The 1937 Liebel razor - made in Belgium

[Northstonehill]

This tread haunts me. I love the look of the Liebel.

Thanks Andrew, Doug, Lefonque and all! - Yes it did the same to me when I first saw the model. Been looking ever since.

 

[Northstonehill]

Shaves of the weekend

 

[Slock]

I'm confused. I think we need to get the nomenclature correct. Does this razor have Lather ducts, troughs or channels. Do I have to start a poll?

 

[Northstonehill]

I'm confused. I think we need to get the nomenclature correct. Does this razor have Lather ducts, troughs or channels. Do I have to start a poll?

Good question - I’m out in terms of participating though - not native English speaker and was wondering myself

 

[Shaun asleep]

As a Belgian I really enjoyed reading this thread. It's the first I hear of this razor. A quick search on the interwebs leaves me empty handed. Cool stuff, thank you!

 

[HDSledge]

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In 1937 the Belgian small weapons maker Shlemer Jean Marie Prosper decided to start making DE razors also. He had worked for some years for various cutlery companies (French maker Noget and some German makers from Solingen) and had built DE razor experience also by being the local importer of the German Ben Hur razors.

As a name for the new razor line he chose Liebel, a combination of the name of his home town (Liege) and the name of his native nation Belgium.

Online sources say the Liebel razors were made in either copper or chrome, but we don’t know for how long they were produced. Most probably not for long and only in small numbers, as only very few pop up nowadays.

I have been hunting one for a good while after reading a very positive shave review done by my honorable friend Jake. And recently I was fortunate to snatch one up through a mutually beneficial trade with another razor friend. Hence the happy opportunity to do this short presentation.

Judging from the few online referrals to Liebel my specimen seems to be a standard model. It is built in chrome plated brass and significantly for a 1930s razor it weighs in at a hefty 95 grams, truly built like a tank.

The most notable feature of the razor (apart from the weight) is the very deep lather ducts in the solid bar baseplate setup. It definitely seems that Timeless could have looked this way for inspiration when building their modern similar setup. But on the other hand, as for other vintages, the same 1930s era Emir and Sonnal razors (both made in Solingen) have suspiciously similar setups so maybe Mr. Prosper himself did not come up with the design without inspiration from other makes...

The shave is great, almost no blade feel and really smooth. I needed to adjust for the weight though, first time I put it to my cheek I forgot and it hit too hard and gave me a small cut. Guess all those wonderful 50 gram Tech shaves have slowed my instincts, haha.

Happy shaves, fellas!

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Nice. Cool how some things can be old and new at the same time.

 

[AngeloSaccone1018]

View attachment 1275417

In 1937 the Belgian small weapons maker Shlemer Jean Marie Prosper decided to start making DE razors also. He had worked for some years for various cutlery companies (French maker Noget and some German makers from Solingen) and had built DE razor experience also by being the local importer of the German Ben Hur razors.

As a name for the new razor line he chose Liebel, a combination of the name of his home town (Liege) and the name of his native nation Belgium.

Online sources say the Liebel razors were made in either copper or chrome, but we don’t know for how long they were produced. Most probably not for long and only in small numbers, as only very few pop up nowadays.

I have been hunting one for a good while after reading a very positive shave review done by my honorable friend Jake. And recently I was fortunate to snatch one up through a mutually beneficial trade with another razor friend. Hence the happy opportunity to do this short presentation.

Judging from the few online referrals to Liebel my specimen seems to be a standard model. It is built in chrome plated brass and significantly for a 1930s razor it weighs in at a hefty 95 grams, truly built like a tank.

The most notable feature of the razor (apart from the weight) is the very deep lather ducts in the solid bar baseplate setup. It definitely seems that Timeless could have looked this way for inspiration when building their modern similar setup. But on the other hand, as for other vintages, the same 1930s era Emir and Sonnal razors (both made in Solingen) have suspiciously similar setups so maybe Mr. Prosper himself did not come up with the design without inspiration from other makes...

The shave is great, almost no blade feel and really smooth. I needed to adjust for the weight though, first time I put it to my cheek I forgot and it hit too hard and gave me a small cut. Guess all those wonderful 50 gram Tech shaves have slowed my instincts, haha.

Happy shaves, fellas!

View attachment 1275418View attachment 1275419View attachment 1275420View attachment 1275421View attachment 1275422

Such a beautiful razor. I’ve had this on my gotta-get list since I started collecting about 8 months ago. Thanks for the info!

 

[Iridian]

The design of the razor head gives me a strong Timeless vibe!

 

[Messygoon]

Imagine, expanding your small arms business to make razors on the cusp on WW2. In less than 3 years, Hitler would invade Poland, then Denmark and Norway, and then Shlemer Jean Marie Prosper’s Belgium. In that context, it’s easy to understand why these wonderful razors are so scarce.