Blade Wars: Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India) vs. Dorco Prime

[cw62803]

Blade Wars: Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India) vs Dorco Prime
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This globe-spanning Blade War pits together the Gillette Wilkinson Sword from an Indian saloon pack and a Korean Dorco Prime. I haven't tried either blade before and I am curious about both. German-made Wilkies are among my favorite blades. The two Dorco blades I've tried in the past were among my least favorite, but I have read many favorable reviews about the Primes. We'll see.

Thank you to @Vineeze for sending me both blades.

My razors of choice will be two Lord L6s, one with black marker on the handle. On a recent vacation, I brought along an L6, and I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy these razors. While I generally prefer a razor with a heavier handle, I consider the L6 (or LP1822L) one of the great wet shaving bargains. The Merkur-like head has perfect alignment and gives great shaves. And if you break it or lose it, it was only $10. I'll shave half of my face with each razor and report my findings.

Have you tried either or both of these blades? Which one do you think will come out on top?

 

[cw62803]

Shave 1
Face lathered with Tabac.
Silver razor=right side of face, black razor=left side of face

Pass 1: Silver was wonderfully smooth. Excellent pass. Black felt sharp, not quite as smooth as silver - had a small amount of resistance in spots.
Pass 2: Again silver was a smooth customer. It feels a lot like my favorite PPI blades. Black was smooth, too - just not quite as smooth as silver.

I have a slightly closer shave on the right (silver) side of my face. Finished with a splash of Florida Water. Evidently, Florida Water was Lucille Ball's favorite cologne. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Advantage: silver

 

[Vineeze]

Woot! You are awesome!!! Thank you for fulfilling my request for this latest edition of Blade Wars. I dont think you can go wrong here, these are my top 2 favorite blades out of over 30 brands I have tried.

Best shaves at shave 3 and 4 I have found, the blades really "get in the groove" during those days. Thats why i never understand people that throw out a blade at shave 1 or 2. The best shaves on almost all brands for me are after shave 3..... with shave 4 or 5 being the apex (absolute best shave).

The big difference between them for me is that one of them is so smooth during the stroke that it makes you feel like no hair was cut but then when you rinse your face you see it is just as efficient as any other top performer.

EDIT: Oh wait actually the Dorco Primes are manufactured in Vietnam (rather than Korea)

I was thinking to myself that Personna Lab Blue can never be included in a blind blade wars because the ink sticks out so far that you can see it on the blade's edge and you would automatically know that there was a Personna blue inside.

 

[GearNoir]

Not tried either.

Blind bet on the Dorco for the win!

 

[cw62803]

Woot! You are awesome!!! Thank you for fulfilling my request for this latest edition of Blade Wars. I dont think you can go wrong here, these are my top 2 favorite blades out of over 30 brands I have tried.

Best shaves at shave 3 and 4 I have found, the blades really "get in the groove" during those days. Thats why i never understand people that throw out a blade at shave 1 or 2. The best shaves on almost all brands for me are after shave 3..... with shave 4 or 5 being the apex (absolute best shave).

The big difference between them for me is that one of them is so smooth during the stroke that it makes you feel like no hair was cut but then when you rinse your face you see it is just as efficient as any other top performer.

EDIT: Oh wait actually the Dorco Primes are manufactured in Vietnam (rather than Korea)

I was thinking to myself that Personna Lab Blue can never be included in a blind blade wars because the ink sticks out so far that you can see it on the blade's edge and you would automatically know that there was a Personna blue inside.

Thanks for the correction. I'd forgotten that Dorcos are now made in Vietnam.

 

[Ricksplace]

I have and like both blades. Both were purchased from Amazon Canada. My Dorco Primes are made in Korea. I haven't used the Primes enough to compare. Looking forward to your evaluation.
Edit: Based on your first shave, I'm going to guess silver is the Dorco Prime.

 

[BigJ]

My bet is on the Dorco Primes!

 

[CigarSmoka]

I haven’t tried either and given my track record I’m not even going to place a bet, but I will check daily until a winner is declared. Thanks for another Blade War @cw62803!

 

[Vineeze]

I have and like both blades. Both were purchased from Amazon Canada. My Dorco Primes are made in Korea. I haven't used the Primes enough to compare. Looking forward to your evaluation.
Edit: Based on your first shave, I'm going to guess silver is the Dorco Prime.

You have made in Korea? I thought all the Primes are made in Vietnam.

 

[Ricksplace]

It seems that Dorco USA sells Primes made in Vietnam. Primes sold by Amazon Canada are made in Korea.
Dorco Primes are still made in both countries, as far as I can tell.
The packaging on the tucks is identical, except for the little "Made in Vietnam" on the cardboard insert as shown on your pic.
There is no mention made anywhere on the individual tucks to show where they're made.
The sleeve of 100 states "Dorco Prime is Premium Trademarks of Dorco, Korea. www.Dorco.co.kr" (sic)
They're currently selling for $8.80 CAN/100 from Amazon Canada.

 

[Daiku]

I have tons of Dorco Primes, almost all of them made in Vietnam, but I do have some made in Korea. There's not a significant difference in quality; if anything, I personally like the Vietnam-made Primes a little better.

 

[Ricksplace]

@Daiku, The reviews I have read regarding Dorco Primes corroborate your findings in that there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference in performance based on the country of manufacture. Yours is the first comparison I have read from someone who has actually used both.

 

[cw62803]

Shave 2
Face lathered with Maca Root
black=right side, silver=left side

My shave this morning was very similar to the first one. On both passes the black felt sharp and just a tiny bit prickly. It's not harsh - it feels a little uneven. The silver was as smooth and comfortable as can be.

Advantage: silver

 

[BigJ]

Is this heading towards an early knockout??

 

[Ricksplace]

If the black is the India Wilkie, you may find it will smooth out a lot next shave. Since you're only shaving half your face with it, it should take a few shaves to smooth out. I had shave #3 this morning with an India Wilkie in a Black Beauty set on 6. Very smooth and sharp and no irritation. I often get a little tingle with alum after shave#1 with an India Wilkie.

 

[jd11798]

Haven't tried either. I'll keep watching!

 

[Bhugo]

Love the Prime and it’s in my top 3 for performance and longevity. India Wilkies we’re not even close for me. Betting on the Dorko’s.

Thanks for the entertainment and practical tests. Very fun to read!

 

[cw62803]

Love the Prime and it’s in my top 3 for performance and longevity. India Wilkies we’re not even close for me. Betting on the Dorko’s.

Thanks for the entertainment and practical tests. Very fun to read!

Be the ball, Bhugo.

 

[Jopete]

Have both but haven’t tried the Indian Gillette Wilkinson Sword yet, also have both the Korean and Vietnamese Dorco Primes but have not tried the Vietnamese Primes yet.
I noticed the Korean Primes seems to be a little thicker or sturdier than the Vietnamese Primes.

I'm curious about the results of this blade war, so far the silver has won all the rounds.

 

[cw62803]

Shave 3
Face lathered with Cella
silver=right, black=left

The first pass with the silver razor was as smooth and comfortable as it gets. It glided across my face so comfortably I could barely tell there was a blade in there. The blade in this razor is on its way to the short list of best blades I've ever tried. Silver felt sharp, but there was some pulling and it did not cut the wiry whiskers on my chin as closely as silver did.

The second pass with silver was as wonderful as the first. Black was good, but not in the same class as silver. The right (silver) side of my face is shaved a little closer than the left.

Advantage: Silver