Stahly Live Blade

SlagleRock;1242121 said:

PM AsylumGuido he may be your best bet. I'd think the inside of that thing would be a real PITA!

Click to expand...

I picked up a few on the bay and have had some success in repairing them...the problem is opening them up without scratching the plating...if yours turns and turns without vibrating it may be a broken spring which is hard to deal with...but if it winds and just doesnt seem to start vibrating then its just a frozen mechanism...the top under the razor head can be removed and a few drops of oil or some WD-40 does the trick...just be careful of scratching it...

I have exchanged e-mails with the fellow who used to own the company (it shut down in 1978). He has a stash of NOS in box versions he is willing to sell for $30 a pop. PM me if any interest and I will hook you up. Nothing in it for me, but it'd be nice to see razor enthusiasts linked up with enthusiastic razors.

Does anyone know how to take these apart? Mine can be turned and turned but never reaches a stop and does not vibrate.

I,too, was very pleasantly surprised by this razor. As others here have, I purchased mine inexpensively ($10.50 + shipping) on e-bay. The quality of this razor is first-rate. Considering the age of the razor, the fact that the "motor" still works flawlessly says much about the quality. It is extremely easy to use. All I received was the razor, no box, no instructions. However, I almost intuitively knew how to operate the razor and change the blade. Some might not like the thick handle but I found it very easy to grip and hold and I have small hands. The blade replacement is typical of most three piece razors. However, the thicker handle does make it feel a bit more clumsy. I found this a very non-aggressive razor even by my average beard standard. For such a heavy razor, it is quite well balanced and made for an easy shave. It gave a very good shave even while trying it with a blade I had never used before (a Dorco 301). I'll be curious to see how good the shave is with one of my two favorite blades (Derby and red pack IP). I will definitely use the Stahly from time to time but I do miss the feel and sound of my Gillette New, Gillette Milord, or Probak cutting my beard.

I paid 15.00 for mine and didn't expect it to be worth that for shaving, but I was happily surprised! It was very different to say the least but it worked and worked well. Pretty heavy razor but not really uncomfortably so. It takes winding up usually more than once so I used a washcloth to help me wind it since it proves difficult when your hands are soapy and wet. Overall great razor...if it interests you at all you probably won't regret getting one.

This is a neat razor for any collector to have in their collection. I picked mine up in excellent condition very cheap off of the Bay. It was very easy to work with and provided a fantastic shave. The balance is terrible because it's an awkward design but the shave was really great. Definitely better than any modern vibrating razor.

haven't got it yet but its on the way, supposedly brand new???? looks good to me. an ebay piece, who said the power fusion was a new idea

I concur with others that have posted reviews of the Stahly that it seems to drag much more smoothly through the beard than most shavers. I was rather reminded of an electric razor... quite a strange sensation really. I did enjoy myself pretty thoroughly and the shave was pretty good too -almost BBS.

I experienced an interesting effect that the vibration tended to slow each of my passes like when I'll wait for any gas powered machine to do the work for me instead of forcing it though it's task. I'm not really sure if that will lead to better shaves or not but I did find that to be slightly intriguing.

The one complaint I would have would be upon rewinding it several times during the shave, I ended-up having 3-4 little slices in my thumb from apparently absent-mindedly grabbing the razor. However, I'm SURE I only held the sides (non-cutting edge) of the head, but the razor must have still been thin enough to cut my skin. Perhaps the vibrations made the cuts? Oh well, I'll have to be more careful next time.

Like others, I think this fellow is an excellent show piece, but I think I'll reserve it for times when I can just enjoy myself on a lazy weekend or some such. It is slower than my typical Superspeed, although I also thought that each stroke really did shave more efficiently per stroke than did other shavers.

Very cool piece and I'm very glad to have it added to my collection/rotation.

