Stahly head heads up

[gearchow]

This is from the thread The greatest razor. IN THE WORLD.

Those Stahly Live Blade heads look neat. Are those roller guards?

Those Stahly heads are neat looking, but I shaved with my Stahly razor two nights ago and haven't butchered myself like that in quite sometime. The cheeks went great, but my top lip and chin - wowza! I may be using my tech for a while.

And it's all my fault for not scoping out the head/blade geometries first. Especially a head that has a spring mechanism in it.

I'll let the pictures do the talking (the head is screwed on tight):

Notice the unevenness of the gap as well as the gap:

View attachment 122551

Fore to Aft unevenness

View attachment 122552

Looks ok from here

View attachment 122553

The spring mechanism has sprung through the years and now the geometries seem to be less then optimum, unless the razor came out of the factory like this. And I have good reason to be suspicious of the quality because of this:

View attachment 122554

Notice how the head is askew on the guard and that has nothing to do with the spring, it's locked tight in place with the alignment pins and short bars.

I got a feeling that my Stahly is on the far end of the quality bin out and the vast majority must be better. No wonder the windup mechanism on this razor is still stellar!

On the Shelf She Goes! Wish I had the case...

-jim

 

[amishmotorboat]

This is from the thread The greatest razor. IN THE WORLD.



Those Stahly heads are neat looking, but I shaved with my Stahly razor two nights ago and haven't butchered myself like that in quite sometime. The cheeks went great, but my top lip and chin - wowza! I may be using my tech for a while.

And it's all my fault for not scoping out the head/blade geometries first. Especially a head that has a spring mechanism in it.

I'll let the pictures do the talking (the head is screwed on tight):

Notice the unevenness of the gap as well as the gap:

View attachment 122551

Fore to Aft unevenness

View attachment 122552

Looks ok from here

View attachment 122553

The spring mechanism has sprung through the years and now the geometries seem to be less then optimum, unless the razor came out of the factory like this. And I have good reason to be suspicious of the quality because of this:

View attachment 122554

Notice how the head is askew on the guard and that has nothing to do with the spring, it's locked tight in place with the alignment pins and short bars.

I got a feeling that my Stahly is on the far end of the quality bin out and the vast majority must be better. No wonder the windup mechanism on this razor is still stellar!

On the Shelf She Goes! Wish I had the case...

-jim

wow. I have had a few Stahlys and what you have there is definitely not the norm. That last picture is difficult to interpret. I think if it were shot from the underside of the head it would be more telling.

edit: oh, and those first pictures show that the spring is not where it should be. The whole plate is pushed up, no doubt bending the springs and twisting its position relative to the safety bars.

 

[gearchow]

wow. I have had a few Stahlys and what you have there is definitely not the norm. That last picture is difficult to interpret. I think if it were shot from the underside of the head it would be more telling.

edit: oh, and those first pictures show that the spring is not where it should be. The whole plate is pushed up, no doubt bending the springs and twisting its position relative to the safety bars.

You are correct, here is the bottom plate in profile. I don't see the top plate compressing this down. I don't think there is a lot I can do about this. I would have still bought it even knowing I shouldn't shave with it.

View attachment 122631

-jim

 

[amishmotorboat]

There are likely far more good stahly heads out there than working handles. I don't think you'll have a problem finding a broken one with a good head on the cheap.

 

[the beav]

I shaved all last week with a Stahly for the first time. Loaded it with a Feather blade, cranked it up, and had no problems.

Moral of the story: There's nothing to be worried about if the head's OK.

 

[cooncatbob]

Since reading this thread I checked out my Stahly head, it's built pretty stout and there no movement with the springs.
It would take a considerable amount of force to bend the spring and ruin the alignment between the center platform and the guide bar, one would have to step on the handle with the head attached to knock everything out of wack.

 

[Radar O\'Reilly]

I think the reason the Stahly head didn't last too long is that the spring steel the safety bar is attached to, which in turn is attached to the blade bed, is very prone to damage should the razor tip over. Given it's small base, and lack of an off/pause switch, it's very easy to imagine it being on the counter top, and walking it's way into the sink, and getting bent.

 

[the beav]

I think the reason the Stahly head didn't last too long is that the spring steel the safety bar is attached to, which in turn is attached to the blade bed, is very prone to damage should the razor tip over. Given it's small base, and lack of an off/pause switch, it's very easy to imagine it being on the counter top, and walking it's way into the sink, and getting bent.

