Indian Wilkinson Sword (stainless steel)

[MichaeltheRomanHistorian]

Well, they came about a week after I ordered them from an E-bay seller in India. I paid about $0.11 per blade (100 of them). I didn't know what to expect but I like the all paper packaging, I think that is more environmentally friendly as I can recycle them (but also, a plastic case for 5 blades or even 10still seems wasteful to me). I was just testing them out since I can get the German made WS blades from Wal-Mart and I have 19 packs of my E-bay ordered German WS blades still.

I hand-stropped the blade, just in case, and loaded up my British New. I lathered up one of my latest restores (black badger from TGN) and used my Trader Joe's mango shaving cream (I do get a good lather out of it with the right ratios of water and cream). I got to work and had a good shave with one nick (my own fault for pushing a little too hard and applying pressure). It was a fairly smooth shave and decent quality. The first shave was good so I will be testing it over the weekend (I shave every day of the week) so I'll report back once I've gotten it to the 3/4 shave mark (I usually can eke out to 5 or 6 shaves depending on the individual blade).

I heard one of our members, beyboo, say that there are Indian Wilkinson Swords which are even better (Premium Plus, I think?) so those might be on my to do list if I decide I like the entire batch of these blades. That may be a while as I currently have 16 tucks of Derby blades, 19 packs of E-bay WS blades, 1 pack of Wal-Mart WS blades, and now 19.8 packs of these Indian made WS blades (I say 0.8 because I only used 1 out of the 5 in a tuck so far).

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

Well, they came about a week after I ordered them from an E-bay seller in India. I paid about $0.11 per blade (100 of them). I didn't know what to expect but I like the all paper packaging, I think that is more environmentally friendly as I can recycle them (but also, a plastic case for 5 blades or even 10still seems wasteful to me). I was just testing them out since I can get the German made WS blades from Wal-Mart and I have 19 packs of my E-bay ordered German WS blades still.

I hand-stropped the blade, just in case, and loaded up my British New. I lathered up one of my latest restores (black badger from TGN) and used my Trader Joe's mango shaving cream (I do get a good lather out of it with the right ratios of water and cream). I got to work and had a good shave with one nick (my own fault for pushing a little too hard and applying pressure). It was a fairly smooth shave and decent quality. The first shave was good so I will be testing it over the weekend (I shave every day of the week) so I'll report back once I've gotten it to the 3/4 shave mark (I usually can eke out to 5 or 6 shaves depending on the individual blade).

I heard one of our members, beyboo, say that there are Indian Wilkinson Swords which are even better (Premius Plus, I think?) so those might be on my to do list if I decide I like the entire batch of these blades. That may be a while as I currently have 16 tucks of Derby blades, 19 packs of E-bay WS blades, 1 pack of Wal-Mart WS blades, and now 19.8 packs of these Indian made WS blades (I say 0.8 because I only used 1 out of the 5 in a tuck so far).

Indian Wilks are amongst my favourites. Indeed the Premium Plus is platinum coated so a bit more luxurious, but I like them both.

 

[GatorShaver]

I also ordered some from eBay a few weeks ago. They haven't rotated into any of my open combs yet, but I've been using them in my Slim with great results. They work as well or better in that particular razor than any of the other blades I like.

I think they're fantastic blades for the price point they're at. I haven't tried the Premium Plus yet, but the standard ones are great blades for me.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Indian Wilks are amongst my favourites. Indeed the Premium Plus is platinum coated so a bit more luxurious, but I like them both.

Yep, even better. There aren't many places to buy them though.

 

[Jwolf24601]

One of my favorites, I was getting them with a bonus gillette platinum in the pack, got turned on to the platinums that way.

Funny though buying Wilkinson and getting Gillette in most of the world they are competitors but evidently in india they are both Gillette...

 

[mdevine]

I tried my first Wilkinson Sword blade earlier this week. As usual, my first go with the blade was in my trusty NDC Superspeed. Today was shave number two with it and I would put it in the upper half of the dozen blades I've tried. They came in a white boxed 5-pack ordered from www.shaving.ie out of Ireland. I'm not sure where these are made as I don't see a country of origin on either the blade or box. Does anyone out there know which WS these are?

 

[MichaeltheRomanHistorian]

It should say on the package but usually, my white boxed Wilkinson Sword Classics (with the white plastic case, correct?) are made in Germany. They're a pretty good, basic razor blade. I swear by them but I wanted to test out these Indian ones since I heard so many good things. I almost want to say that, if you got yours from Ireland, then they are probably the German ones that you can also get at Wal-Mart here in the States (well, many of the Wal-Marts anyway).

 

[mdevine]

It should say on the package but usually, my white boxed Wilkinson Sword Classics (with the white plastic case, correct?) are made in Germany. They're a pretty good, basic razor blade. I swear by them but I wanted to test out these Indian ones since I heard so many good things. I almost want to say that, if you got yours from Ireland, then they are probably the German ones that you can also get at Wal-Mart here in the States (well, many of the Wal-Marts anyway).

Thanks Michael,

That's good to know. I take the occasional short plane trip with no checked luggage. Although the WS blades were a notch below Iridium and Gillette Sharp Edge (for me, anyway), they were decent blades. I have a four day Florida trip in a few weeks and was going to mail a few blades. Now, I'll find a WM near the condo I'm staying at. I know that there is a Target a block away but I'm not sure what they stock.

