Wilkinson Sword Chromium/Light Brigade - Was this just marketing for the US Market?

[Goatywoaty]

Hi Chaps

I'm in the UK, and I can never find any Wilkinson Sword 'New Chromium', 'Chromium XCN', or Light Brigade packaged blades, unless it's from a seller in the US.

I can't help but think that this was just some marketing thing for the US market. Why would there be a special coating on the blade that wasn't available here?

I think we should have a Wilkie mega thread with people showing what Wilkies they have, with any info they have about them (where/when they were bought, shave quality etc) and pics of the blades along with the inner and outer packaging if available...would be good to try and figure out the marketing!

Thoughts gentlemen?

 

[psfred]

I think all the smart people in the UK bought them and used them, that's why they are uncommon there. I'm pretty sure they were marketed in the UK, what with pictures of the boxes with prices in English currency.....

 

[Goatywoaty]

Having researched thoroughly, I haven't seen any Light Brigades, Chromium etc packaging with UK currency, but a lot of the photos have disappeared from threads unfortunately! Thanks for the info though...

I would have thought that more of these LB/Chromium blades would still be in existence here though if they were so popular. Not seen a single one for sale in the UK!

Just seen another thread where someone has very helpfully put up a photo showing a US Chromium blade and a UK Super-sword that both look the same. Wierd marketing going on!

 

[Fordfather]

We had a pack, donated to the 2016 Sue Auction. It was packaged for the US market.

 

[Goatywoaty]

Yes, every packet i've seen has been for the US market...Not seen one for UK market hence my suspicions, however a chap on here has seen some packs that have had UK currency stickers on, so my theory isn't quite right!

 

[mjclark]

Great thread! Yes I’m in UK and have NEVER seen any LBs on eBay here so I really suspect that they weren’t marketed in Britain.
So this big question is what’s the UK equivalent???

I’m guessing it’s the New Wilkinson. which appeared in UK 1970 and I’m testing some of those out although as yet I haven’t got an LB to compare it with.
There’s the thread on them here:
British Wilkinson New Stainless Blades - 1969
For sure though the US XCN Chromium and the UK Super Sword Edge are identical blades:

I’m also interested to know how the 1980’s and 1990’s British Wilkinsons compare to the 1970’s versions.

I’m starting to wonder whether the LBs are just perceived as being the best Wilkinson because of the memorable packaging....and actually everything British past 1970 is equally awesome.
I’ve seen at least two people saying the XCN=Super Sword Edge are a bit better than the LBs.

There’s also “London Bridge” for the Middle Eastern market and Boots Super Stainless from the same era which are all possibly identical blades and all phenomenal...

 

[TADIII]

@mjclark wrote, "For sure though the US XCN Chromium and the UK Super Sword Edge are identical blades..."

My Sword Master XCNs do Not have "Super Sword" printed on them; they just have "MADE IN ENGLAND" on them. I think mine are from 1974 or '75 (Berkley Heights address but no bar code yet). Packaging looks like yours but blades do not. I have some Super Swords from '69 and '70 which have no address on the back of the hang card (69), or the Mountainside NJ address (70).
XCN blade and packaging below:

The nasty looking blade has 12 shaves on it and is alternating with a BP Sample pack Chromium Edge Light Brigade.

Tom

 

[Mouser]

Well, I'm in the U.S., use vintage blades exclusively and I can tell you those blades are THE hardest to find period. About one two pack shows up for sale for every 20 five pack dispensers of Personna 74s. Maybe.

 

[mjclark]

@mjclark wrote, "For sure though the US XCN Chromium and the UK Super Sword Edge are identical blades..."

My Sword Master XCNs do Not have "Super Sword" printed on them; they just have "MADE IN ENGLAND" on them. I think mine are from 1974 or '75 (Berkley Heights address but no bar code yet). Packaging looks like yours but blades do not. I have some Super Swords from '69 and '70 which have no address on the back of the hang card (69), or the Mountainside NJ address (70).
XCN blade and packaging below:
View attachment 860898
The nasty looking blade has 12 shaves on it and is alternating with a BP Sample pack Chromium Edge Light Brigade.

