Lifetyme Sizing Dies

[FOR_Star]

Anybody know if there are Lifetyme sizing dies for Stars that are "plain steel" dies (NOT carbide)?

Particularly curious about 9MM Lifetyme sizing dies.  Were Lifetyme 9MM resizing dies available in both carbide and plain steel in the 11/64-24 thread configuration?

Thanks.

[rbwillnj]

Carbide Die Service started producing Lifetyme carbide dies not long after WWII.   Carbide Die Service was the name of the company, and Lifetyme was their brand name for Carbide sizing dies.   Seems unlikely that Carbide Die Service would have produced a Steel die, and if they did, it wouldn't have been called Lifetyme.

I know they applied for a Patent, as I have seen Lifetyme dies with a Pat. Pending stamp.   I have never seen one with a patent number, and a patent search came up empty, so someone else must have come up with the idea first, but maybe didn't commercialize it.

[FOR_Star]

Thanks Bruce, thorough answer as usual.
I had contacted the gentleman offering the 9MM Lifetyme sizing die on the Want to Sell/Buy forum.  He seems very knowledgeable about Stars & their dies.  He indicated that it was not a carbide die.  I had believed/assumed that Lifetyme dies were carbide.  He double-checked the die and indicated confidently that it had no carbide insert, and was a steel-only 9MM sizer.

Anomaly or maybe produced on a custom order?

[rbwillnj]

I have not seen the die myself, but I'm going to bet that it is a carbide die.   

Because 9MM is a tapered case, the sizing ring is quiet long, (the full length of the case) so it doesn't look like the standard sizing ring in a carbide die.   Also, (and I have seen this on several 9MM Lifetyme dies that I have) the satin chrome plating on the die can cover the intersection of the steel and the carbide ring at the mouth of the die making it difficult to determine that it has a carbide ring.

Bruce