need to come and comment on this because if people see what the people said about it not working when it works wicked awesume from what them people that never tryed it tho say they think its a scam or what not they may not want to buy it. This thing is great if you have hard to get balls or stuff like that little ones i had on it not sure about big ones tho worked for me wicked good.

I own one of the small battery powered models that is palm sized and it does the job but now that I bought this one for my mom and she's used it a few time and I've seen what a powered model can do, I think I need one for myself. Decent quality model. Shaves well and is powered by AC voltage. My mom is very happy with it.