Tom

Well, I'm in the U.S., use vintage blades exclusively and I can tell you those blades are THE hardest to find period. About one two pack shows up for sale for every 20 five pack dispensers of Personna 74s. Maybe.

This is getting very very interesting now.
My XCNs also show the Berkley Heights address but may be earlier than yours since the price is only 79c.
Yours look absolutely identical to my 1981 Wilkinsons:

So could it really be that these are all the same blade?
My Berkley Heights XCN package contains Super Sword Edge blades which were seen in 1970.
But yours contains the blades with the diagonal banding which were still being prodced in the 1980’s.
In between there’s the New Wilkinson, New Chromium and Chromium.
Even a 1990’s Wilkinson Classic pack (white label with golden high 5) talks about the Chromium Edge with ceramic and PTFE.
Go figure...

 

[mjclark]

Here’s my XCN packaging - the picture on the back shows the blades with diagonal banding but the blades inside are the Super Sword Edge:

 

[TADIII]

@mjclark, the backs of our hang cards are the same, and both without barcodes - so probably pre1976. (First USA barcodes in mid 74 and fuller use by late 1976; however, several years later in Great Britain, I think.) USA Print ads and commercials for XCNs I have seen are almost all from 1974 and one from 1975. I have a Sword Master (no XCN) hang card with a bar code (and Berkley Heights address) but the blades are still sealed so I don't know what they look like. I think I recall reading somewhere that the "diagonal lines" printing was for export distribution, but I'm not sure. Pricing on your card is affixed, while mine is pre-printed; I'm not sure what that means - just an observation.

I have been using Wilkinson Sword DE blades pretty exclusively since 1966, but until 2013 paid almost no attention to the packaging. In fact, I don't think I bought very many after late 1987, when I stumbled into a mother-load for pennies per blade and bought hundreds (and hundreds).

I think The Shaving Room (mostly British forum?) started a thread like this a few years ago (three or four pages without resolution) but lots of observations. Unfortunately, most of their pictures disappeared. I am hoping more people will add their observations here.

Tom

 

[mjclark]

@mjclark, the backs of our hang cards are the same, and both without barcodes - so probably pre1976. (First USA barcodes in mid 74 and fuller use by late 1976; however, several years later in Great Britain, I think.) USA Print ads and commercials for XCNs I have seen are almost all from 1974 and one from 1975. I have a Sword Master (no XCN) hang card with a bar code (and Berkley Heights address) but the blades are still sealed so I don't know what they look like. I think I recall reading somewhere that the "diagonal lines" printing was for export distribution, but I'm not sure. Pricing on your card is affixed, while mine is pre-printed; I'm not sure what that means - just an observation.

I have been using Wilkinson Sword DE blades pretty exclusively since 1966, but until 2013 paid almost no attention to the packaging. In fact, I don't think I bought very many after late 1987, when I stumbled into a mother-load for pennies per blade and bought hundreds (and hundreds).

I think The Shaving Room (mostly British forum?) started a thread like this a few years ago (three or four pages without resolution) but lots of observations. Unfortunately, most of their pictures disappeared. I am hoping more people will add their observations here.

Tom

Yes it would be amazing g to unravel this.
All the British Wilkinsons from the 80’s onwards have the diagonal banding but yours are from the 70’s!

 

[mjclark]

Even the final edition 1990’s British Wilkinsons claim a Chromium Edge and look identical to your XCNs and my 1980’s Blades:

 

[mjclark]

And here’s some from the 1980’s which look the same again:

 

[mjclark]

And here’s some from the early 1970’s that were packaged with the Sticky razors:

I strongly suspect that the “New” blades on the left came BEFORE the blades on the right (like the “New Chromium” came before the “Chromium”).
These must be the best contenders as the British market equivalent of Light Brigades as they are appearing at the same time.

It’s confusing that I have Super Sword Edge in the mid-70’s XCN packaging though when we’re mostly placing those blades in 1969/70.
Perhaps Wilkinson were just using up old stock but it does strongly suggest that these could all be the same blade...