EDIT: One more thing I wanted to add, I did NOT think that this razor was aggressive by any stretch. I'm not sure what led others to think it was aggressive, but other than the numbing sensation of the vibrations masking the typical cutting action, I thought the shave was mild to moderate. I did receive a few small nicks, but nothing a splash of cold water and aftershave couldn't mend. I guess they're right -- YMMV

I paid around $20 for mine shipped from the 'Bay. I don't know if that's a fair price or not relative to what these typically sell for, but for a razor that seems relatively rare and very technologically advanced like this one it seems like a pretty reasonable price.

I ran this razor through its paces, and it's not for me.

The head is very rounded and thick. How thick? I can't do ears-chin or chin-ears passes with this thing, because when I do so on my upper neck the SIDE (not the cutting edge) of the blade cuts into the skin underneath my jaw. Not fun!

The vibrations are a good novelty, but for me they really kill the feel and feedback factor of the shave down to nil, making it much more likely that I'll cut myself. I also don't think that the vibrations really add much to the efficiency of the shave, and they still didn't conquer my usual problem patches of stubble.

Aside from the angle issues stated above, the thing was pretty easy to use. I wound the razor up before each pass, which gave just about enough vibration time.

If I could give this razor a "10" for packaging I would. Mine came in a spring-loaded wooden box that requires you to pull the top of the box forward (not up) to get it off. Hard to explain, but very cool and some very nice worksmanship there.

For me this was a pretty aggressive razor. Not much else to say there.

The balance on this thing is way off by traditional standards, as all of those vibrating weights are in the handle.

Conclusion: for me, this razor belongs on my shelf instead of on my sink. It's a nice novelty and one that even non-wet-shavers are amazed by, but I don't think that the shave is on the same level as the shaves that I can get with most of my other razors. I may run another blade through this thing in a year or two from now to check this conclusions, but otherwise I don't plan on using it again for a very long while.

Michael was as good as his word. The razor arrived in mint condition. All the comments about build quality are spot on. This may have novelty value but it's no cheap toy. It feels like a very well built machine.

I just had my first shave with it and it is STRANGE! Now strange in a good way, but strange none-the-less. I put a day-three Feather in, wound it up and... well, there goes all the things I'm used to. The vibration, although gentle, takes away the usual feedback. Firstly, I couldn't feel whether the blade angle was correct or not, and I couldn't get any auditory feedback either. Secondly, the vibration takes away the feeling of blade removing hair - it was absolutely smooth - no feeling of anything raking across my skin. All I really had to go on was seeing where there was lather left and where there wasn't. It would be very interesting to find out how people who usually struggle with shaving their neck go with this machine.

All of this made for a fairly slow but very interesting shave. The result was almost BBS. Or, more precisely, BBS on most of my face but a few spots of stubble here and there where I missed.

Conclusion. This is a very good shaver. It probably deserves a lot more long term success. If you have the opportunity to try it, you really, really should.

Note: I haven't scored price or aggressiveness, so please ignore the average. However, this seems to be a very mild razor, even with a Feather in it.

Must Dash was kind enough to allow me to try his new Stahly whilst it is in transit to it's new home Down Under. My experience with this magnificent shaving apparatus follows:

Dear Jeremy,
Your Stahly has arrived and it is a beautiful razor. No blemishes or scratches at all. Looks brand new. It comes in a nice box (original) with an instruction book. Everything is in pristine condition.

Per your generous offer, I did give it a try for one shave, because I don't
know when I would ever have the chance again. This thing is quite an
invention. The wind up mechanism is smooth. I had to re-wind it several
times during the shave but that may be because I was being VERY careful not
to damage anything, so I didn't wind it up all the way.

There is a quiet buzz and a vigorous vibration. I would say that the Stahly
is more effective in a single pass than my HD, but at least in my only
attempt, I had to shave more slowly due to the vibration, so I can't say the
Stahly is any faster overall. I had zero nicks or cuts. A smooth shave and
very close. The balance of the razor isn't bad but the giant handle would
take some getting used to.

