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Safety Razor Of the Week, 2/1 – 2/7 The Stahly Live Blade


The Stahly Live Blade

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First of all, I would like to thank thirdeye for inviting me to contribute this week's entry into Safety Razor of Week archive. After a bit of thought over which of history's great razors to introduce, the obvious hit me. The Stahly Live Blade, one of my favorite non-Gillette razors, was the natural choice.

After almost 30 years of being treated to a great variety of luxurious double edge safety razors during the first part of the 20th century, the American civilian razor market came to a screeching halt on December 7, 1941 with the word of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Suddenly the entire American safety razor industry turned its attention to producing huge numbers of utilitarian razors meant to keep millions of servicemen around the world clean shaven. The days of the production of opulent razors remained on hold until the end of the on going World War. The German and Japanese surrenders of 1945 brought an end to the high end razor drought. 1946 became a banner year for the introduction of new standards of the shaving industry. Gillette reentered the fledgling "twist to open" market with the Milord, Ranger Tech, and Aristocrat, all geared toward the middle to upper-middle class markets with price tags in the one to five dollar range.

At this same time a new manufacturer hit the market with its own double edge razor, The Live Blade. This company, Stahly, Inc., hit the street running with a huge advertising campaign featuring full page magazine ads with artwork by James M. Sessions featuring scenes of hunting and fishing.


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The standard Chrome version of the new Stahly Live Blade commanded an impressive $19.95 price tag, while the Silver plated, Gold plated-and-black, and Gold plated versions demanded $21.25, $22.50 and $24.25 respectively ... plus a 20% luxury tax! And there was a reason behind these prices. The Stahly live blade was advertised as "The World's Finest Razor" and as being "driven by a spring-powered mechanism that produced "about 3,000 vibrations-per-minute of positive shaving action".


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The following ad demonstrates the inner working of the Live Blade.


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This advertising campaign carved out a big enough niche for the Live Blade to remain a viable option in the American market from 1946 well into the 1960's.

Pictured below is the Gold version of the Live Blade that I once owned and used. The Stahly delivers a surprisingly non-aggressive, yet remarkably close shave, with little effort beyond the need to wind up the vibrating mechanism three or four times during the shave. It is this vibration that creates the ease of the shave. The base plate of the Stahly contains a platform for the standard double edge blade which is attached to its frame by a small spring on each end (see first picture below). The vibrating action causes this blade loaded platform to make 3000 side to side movements per second, which in turn allows the blade to slice through the whiskers much like a standard razor slices when using the "slide" stroke or how the standard stroke of a slant slices. As a soothing by-product, the vibration also delivers a calming face massage.


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In addition to the four aforementioned plating versions, the Stahly was also produced in a Chrome/Black and Silver/Gold combinations.


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Additional patent information on the Stahly Live Blade:

American patent No. 1760496 27 May 1930. Russel P. Harshberger, Chicago, Illinois. Also No 2054418 15 Sep 1936 filed 27 Apr 1934. Ilse Hartmann, NÅe Bohm, Stuttgart, Germany. Trademark first used 8 May 1942. Trademark filed 8 Jul 1947.


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Manufacturer:

Stahly Inc., Division of Geuder, Paeschke and Frey Co., 320 N., 15th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin


Any and all information about this razor is more than welcomed.


Back to Safety Razor of the Week.
 
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Very well done Guido.:thumbup1:

I've got one that I use occassionally...Gets hard to re-wind when you have soapy/wet hands. Nice shave overall though...even when not using the wind-up mechanism. Very much like a Tech.

Any idea what became of the Stahly company?
 
Guido, what a very, very nice job sir. I certainly appreciate your efforts and showcasing this really interesting piece, Thank you!!!.:thumbup1:

I think I may lose my job...:001_smile
 
Wow,

This is the first time I see something like this... I guess back in its time that is when people put more effort in creating the best shaving mechanisms to get a fine shave. How much do these run for? Thank you for the info!

Great find and great razor!

Dark
 
V

VR6ofpain

A neat razor to try, but the shaves were uninspiring. Considering it is "Mad Scientist" in look and feel, the shave is quite mild. The lack of a close shave and the numb hand keep my Stahly in the box on my dresser. It is nice to admire. (see it in the back)

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Great write up Guido. I have two of these neat razors. The instructions from both of mine claim 6000 VPM (the instruction booklets aren't the same either).
 