 

[Mouser]

I' not sure I'm following what you guys are questioning but as someone who uses them pretty frequently, Wilkinson Chromium Edge and Light Brigades are the same blades, and no other Wilkinson Sword are. That's my opinion from using them. Is that what you're wondering?

 

[mjclark]

I' not sure I'm following what you guys are questioning but as someone who uses them pretty frequently, Wilkinson Chromium Edge and Light Brigades are the same blades, and no other Wilkinson Sword are. That's my opinion from using them. Is that what you're wondering?

I think the question is which blades are the UK market equivalent of US market Light Brigades.

But there’s so many other questions too!!

Did the quality of the blades get worse in the 80’s but they just printed them the same?

And is there a bad British Wilkinson?
How many shaves might I expect from an 80’s Wilkinson?

Ha ha - there’s no end to this but it’s gold to be talking to people with direct experience of all these blades.

 

[mjclark]

And I just shaved with one of those 1980’s Wilkinsons in this very aggressive Matador DeLuxe Razor:

Definitely not quite as smooth as the 1970 New Wilkinson I used previously but just as ridiculously sharp.
So as @Mouser has already pointed out these are NOT the same blades but still totally excellent.
The big question for me is longevity now...

 

[Goatywoaty]

I' not sure I'm following what you guys are questioning but as someone who uses them pretty frequently, Wilkinson Chromium Edge and Light Brigades are the same blades, and no other Wilkinson Sword are. That's my opinion from using them. Is that what you're wondering?

mjclark has already answered this echoing my thoughts I just read a lot about Light Brigades/XCN Chromium being some awesome, but they NEVER appear for sale in the UK. This made me think that it's just a marketing gimmick for the US market. Surely Wilkinson Sword wouldn't create an extra special blade just for export? There has to be an equivalent UK market blade, the great mystery is which one?!

I think we will solve this mystery soon if we can get a good selection of photos of outer packaging/tuck inserts/blade wrappers and blades from both the US and UK. I have a feeling that Wilkinson Sword didn't create loads of different blades, they just packaged them differently...the printing on the blades certainly doesn't change much even though the packaging/advertising looks rather different.

A couple of LBs would also be good to try out and test against the UK marketed blades! Does anyone in the US have some that they kindly might be able to sell to me? (mjclark - if I get hold of some i'll send some to you too and we can do some better tests to establish the equivalent blade).

I've taken a few pics of the varieties I have. The tucks and blades are UK sourced, as are the carded tucks. The Super-sword dispensers were sourced from Europe, but I think they originated from the US. No idea of dates annoyingly

 

[mjclark]

mjclark has already answered this echoing my thoughts I just read a lot about Light Brigades/XCN Chromium being some awesome, but they NEVER appear for sale in the UK. This made me think that it's just a marketing gimmick for the US market. Surely Wilkinson Sword wouldn't create an extra special blade just for export? There has to be an equivalent UK market blade, the great mystery is which one?!

I think we will solve this mystery soon if we can get a good selection of photos of outer packaging/tuck inserts/blade wrappers and blades from both the US and UK. I have a feeling that Wilkinson Sword didn't create loads of different blades, they just packaged them differently...the printing on the blades certainly doesn't change much even though the packaging/advertising looks rather different.

A couple of LBs would also be good to try out and test against the UK marketed blades! Does anyone in the US have some that they kindly might be able to sell to me? (mjclark - if I get hold of some i'll send some to you too and we can do some better tests to establish the equivalent blade).

I've taken a few pics of the varieties I have. The tucks and blades are UK sourced, as are the carded tucks. The Super-sword dispensers were sourced from Europe, but I think they originated from the US. No idea of dates annoyingly


View attachment 861274 View attachment 861275 View attachment 861276 View attachment 861277

Fantastic! The game’s really afoot now!!
My money is on those gold and black card blades (the two middle ones in your first photo) to be the UK LB equivalents .
They are the right years (came packaged with the Sticky) and could correspond to the New Chromium and Chromium.
And the packaging even has a battle on it!

But of course you’re right the only proper test is against an actual Light Brigade blade.
What a day that will be