Overall, I would say this is a physically beautiful and aesthetically
pleasing piece of machinery that will make a great collector piece and would
be fun for the occasional shave. (Note: I always rate resold razors as a "5" on price since it is so subjective.... and in this case I didn't pay for the razor.... just borrowed it. )
Michael

I like the razor and it seems to be good quality. In fact it is very mechanically sound and is my oldest razor. Shaving with this razor while it vibrates takes away every pleasure that I enjoy about DE shaving. The vibrating removes the ability to feel where the blade is on your face all together. If vibrating, I can't tell if the blade angle is correct, if its even cutting and thus this contraption takes away from its self. The vibrating is supposed to raise the hairs for a closer shave but makes it impossible to get a close shave. Had to have one for my collection though. Most interesting looking razor that I own by far and to think that they had the technology that seems to be the big selling point in all the new razors way back in the day makes me feel that I have a piece of genius in my hand.

very good....only thing is you must keep winding up....which is also difficult if your hands are wet and slick.

had my first shave with one of these today.

price - mine was dirt cheap, too, maybe 15$ w/shipping from the bay - and mine also has a price list w/ $24.99! the most i have seen this go for is no more than what they cost new 40 years ago, so they are definitely a great deal.

quality - the razor seems well built, and the mechanism is very cool. mine, unfortunately, does a weird click at a couple places during it's cycle, which didn't seem to affect the shave but was a little freaky to hear while trying to concentrate. mine did come with both a square cornered top plate and a rounded one, the rounded one being a little closer to gillette sized, and easier to get under the nose with.

user friendly - i found the vibration to be more like 2 minutes, as well. it definitely made it easier to get my cheeks smooth, i felt almost no tugging, which is a first for me. however, the gap between the blade and the safety bar on mine is huge! bigger than my fat boy all the way open! this made it very easy for me to nick myself with this razor, atg was out of the question. in all fairness, my shave skills aren't that great, though.

grip - the fat grip is a little heavy/tiring, but not unmanageable.

ease of blade replacement - i don't see any other way they could have designed the blade changing system that wouldn't have made the thing even bulkier.

aggressiveness - as stated above, this seemed very agressive to me.

adjustability - none, except on or off

balance - not bad, overall

this was a fun razor to use, and would work well as a 1 or 2 pass shaver for days when i gotta move quick (the winding only takes a second). but a 4 pass smooth shave wasn't gonna happen today. nor would i want to go through the constant winding to get those 4 passes. it is one of the coolest oddball tech items in the shaving world, however, and is worth owning on that score alone.

I just got this from slcsteve (thanks, Steve!) on Friday and fired it up this morning. I should say wound it up! You just turn the bulbous end on the already bulbous handle and it vibrates like any of the Gillette "power" versions.

Price: This was an expensive razor in its day; mine included the original invoice from 1966 and it was 24.95! I got mine for only $17.50. Considering that most blade razors at that time were 1/10th the price, I think I got a great deal. Thanks again, Steve!

Quality: This is in mint condition and works like a charm. This is no cheap novelty item and ranks with any of my newer razors, even the 38c.

User Friendly: The instructions say just wind it until it stops and it will vibrate for 3 minutes. I think it's closer to 2 and I had to rewind 4 times during my shave, but no matter. It is simple and there is no battery to replace. My only beef is that the head is very deep (thicker than a Gillette fatboy), so tight spots, like around the nose, are tricky.

Grip: The handle is enormous and deeply ridged so not bad, but you must hold it in the middle so that the large end can spin as it winds down. You aren't likely to drop this monster though!

Blade Replacement: I prefer one or two piece setups over this three piece design.

Aggressiveness: I'd say it's near a 4-5 on any of my Gillette adjustables. The vibration really does seem to reduce the drag, so I was able to get some trouble spots, like under my chin, really smooth with no irritation.

Adjustability: n/a

Balance: Given the size of the handle and the windup mechanism, this is understandably bottom-heavy. However, as I mentioned earlier, the head is quite beefy, so it isn't as bad as you might think and probably helps encourage light pressure.

I bought this on a lark thinking it would be more of a conversation piece, but I was very pleasantly surprised by its performance. Since the winding process takes time, it won't be my everyday cutter, but I can see this being a regular part of my rotation. It is another testimony to the ability of American manufacturers to make quality products, at least in days gone by!