Wow,

This is the first time I see something like this... I guess back in its time that is when people put more effort in creating the best shaving mechanisms to get a fine shave. How much do these run for? Thank you for the info!

Great find and great razor!

Dark

These excellent razors are surprisingly reasonable in price considering their relative rarity. I can attest to the fact that they deliver a unique, yet fantastic shave. When I approached this razor for the first time I was on a Feather trip. I pulled my twice used Feather out of my Aristocrat and gave the Stahly another shot after a brief visit earlier. It was the first of several special shaves. The unique experience was enhanced by the fact that this remarkable tool could actually excel at the job it was designed to accomplish.
 
A neat razor to try, but the shaves were uninspiring. Considering it is "Mad Scientist" in look and feel, the shave is quite mild. The lack of a close shave and the numb hand keep my Stahly in the box on my dresser. It is nice to admire. (see it in the back)

Try dropping a Feather in one and letting the razor do the work. Don't pull it through the whiskers, just carefully let the head, at the right angle, slowly slice through them. The average pass should be much slower than that of a standard DE pass. Let it do its job.

As with any razor it needs to be learned. And this one is well worth learning.

:thumbup1:
 
Great write up Guido. I have two of these neat razors. The instructions from both of mine claim 6000 VPM (the instruction booklets aren't the same either).

Can you copy and post those instructions in this thread, Scotty? They may have strengthened the drive spring by then.
 
A neat razor to try, but the shaves were uninspiring. Considering it is "Mad Scientist" in look and feel, the shave is quite mild. The lack of a close shave and the numb hand keep my Stahly in the box on my dresser. It is nice to admire. (see it in the back)

By the way, I found that a light hand not only let the weight of the Stahly do its job, but a light hand on the handle reduced the numbing of which you speak. And I'm sure it also allowed more overall vibration for the blade action itself.
 
Very nice write up, Guido. Great pictures and ads. I have a Stahly but, unfortunately, It is fully wound but it won't run. Perhaps someday I'll find the wherewithal to attempt taking it apart to assess the problem.

Regards,
Tom
 
Very nice write up, Guido. Great pictures and ads. I have a Stahly but, unfortunately, It is fully wound but it won't run. Perhaps someday I'll find the wherewithal to attempt taking it apart to assess the problem.

Regards,
Tom

Tom, you really need to find a working model to enjoy the experience. I do wonder since I know you were in the market during the late 50's and early 60's, did you encounter this razor in mainstream stores or was it a more of a high line store product?
 
V

VR6ofpain

By the way, I found that a light hand not only let the weight of the Stahly do its job, but a light hand on the handle reduced the numbing of which you speak. And I'm sure it also allowed more overall vibration for the blade action itself.
I wasn't holding it tight the few times I shaved with it. I think the vibrating mechanism (the spinning weight) being at the opposite end of the razor is counter productive. That said it is neat to watch it vibrate around a coffee table with the handle facing straight up.
 
Guido, thank you for this wonderful presentation. The pictures are incredible and the schematic of the inner workings of the razor are reminiscent of a sketch by Leonardo.
 
I wasn't holding it tight the few times I shaved with it. I think the vibrating mechanism (the spinning weight) being at the opposite end of the razor is counter productive. That said it is neat to watch it vibrate around a coffee table with the handle facing straight up.

Let me know if you would be interested in trading out of it. I sure would like to give one a few more rides.
 
Guido, thank you for this wonderful presentation. The pictures are incredible and the schematic of the inner workings of the razor are reminiscent of a sketch by Leonardo.

Note that the patent drawings are based first on a spring driven single edge razor. Then the second patent represents a double edge electric unit. Note the two pronged cord?
 
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Tom, you really need to find a working model to enjoy the experience. I do wonder since I know you were in the market during the late 50's and early 60's, did you encounter this razor in mainstream stores or was it a more of a high line store product?

I really don't recall it from those days personally, but let's face it, even if I had seen it, in those days, I doubt that I would have been able to justify the price, so I probably wouldn't have given it much serious thought. I really don't recall ever seeing one or anything about the razor before I started collecting razors.

Regards,
Tom
 
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