 

[MichaeltheRomanHistorian]

Yes, I know the feeling. I go on holiday back to England and never have a shortage of blades (I can always find WS blades there) but most of the US is hit and miss. I've never seen DE razor blades at a Target which annoys me since my nearest Target is closer than my nearest Wal-Mart. If you do use the Wal-Mart Wilkinsons, I suggest a palm strop. I find that helps smoothness since they can be a little rough on the first shave from time to time.

 

[Chairman Nemo]

Indian Wilks are amongst my favourites. Indeed the Premium Plus is platinum coated so a bit more luxurious, but I like them both.

+1. I ordered the Indian Wilks Platinum Plus from Beyboo and been pleasantly pleased with the results. Initially, they didnt seem as sharp as say... NOS UK Wilks (which I loved ) but they give smooth comfortable shaves (3-4 on my thick beard). They are solid workhorse type blades, that focus on smoothness compared to sharpness (ala Black Ninjas/Feathers ).

My question to users of BOTH Indian Stainless Wilks and Indian Platinum Plus Wilks..

Are the stainless steel versions that much worse from the Platinums? The Platinums are significantly more expensive than the stainless steel version and I want to know if the Plats are worth spending the extra cash?

 

[Wil Dorenbos]

+1. I ordered the Indian Wilks Platinum Plus from Beyboo and been pleasantly pleased with the results. Initially, they didnt seem as sharp as say... NOS UK Wilks (which I loved ) but they give smooth comfortable shaves (3-4 on my thick beard). They are solid workhorse type blades, that focus on smoothness compared to sharpness (ala Black Ninjas/Feathers ).

My question to users of BOTH Indian Stainless Wilks and Indian Platinum Plus Wilks..

Are the stainless steel versions that much worse from the Platinums? The Platinums are significantly more expensive than the stainless steel version and I want to know if the Plats are worth spending the extra cash?

Only you can answer that , but for me there is not that much difference. It is a bit like Astra SS and SP. Both are nice. SP is tad more smooth, SS a tad more sharp. And when it comes to Lord blades I like the SS better than the Plats. So try some stainless Wilks and see for your self.

 

[Chairman Nemo]

If I may be so bold, Im willing to trade 1 pack of Indian Wilk Plats with some blades I haven't tried before. If anyone on this thread who wants to try some. PM me.

 

[beyboo]

There is an important differentiator when comparing Wilkinsons from Gillette India and other Wilkinsons in other countries not owned by Gillette.

In India DE blade market is clearly demarcated in to two segments.

The low price segment and the niche segments.

Gillette uses the Wilkinson brand to target the price conscious DE user in India and is the lowest in the Gillette Value chain of DE products.

The next step up from Wilkinson Sword Stainless is Wilkinson Premium Plus which is Chromium Plated (for a smoother shave) as advertised by Gillette. Premium Plus is not platinum plated.

Next in the Gillette strategy is the middle price point segment. Here they introduce the 7 O'Clock Permasharp green box.

Finally the Niche market segment is the most expensive blade the 7 O'Clock Super Platinum Black.

So the value chain in terms of price and quality is

Wilkinson Sword Stainless < Wilkinson Sword Premium Plus (chromium plated) < 7 O'Clock Permasharp (green) < 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (Black)

The price of the black 7OC is 4.6 times that of the Wilkinson sword stainless blades.

So to compare the price conscious market segment Indian Wilkinson Stainless blades to say the German or UK or any other market is not really a true apple to apple comparison.

 

[fabchef]

I recently found a few packs of the indian gillette swords...at first i thought it was some joke "knock-off" blades, but after reading peoples' comments on this site i was really surprised! so i also shaved with the white wilkinsons, and between the two, i find, for my face, the indian wilkis do a much better job, very close shave, little skin irritation and super smooth, i've gotten 3 shaves so far and i'll keep you posted on how many i get. I usually shave every 3-4 days, i have sensitive skin. If you can find the indian wilkis..And they are cheaper then the white wilkis...(packaging). GET THEM!
fab

 

[MichaeltheRomanHistorian]

Beyboo/Manish - Thanks for that information. I may have to order some of the Premium Plus blades from you to try them at some point!

I just wanted to update this thread that I got 6 x 3-4 pass shaves from my first Indian Wilkinson blade (3-4 passes with a few minor touch ups on the chin area and neckline, no blade I have tried does those well). Only two nicks and fairly minor (the styptic pencil stopped them) over the 6 shaves (I shave every day). 6 is probably my limit with the current blade. I tried it in my British New and my Gillette Tech and found the Tech yielded very good results with these blades. I may test them with my Old Type next. My only quibble is that I do need to take extra care to keep them dry and to dry the blade after use so as to avoid any slight rust but these are great blades full stop.

 

[fabchef]

ya they are good blades...so far i've tried them with my gillette slim twist and seem to work very well..actually this razor has been my prefered razor for quite some time, it gives me a close shave yet is still forgiving..
fabs

 

[MoabBoy]

The Indian Wilks (non-plated) + EJ89/R89 is a magically combination for me. Surprised to learn they are considered the budget blade in India!

 

[rm71]

Indian Wilkinsons are a nice blade