Though Ive been acquiring (collecting?) safety razors for a few years now, I recently ran across this one which I hadnt seen, or even heard of, before. So, I thought Id share some observations with my fellow B&B SE fans on the (perhaps rare?) Improved Stoll (as my wife doesnt seem to care
). This is marked the Improved Stoll, by the Wilbert Cutlery Company of Chicago. As far as Ive been able to ascertain,Wilbert was a brand name sold by Sears in the early 20[SUP]th[/SUP] century, up through around the early 1920s. The Wilbert Cutlery brand included straights and various knives, as well as a couple of safeties. From what I have read, Wilbert, at least as sold by Sears, was only a brand name, and the products were contract produced by other manufacturers. The knives, for example, were produced by Napanoch and Empire.
The Improved Stoll is a semi-lather catcher design that takes a standard SE blade. As you will no doubt note, it bears a strong resemblance to the Ever Ready 1914; in fact, the handle appears to be identical, though the thread is slightly different, so they are not interchangeable. Both razors are marked with patent dates in 1914: the ER, 3/24/14; the Stoll less than a month later on 4/14/14. (There were ER 14s made and sold prior to the patent date; these are simply marked patent pending with no date.) The most obvious difference is that the Stoll is front hinged, like the ER 1924. A close look reveals other subtle differences in the cap shape and comb design, plus there is the somewhat odd lever tab located on the back side of the Stoll, which is apparently designed to provide a stop to the back of the blade (though this seems to disengage once the cap is secured in the closed position). Despite these differences, I think the overall design and vintage similarities are more than coincidental. I cant say with any certainty, but Id be willing to bet that the Stoll was made by ASR.
Interestingly, despite the similarities in appearance, the Stoll is a very different shaver than the ER 14. It does share the high audio feedback of the ER (meaning it is one loud razor), but it is much milder on the face. In fact, the Stoll is among the mildest SEs Ive tried, more similar to the late model Gems like the Push Button or Contour than its other early twentieth century peers. In that sense, it is clearly an outlier to the general rule for safeties that older=more aggressive. My preference in SEs tends toward a bit more efficiency, so the Stoll probably wont edge out the 1912s or the Bullet Tip in my SE rotation. But, it is a nice shaver and a cool piece of history, and Im happy to add it to my stable. If you ever run across one, I recommend you do the same.
Have fun.