Good thinking. I used an upside-down Tabac lid to contain my Stahly between passes. Of course about everyone in the 1950s did one pass when shaving, but then many sinks in the 1940s-50s were stand-alone sinks. It would have been very easy for a Stahly to walk off onto the floor. I have no idea where they put the razor after they were done shaving to let it wind down--probably it just went back into the medicine cabinet.

 

[gearchow]

The guard piece is square, I measured the diagonals, but the "floating" inner part that has the alignment holes is not square within the outer guard. There aren't any discernible dents in head, but that's not to say it didn't drop.

Hard to imagine in a modern bathroom, but all I got to do is visit my daughter to get that 1920s (not retro!) feel to see how easy it must of been for razor to hit the floor.

So I was just playing with it and I get this cool behavior: wind it up and set it up right and mine just sits there vibrating. If I take the head off, wind it up and set it down, it starts spinning. The amazing power of springs!

Physics in Action.

-jim

 

[Radar O\'Reilly]

Good thinking. I used an upside-down Tabac lid to contain my Stahly between passes. Of course about everyone in the 1950s did one pass when shaving, but then many sinks in the 1940s-50s were stand-alone sinks. It would have been very easy for a Stahly to walk off onto the floor. I have no idea where they put the razor after they were done shaving to let it wind down--probably it just went back into the medicine cabinet.

I use an inverted spray paint can lid w/some of the inside ribs shaved down. I too have a stand alone sink w.barely any counter space, so the walking Stahly was a concern.

 

[cooncatbob]

I think the reason the Stahly head didn't last too long is that the spring steel the safety bar is attached to, which in turn is attached to the blade bed, is very prone to damage should the razor tip over. Given it's small base, and lack of an off/pause switch, it's very easy to imagine it being on the counter top, and walking it's way into the sink, and getting bent.

I believe it would take a lot more force then merely tipping over to knock a Stahly head out of alignment.
I also see no evidence of this being a wide spread problem with the design.
The wind up mechanism is much more likely to quit working then the head becoming damage form dropping or tipping over.

 

[gearchow]

I believe it would take a lot more force then merely tipping over to knock a Stahly head out of alignment.
I also see no evidence of this being a wide spread problem with the design.
The wind up mechanism is much more likely to quit working then the head becoming damage form dropping or tipping over.

Sometimes bad ones get out the door. Although this razor is missing the case, it is in a very clean condition and the spring works just fine. Maybe easily? It takes very little force on my part to move the guard. Sorry for the poor video.

[YOUTUBE]CdUMIAfJOR0[/YOUTUBE]

Bob, you said your's doesn't move at all?

-jim

 

[Radar O\'Reilly]

I believe it would take a lot more force then merely tipping over to knock a Stahly head out of alignment.
I also see no evidence of this being a wide spread problem with the design.
The wind up mechanism is much more likely to quit working then the head becoming damage form dropping or tipping over.

You also have to remember it's a large & heavy razor handle that may need to be wound again while shaving which means your hands are probably wet and soapy, which is another way it could fall. And it's not only being knocked out of alignment, you can hit the pins/rivets/fasteners and they can loosen which means you will get play, which could result in a bad shave. Unlike a Gillette which could be bought new if you dropped it, the Stahly probably required mailing it back to the factory for repair. As for the clockwork mechanism, there are still watches/clocks to that use it, so unless the razor was abused, the only thing that would really hurt the mechanism is the grease thickening.

 

[cooncatbob]

Sometimes bad ones get out the door. Although this razor is missing the case, it is in a very clean condition and the spring works just fine. Maybe easily? It takes very little force on my part to move the guard. Sorry for the poor video.

[YOUTUBE]CdUMIAfJOR0[/YOUTUBE]

Bob, you said your's doesn't move at all?

-jim

When the head is mounted on the handle you can grab the head by the guide bars and rock it back and forth, but if your just holding the head in your hand it's very hard to move the center platform.
Now I didn't say it was impossible for the head be damaged, just that it would take some force.
Like if it was stepped on with the handle attached that would be sufficient leverage to bend the center platform out of alignment with the guide bars.
While the design is robust , it's also made to precise tolerances.
A few .001 of an inch would be enough to mess up the blade exposure.
I find my Stahly to be a rather mild shaver that requires a Feather to make it a great razor.
I imagine the Stahly head was costly to produce compared with the Tech head, which is practically indestructible and was produced from sheet brass and a couple of simple stamping operations.